Dream Theater Dream Theater/Tokyo,Japan 9.14.2017

The 25th anniversary tour of “IMAGES & WORDS” embodied the “fans’ dreams”. This super famous recording is the “East’s masterpiece”. “East” is, of course, Tokyo. The other day, we reported on the Budokan performance in “BUDOKAN 2017” and “LIVE AT BUDOKAN 2017”, but this work is a different performance. This work contains the best audience album of the performance “September 14, 2017: Tokyo International Forum”. First of all, as always, let’s check the position from the tour schedule. September 9: Toyota Civic Cultural Hall “TOYOTA 2017” September 10: Hiroshima Bunka Gakuen HBG Hall September 11: Nippon Budokan “BUDOKAN 2017” September 13: Osaka International Convention Center “OSAKA 2017” September 14: Tokyo International Forum [This work] All five performances. The performance at the International Forum was the last additional performance of this visit to Japan. This work is definitely “Tokyo No. 1”. The other day’s “BUDOKAN 2017” was also a wonderful recording, but this work is in a different league. We are introducing “OSAKA 2017”, which was released at the same time this week, as “Japan No. 1”, but in fact this work is also a super-famous recording that is difficult to compare. The sound quality is frankly on par with “OSAKA 2017”. It’s just a matter of preference. So what kind of “difference in taste” is there? You haven’t listened to “OSAKA 2017” yet, but the powerful sound of the latter is amazing, beyond the common sense of the audience. In contrast, this work is extremely neat and sparkling. Of course, it’s not a piercing sound that only the mid-high range. The core is thick in all ranges, and the balance is great. The deep bass is effective, and the phrases and rhythms that are intricately intertwined and loosened are clear one by one. Even the “gaps” that breathe in between are vivid, and it is an exquisite sound world that is rightly worthy of being called “like a sound board”. The sound is particularly delicious in the first part. As I have said in the explanation of each album so far, this show is roughly divided into three parts. “Part 1 = Regular concert format”, “Part 2 = “IMAGES & WORDS” reproduction”, “Part 3 = “A Change Of Seasons” reproduction as an encore”. Part 1 is the so-called introduction, and there are many recent songs. Starting with “The Gift of Music” and “Our New World” from the latest work “THE ASTONISHING”, there is the rare song “Hell’s Kitchen” that was only played a few times even in the 1990s, and “The Bigger Picture” that has been played this year. These various masterpieces are wonderfully colorful. For example, the heavy attack of “The Dark Eternal Night” is not too heavy, and the light “The Gift of Music” creates a sense of elation that makes you soar into the sky. Furthermore, “As I Am” introduces Jaco Pastorius’ “Portrait Of Tracy”. Myung’s solo shines delicately down to the single note, and METALLICA’s “Enter Sandman” is also vividly decided. It is a sound that highlights the different colors and flavors of each song. Of course, “IMAGES & WORDS” and “A Change Of Seasons”, which are painted with that sound color, are truly paradise. The slightly wrapped venue sound is transparent and clear, and the beauty of the rain showers unfolds as the drama of the word “dream theater” unfolds. In other words, the “heavy” “OSAKA 2017” and this “metallic” work. I was reminded of how different the sound can sound depending on the individuality of the sound…. I was reminded of such a common thing. The two champions of the East and West, who do not back down a single step. The East Japan edition. I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who has already seen another performance; it’s Tokyo’s number one masterpiece. Live at Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo, Japan 14th September 2017 Disc 1 (61:54) 1. Intro. 2. The Colonel 3. The Dark Eternal Night 4. The Bigger Picture 5. Hell’s Kitchen 6. The Gift of Music 7. Our New World 8. Portrait of Tracy / As I Am 9. Breaking All Illusions Disc 2 (75:28) 1. Happy New Year 1992 2 . Pull Me Under 3. Another Day 4. Take the Time 5. Surrounded 6. Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper 7. Under a Glass Moon 8. Wait for Sleep 9. Learning to Live Disc 3 (26:40) 1. A Change of Seasons: I The Crimson Sunrise 2. A Change of Seasons: II Innocence 3. A Change of Seasons: III Carpe Diem 4. A Change of Seasons: IV The Darkest of Winters 5. A Change of Seasons: V Another World 6. A Change of Seasons: VI The Inevitable Summer 7. A Change of Seasons: VII The Crimson Sunset