2014-03-20 - Massey Hall - Toronto, ON

[Deve]

This was my tenth time seeing them.

Anyone else hear the HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE mistake Mangini had during Enigma Machine? I honestly thought they weren't going to recover from that. Shows what I know.

Mangini's monitor went off as he was clearly messing with his ear plugs and really "dumbed down" the song. His time sigs were off too. This was all before his drum solo. But he recovered.

This was also probably the best-sounding DT to date. The setlist, while unchanged, was blatantly fantastic. It's obvious to me why I'll continue going to see these gents play live for many more years to come.

Yeah haha I heard the Mangini thing, it seemed like something funky was going on with his monitors. I don't think his time signatures were off though, he was just ahead by a couple bars. He was definitely playing it correctly, just a little ahead of the rest of the guys.

And yeah holy crap James was the best I've seen him yet (6th timer here). He was hilarious too, it's obvious he's getting more confidence as a frontman which is great. His performance was just so raw and powerful, especially during the Awake stuff. He destroyed the more growly/screamy stuff too. Phenomenal show, everyone who's still waiting to see them should get extremely hyped! 

[GasparXR]

I also noticed Mangini's mistake in Enigma Machine, but he recovered. It was a pretty great moment actually!

So for some more details, some of my favourite moments. First one to mention is during the "Still awake, I continue to move along" section, a bunch of single white lights were spotlighted on James, more specifically on the base of his mic stand. He moved it to reflect the lights at each section of the audience. FUCK, that was awesome.

As mentioned earlier, James did the F during Illumination Theory and did it REALLY well. He also NAILED the "I spent so long trusting in yoooouuu!I trust you forgot! Just when I thought I believed in you" lines. He sang it similarly to LSFNY, where I sang the second part higher than on the album, and it sounded amazing. I was so impressed with him. Among the best of his performances of the tour so far. I was a bit worried that they would regain rust from the break, but it seems they took time to make it even better!

The crowd sing-along moments were awesome. My favourite was "one last time" during Finally Free. Speaking of Finally Free, for the first vocal section, James sat on Jordan's riser. That was a cool moment.

Before the concert started, I had this unmeasurable anxious nervousness. I couldn't wait! Once I saw them on stage, I couldn't believe I was actually witnessing it in person. The only thing I didn't like was as soon as The Enemy Inside started, there were a bunch of people blocking me who were just a couple minutes late. I missed seeing them play the very beginning! Otherwise I'm extremely happy with this show and I can't wait to see them again.

I'll try to remember other great moments after I get home, as I'm still in Toronto. I really can't pick a favourite moment, the entire night was a blast, easily on of the best moments on my entire life. I need to thank Dream Theater for putting so much effort into everything they do and providing such a great show!

[Shadow2222]

Thanks for the write-up! It makes me even more excited for my April 2 show!

I hope a video surfaces with the F!

[zacman5001]

As far as first dream theater concerts go, I don't think last night could have been any more awesome than it already was. James was on fire! Especially with the awake era songs. And as far as a video goes, there was a guy near by me who filmed the whole show on his giant phone, so I think there'll be something on YouTube in the next few days.

[wasteland]

Aaaand here's the salVAtioooon video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxEQCnvo8L0

[johnnysuperfan]

Aaaand here's the salVAtioooon video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxEQCnvo8L0

and another video snippet, Petrucci solo on Breaking All Illusions 

https://youtu.be/wc59mkZiQOg

[JayTor2112]

That is the downside of having a bigger and more elaborate show with video screen and animation, etc.  It makes it hard to mix up the setlist, though Rush still manages to switch out 2 or three songs.  But I never thought I'd see the day that DT maintained a 100% static setlist for an entire tour.  Hopefully on the second trip to Europe they'll start mix it up a little, mainly with the new songs they have yet to play live .  This really only matters to bootleg collectors like myself, but I guess more people notice now in the age of camera phones and youtube.

[GasparXR]

I'll make sure to watch those videos when I get home. I can't watch them right now because I'm on a greyhound bus, where the Internet is balls. He wifi is either too balls to load the video or YouTube is blocked.

[TAC]

Aaaand here's the salVAtioooon video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxEQCnvo8L0

Damn!

[TheGreatPretender]

That is the downside of having a bigger and more elaborate show with video screen and animation, etc.  It makes it hard to mix up the setlist, though Rush still manages to switch out 2 or three songs.  But I never thought I'd see the day that DT maintained a 100% static setlist for an entire tour.  Hopefully on the second trip to Europe they'll start mix it up a little, mainly with the new songs they have yet to play live .  This really only matters to bootleg collectors like myself, but I guess more people notice now in the age of camera phones and youtube.

I'm really glad they kept the set list EXACTLY the same all throughout. It's such a perfect setlist that I would've been disappointed if anything was changed. Especially the Awake and SFAM selections. I hope it stays the same for the Boston show too. This show needs to be immortalized.

[animalize3]

What a fantastic show. Easily the best of the 4 shows I've been to. The second set was just... unbelievable. It was pretty chilly after the show, but the wait was worth it - Got my ticket signed by everyone except Mangini (who snuck by everyone while Jordan was signing).

[GasparXR]

Another great moment was during Overture 1928 (might have been Strange Deja Vu) where Jordan's overhead mic is on the live feed, and he looks at it and makes funny close-up faces. Was really hilarious when I heard people laughing and then saw his face on the big screen.

