PREFACE: I wrote this review for a class
when I was a "Music Industry" major (I've since gone undecided, but
that's another story). For what it's worth I got an A+!
***
Periphery, a progressive/mathcore/"djent"
band, took the stage at around 7:30. Notable about this band is its roster of
three (rather than two or one) guitarists, along with their vocalist and rhythm
section. It is obvious that they are talented, but it was also obvious that the
crowd came for Dream Theater; no one even stood up, and while the crowd gave
respect to the band, no heads were banging. While, again, they are talented,
they do not fall into the field of the 70s-to-90s-and-especially-80s metal that
I love; if I were ignorant and uneducated, I may well have classified the
vocals as “screamo” style, and it was sort of hard to make out what the guitars
were playing most of the time, with the mix. I personally would give Periphery's performance a 6/10.
Periphery’s set was pretty short.
Their curtain came down, and new Dream Theater drummer Mike Mangini’s huge drum
set was revealed. They opened with a new song that I could not remember the
name of (I listened through their newest album, A Dramatic Turn of Events, but
only once and did not remember too many details of the songs other than some
stand-out moments), but even though that song may not have been the most
memorable studio performance, it sounded awesome live. Dream Theater’s power only
grew as they played through “These Walls” and “Build Me Up, Break Me Down,” and
perhaps peaked at “Endless Sacrifice,” which has one of the few true
head-banging moments in any Dream Theater song. And heads were indeed banging. Dream
Theater surprised me with a short acoustic set in the middle of their
performance, which was just as powerful as the rest of their set, although in a
different way. Following the acoustic set was my personal favorite from their
new album, “Outcry,” and then a few more hits and new songs. The encore for the
night was “Under a Glass Moon” from their classic Images and Words, featuring a
really crazy guitar solo from John Petrucci, who may well be the most talented
guitarist in the whole field of popular music (although many argue that he
lacks the “feel” of some other virtuosos.)
I would give Dream Theater’s
performance a 8.75/10, and the whole show an 8.25/10. Dream Theater delivered even
more than they did with Iron Maiden in July 2010, though they could have
probably picked a more fitting band to open than Periphery even though John Petrucci seems to be a fan.
***
Set Lists (thanks Setlist.fm, I wasn't going to remember)
Periphery
1. Letter Experiment
2. Jetpacks Was Yes!
3. Buttersnips
4. Light
5. Icarus Lives!
Dream Theater
1. Bridges in the Sky
2. These Walls
3. Build Me Up, Break Me Down
4. Endless Sacrifice
5. Drum Solo
6. The Ytse Jam
7. The Silent Man
8. Beneath the Surface
9. Outcry
10. On the Backs of Angels
11. Forsaken
12. Through my Words
13. Fatal Tragedy
14. Breaking All Illusions
Encore
15. Under a Glass Moon
Thanks for reading!
TL;DR
Rating: 8.75/10 (Dream Theater), 6/10 (Periphery)
Personal Highlights: These Walls, Endless Sacrifice, Outcry
Recommend: Probably see Dream Theater, only see Periphery if bill is worth it
