Dream Theater Dream Theater/Osaka,Japan 2014 Complete

From the 2014 tour accompanying the band’s first self-titled album, Dream Theater, entitled “An Evening with Dream Theater”, the live performance at Grand Cube Osaka (Osaka International Convention Center Main Hall) on October 22nd was recorded in full from the front row with ultra-high quality audience recording from the very front row of this Japan tour, which was the most dense live performance in the history of their Japan tour, which exceeded 3 hours. This is the perfect title that allows you to enjoy the magnificent and overwhelming stage. The recorder is the familiar “Western Japan’s Strongest Taper”. This board is also as expected! It reproduces the Osaka show from the latest tour, which has become a big hit with the best sound quality that makes you think. The live performance that exceeds 3 hours is composed of contents with meaning and intention in the form of Part 1, 15 minutes of break, Part 2, and encore. Part 1 is composed of songs from the latest work “DREAM THEATER” and past songs. It starts with the opening SE “False Awakening Suite”, which was also used as a prologue in the latest work. In this live performance, the screen placed at the back of the stage was used more effectively for each song, and this intro SE showed an interesting image that connected the jackets of all the works in a story-like way. After this intro, they immediately went into “The Enemy Inside”, the most aggressive song in the band’s history, from the latest album, in the same flow as the album. Immediately after the start, they played a perfect performance without any breaks. This perfect performance was recorded in the front row, so it approached with tremendous pressure. The separation of each instrument was perfect, and the full sound, including live sounds because it was in the front (especially the liveliness of the guitar and drums), made me wonder what the content of the next 3 hours of live performance would be, and how the songs would sound with this sound. Because it was in the front row, the vocals were weaker than the other instruments at the beginning, but the PA stabilized and this gradually disappeared. Listening to the long tone shout at the end of “The Enemy Inside”, it is clear that James LaBrie was in top form that day. After that, the show continued with alternating songs from the latest album and past songs. All of the past songs were over 10 minutes long, and although there were only a few songs, the first part alone was over 80 minutes long. “The Shattered Fortress,” which skillfully arranged fragments of past songs to reconstruct them, and “Trial Of Tears,” which depicts a profound world reminiscent of PINK FLOYD, are particularly complex and difficult songs among their songs, and it seems to show that the current state of the band, which can play such songs, is at its best. The first part ended with “Breaking All Illusions,” which became the band’s new anthem from the previous album “A DRAMATIC TURN OF EVENTS.” The silent part at the beginning of the 15-minute break was cut, but the recording started from the part where the small video was played. Although it cannot be understood from the sound alone, the video of cover bands from all over the world (some of which were funny) and imaginary commercials featuring the members were played, and it was clear that the band’s attitude of not getting bored of the audience even during the break was conveyed. Since 2014 marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the masterpiece “AWAKE,” the second part of the show mainly consists of a non-stop replay of the album’s latter half, “The Mirror,” to the last track, “Space-Dye Vest.” In this part, you can enjoy the band’s evolution and deepening over the 20 years since the album was released, and the performance is as if they are exploring and questioning the original meaning of the songs from 20 years ago. Even when compared to the performance from the 1995 Japan tour, the texture of the songs performed at that time is completely different from that of the current performance, and the beauty and profundity of the expression in the songs “Scarred” and “Space-Dye Vest,” which can be said to have caused controversy about the content of “AWAKE,” is particularly noteworthy. “Scarred” is a performance that suggests that the musical vocabulary has increased over the years, and you will strongly feel that the contrast between the deep, deep singing expression and the performance ability that elegantly produces sounds that appeal to various things has transformed the music into something bigger. The same goes for “Space-Dye Vest”, where the heavy expression of the song is approached with a sound image that seems to calmly reexamine it, and while the performance is quite faithful to the original, it beautifully captures the subtle differences in musical breathing. The last song in the second part is the 22-minute masterpiece “Illumination Theory”, which is packed with everything from the current band. The performance of this song, which creates a peak by the end of the show while changing the development and musical ideas in various ways with advanced performance techniques, is a masterpiece. The encore will begin with a wonderful sense of elation. The encore will be performed for about 27 minutes, mainly focusing on the core songs of the 1999 masterpiece “METROPOLIS PART.2: SCENES FROM A MEMORY”. The world of this masterpiece, which dramatically expresses a tragic story, is reproduced in a digest using effective images. I don’t know if there was a meaning behind the 15th anniversary of this work, but the selection of songs from this album, which is considered to be a masterpiece, takes this live performance, which seemed to have peaked in the second part, to a higher level, and the final song “Finally Free” conveys a trembling emotion. The spectacular live performance, which lasts more than three hours, ends with the outro “Illumination Theory” with a wonderful afterglow. As mentioned above, the recording is from the Jordan Rudess side of the first floor Aa row (front row). Even in the front row, it was recorded in a miraculous environment where there was no harsh audience noise, applause, or singing. You can enjoy this spectacular live performance to the end with high resolution that allows you to hear the details of the complex performance where each instrument is mixed, perfect balance, and a stable clear and powerful sound image from start to finish. This tour, which embodies the idea that can be said to be the culmination of the band’s musicality, can be said to embody the band’s evolution and deepening. The term “progressive” has become a mere formality in the world of rock, but listening to this live performance makes it clear that Dream Theater is the only band that continues to play progressive music. Osaka International Convention Center, Osaka, Japan 22nd October 2014 TRULY PERFECT SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1 (55:19) 1. Orchestral Intro : First Awakening Suite 2. The Enemy Inside 3. The Shattered Fortress 4. On The Backs Of Angels 5. The Looking Glass 6. Trial Of Tears Disc 2 (55:17) 1. Enigma Machine 2. Along For The Ride 3. Breaking All Illusions 4. Intermission 5. Intro 6. The Mirror/Lie 7. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream Disc 3 (71:15) 1. Scarred 2. Space-Dye Vest 3. Illumination Theory 4. Overture 1828 5. Strange Deja Vu 6. The Dance Of Eternity 7. Finally Free 8. Outro: Illumination Theory James LaBrie – Lead Vocals John Petrucci – Guitar, Backing Vocals Jordan Rudess – Keyboards John Myung – Bass Mike Mangini – Drums