[rubenchitito]

I went crazy at that. That was so awesome.

[OptionalPlayer]

What a fantastic show. Easily the best of the 4 shows I've been to. The second set was just... unbelievable. It was pretty chilly after the show, but the wait was worth it - Got my ticket signed by everyone except Mangini (who snuck by everyone while Jordan was signing).

I waited out there for an hour but called it quits. It was too damn cold. Haha.

[jingle.boy]

I will echo the sentiments that it was the best DT show ever.  I spent the last month running through their discography, including watching LALP, Score, L@B... and this was the best they've ever been - including SC and BCSL from the studio.  When I told RJ that it was the best since Score, that was on the basis that 1 week before RCMH, they did Toronto and James was a beast.  They did LtL as their encore, and he nailed - NAILED - that F#.

He was better on Thursday.  I only recall a couple of moments where he dialed it back a little.  Otherwise, he was full on.  I wasn't much of a fan of IT before the show, but now I'm convinced.  It was amazing, and I learned to appreciate the little interlude in the middle.

Mangini was another standout.  I didn't catch the fuckups others are referencing.  I did notice him emphatically shout "FUCK" to himself after one of the fills during the IT instrumental breakdown.  Otherwise, he's just so much fun to watch.  He makes the strangest movements and faces.  And I tell you, I would've though it impossible for one human being with four limbs to be able to make the sounds and move the way he does.  It's mind blowing.  MP is an amazing drummer, but MM is just technically a beast.  It's amazing how he stays true to the sound and feel that MP created, while putting his own stamp on the songs at the same time.

Loved the setlist.  My only beef is On The Backs of Angels.  Wish they'd swap that for one of the new tracks.  I'm a huge fan of Breaking All Illusions, so I don't mind seeing that a second tour in a row.  I've just had enough of OTBOA.  Throw in TBP or BTV.  Also, the opening of The Shattered Fortress seemed to be a bit of a hot mess - sound wise.  I'm not sure if they had to shake 2.5 weeks of rust off, but the musical intro was a bit of a sonic blur.

Production wise, it was great.  Blob's videos (especially the intro with The False Awakening Suite) were dynamite.  Although, I was half expecting him to have put some content into Scarred.  Boy, that would've been funny.     Intermission vid was hilarious, with (again) Blob's action figuur vids getting the best response.  I was hoping to see Under a Glass Lutjanus, but I'm guessing the audio wasn't solid enough.

They started right at 8pm sharp, and finished right at 11pm sharp.  Unbelievably, a couple kids just to my right left at the end of IT, even though (during the Awake set) James had specifically stated that that they were doing some SFAM songs later.

Looking forward to seeing them again in San Fran, and I don't mind at all that'll be the same set - they (and the set) were that good.

[Donna]

Enigma Machine from my POV...sorry....being female and not too tall doesn't make for a great view...but sounded amazing...:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRbex4N9wys

[johnnysuperfan]

excellent review Jingle, too bad I didn't get a chance to meet you, enjoy the show in SF, #Raaawwwkkkkkk   

[GasparXR]

Another thing I was reminded of. On my way to Oakville (where I was staying) on the Go Train, I met 4 other people that were at the show on the second floor of the train. I think they most of them said it was their first DT show, or maybe all of them, can't remember. I forgot to ask any of them if they posted here, so I'm hoping that one of them is one of the people who posted here. XD They were all nice and we had a good discussion about the show and how great everyone did.

When I was getting off the train, there was a another guy with a DT toque on that said he was originally from Mexico and had moved to Oakville/Toronto and this was his 2nd time seeing DT, first time being in 2007.

[rubenchitito]

When Mike messed up.. he recovered so quickly that I realized it was him the one that messed up until I read it here. It was really a quick recover and the song continued perfectly.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUhGrrKMGoY

Holy shit, James.

Best Illumination Theory "hard vocal part" performance I've heard from him so far. So much power.

[TheGreatPretender]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUhGrrKMGoY

Holy shit, James.

Best Illumination Theory "hard vocal part" performance I've heard from him so far. So much power.

So energy! Power!

[erwinrafael]

It's so awesome that there's a guy near the front row that was already clapping even before he did the F.

[Fisi]

James 
So cool to see him improving pretty much day after day. Really looking forward to the (hopefully) upcoming live release.

[Mladen]

Holy shit, I can't believe he actually went for that insanely high note! That was mindblowing. 

[GasparXR]

Holy shit, I can't believe he actually went for that insanely high note! That was mindblowing. 

Before that song, he was already so good that I was half expecting him to attempt it, and I had no doubt that he would nail it. I was so freaking pumped when it actually happened!

[TheGreatPretender]

Holy shit, I can't believe he actually went for that insanely high note! That was mindblowing. 

I'm not surprised. It's freakin' James LaBrie!

[animalize3]

Wish I had a better camera than my shitty iphone ...

[rubenchitito]

I forgot my camera - I'm just going by pictures that people upload and videos on youtube.

[TheGreatPretender]

Wish I had a better camera than my shitty iphone ...

That's a pretty damn good picture for a 'shitty phone'. 


Here's a review that my friend wrote about the concert: https://www.lithiummagazine.com/dream-theater-%E2%80%93-massey-hall-toronto-%E2%80%93-march-20-2014

[rubenchitito]

The pictures with Dream Theater are up! 

[TheGreatPretender]

The pictures with Dream Theater are up! 

The Meet & Greet ones? They've been up since the night of the show.