2014-07-06 - Sonisphere Festival - Knebworth, UK

[GasparXR]

Was the False Awakening Suite intro used?

[mikemangioy]

Was the False Awakening Suite intro used?

I have no idea.

[Laughingplace56]

Exactly what I imagined they would play, except SDVu instead of As I Am. Really good for a festival while still promoting their new album, especially since they only had an hour and 5 minutes to play. Their "hit", Grammy-nominated single from their last album, 1/2 songs for the anniversary spots (with SDVu being a fun song and Mirror/Lie being heavy festival songs), plus 3 from their new album, 2 singles and the ballad type for breathing room.

I don't expect them to change the set at all for the entire touring cycle, honestly. They're going to keep hitting new cities each leg so they'll just keep it the same. Which kinda sucks, because seeing the exact same show isn't always what you want, no matter how excellent it is. Hell, Roger Waters toured The Wall 2 years in a row, and even then he managed to make each time a little different. Changes can and should be made to keep the set fresh and make sure everyone will hear at least a few different songs from the previous show.

[GasparXR]

The setlist.fm page now says the set list was this:

False Awakening Suite
The Enemy Inside
The Mirror
Lie
On the Backs of Angels
The Looking Glass
Along for the Ride
Overture 1928
Strange Déjà Vu
Pull Me Under

Is this correct? https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dream-theater/2014/knebworth-park-knebworth-england-1bc1f540.html

[genome]

Yes that's correct. It was ruddy marvellous. JP needs to wear the shades on stage more often.

[GasparXR]

Yes that's correct. It was ruddy marvellous. JP needs to wear the shades on stage more often.

It's because his future's so bright.

[Mladen]

Any photos or videos?

[Zydar]

Review from Team Rock:

Alright, we're calling it - Dream Theater are fucking cool. Is it the sunglasses? The abundance of facial hair? No - it's the sheer thrill of watching five musicians who are masters of their craft, each one playing with about a dozen more strings/keys/bass drums than is probably necessary, execute a series of mind-boggling tempo changes with precision and class. But this is much more than just a soulless display of technical prowess. At every corner of the stage, something special is happening - from Jordan Rudess' tilting and rotating keyboard stand to the formidable sticksman Mike Mangini behind his mammoth kit, every one of these guys appears to having an absolute ball. 

Today's set is perfectly measured in terms of timing and pace. They kick off with The Enemy Inside before delving into Awake's The Mirror and the heavy, grooving Lie. It's no mean feat trying to headbang to this lot, but the Knebworth crowd just about pull it off - some people even attempt moshing, God love 'em, while most people are simply transfixed watching the flawless soloing of John Petrucci and feeling the rumbling bass played by the stoic John Myung.   

The songs are vast and sprawling, but somehow the set seems to fly by. Frontman James LaBrie is effortlessly engaging, running around all over the place, showing off an impressive set of lungs that could rival Bruce Dickinson's (yeah, we said it). From deeper cuts to the recent, more accessible Through The Looking Glass, he has them in the palm of his hand. After bringing the tempo down with the gorgeous Along For The Ride, they kick it back up by ending with Pull Me Under (what else?) and we're reminded that, for all the frills and flourishes, Dream Theater are at their core, simply a great band with great songs.

FINAL VERDICT: 8/10

https://www.teamrock.com/reviews/2014-07-06/sonisphere-2014-dream-theater

[The Stray Seed]

Any photos or videos?

Yay, this!

Also, thank you Zydar for sharing the article!

[wasteland]

Cool photo! I wonder if JM too sported shades. A fan can hope... 

[Zydar]

I hope the photo is showing.

[nikatapi]

I hope the photo is showing.

nope

[Zydar]

Alright, I changed the host to Imgur instead:

[The Holy Tune]

Alright, I changed the host to Imgur instead:

God this is fantastic! JP's glasses are awesome! And JLB's hair is... red? Oh god 

[SeRoX]

Frontman James LaBrie is effortlessly engaging, running around all over the place, showing off an impressive set of lungs that could rival Bruce Dickinson's (yeah, we said it).

FINAL VERDICT: 8/10

Wow. That's good to hear.

[CharlesPL]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu6n62DQPmc

1st video (FAS + TEI)

[wasteland]

Well, that was a lively performance

[The Holy Tune]

That was awesome, we have to get more videos of this. I especially wonder how he sang The Mirror and PMU.

[genome]

I felt James was better at Wembley and Wolverhampton, but generally pretty good. I was very surprised at Along For the Ride. It was so good!

[Anguyen92]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu6n62DQPmc

1st video (FAS + TEI)

It's so weird to see them in broad daylight.  Other than that, it was pretty good.  Crowd seems to dig it which is another positive.

[cyberdrummer]

It was an excellent show considering it was under an hour and at a festival. They seemed to go down fairly well where I was stood and JLB was especially energetic. Seeing JP play Lie with those sunglasses on just reminded me of the music video .

The SFAM songs and Pull Me Under got a particularly good reception.

[ariich]

They were really well received I thought, very pleasing! They did a great job with the setlist too, in that they opened with a few heavy tracks to show their metal side, and then moved on to the big melodic stuff that the crowd got into singing along with. Nice stuff!

[TAC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu6n62DQPmc

1st video (FAS + TEI)

NICE!

[kevinpwrs]

Good video. They are much better without the video screen behind them. They dont need videos and cartoons projected while they are playing. Hope they leave it on the truck if they do a second US tour.

[Grizz]

Do you know how expensive a projector is? They ain't gonna ditch it. BVD needs to eat.

It's hard to tell from this vid, but it seems like Sonisphere's PA is actually decent. I had some issues with the tinniness of DT's tour rig.

[aprilethereal]

Love JLB's hair color

[genome]

Yep the mix was good, seemed to be a little bit of a crosswind during the first couple of songs which affected the sound a bit (the volume would kind of jump up and down a little) but that went away. As usual Myung could've come up a little but that also might have been where I was standing. But overall the sound was very good, not as good as Metallica's (which was perfect) but certainly better than Devin's which was a bassy mush.

[Zydar]

[Mladen]

That's more like it, some great photos and videos are out there so far. 

[TAC]

I love daytime concert shots.

[Eternal Knight]

It was incredible, the fans were ace and really up for it, much better than being seated in a dark auditorium. Especially being right up at the front, amazing experience.
Just a shame it was only an hour....they must've had to really think hard about what to play. Would've been awesome if they'd done one of the long epics, but totally understandable.
I was really pleased they did PMU, would be so easy for them to refuse to play it, but it went down brilliantly, even with those fans who probably only knew that one...
FAS works brilliantly as an opening number, I love the way they play it as a backing track before they come on stage.
Also had the pleasure of Alice in Chains and Metallica - what a day 
10/10