 | Written by Alex Mrkonjic (C) 2019 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com DREAM THEATER @ Sony Centre For The Performing Arts Toronto, ON, Canada April 4, 2019 Presented by Live Nation Upon announcing the release of their new studio album Distance Over Time, the boys in the Dream Theater camp also announced the tour in support of the album, and it included a stop in Toronto at the Sony Centre For The Performing Arts on April 4th. This tour, just like the others, was An Evening With… tour, meaning no opening acts, but just 2 hours of Dream Theater! To add to the excitement, they also announced that they were going to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 1999 masterpiece Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory by playing the album in its entirety. This album has often been called one of the greatest concept albums ever written by a progressive band (according to Rolling Stone Magazine). |
The show was split into two acts. Act 1 was a few songs from the new album, going along with some classic fan favourites. As the lights went down, fans started cheering quite loudly as they watched an intro video of what looks like a robot searching through the history of the band. When the video ended, the band led off with the first single from the new album, “Untethered Angel”, which got the crowd really amped up (you would too if you saw a John Petrucci solo live). When the song was over, I heard the sounds of thunder, lighting, and rain as the lights went back down, and I thought to myself: “Oh my god, I get to hear it live”, and sure enough, they played “A Nightmare To Remember”, from their 2009 release (and my favourite Dream Theater record ever) Black Clouds & Silver Linings. The only other song they played from previous records was “In The Presence Of Enemies, Part 1” from their 2007 release Systematic Chaos. This was also a surprise since I have never heard it live before. This was one of the highlights of the first act, mostly because of the fact that guitarist John Petrucci showed off his guitar wizardry with one of his iconic solos. After finishing the first act with “Pale Blue Dot”, it was time for an intermission before the beginning of Act 2.
For Act 2, fans were treated with Dream Theater playing Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory in its entirety. For those of you who are not familiar with the story of the album, I am just going to give you a brief description of the story. It follows a troubled man named Nicholas who is going through past life regression therapy. In a trance induced by his hypnotherapist, he learns of a woman name Victoria. He eventually deduces that she was murdered and he was Victoria in a past life. I encourage you to listen to the album and learn about the rest of the story for yourself. I was most excited about this part of the show because I got to hear some of my favourite songs from that album like “Fatal Tragedy”, “Home”, and of course, “The Dance Of Eternity”. No Dream Theater show though, is completed without playing their most famous hit “Pull Me Under”, which was the only song for the encore. It was a perfect way to end the show. I will absolutely come back and see them again.
Overall, Dream Theater performed an amazing show once again, engaging the audience every chance they got. There was something for everyone, whether you wanted to hear the new album, whether you love Metropolis Pt. 2, or if you just wanted to hear some of your favourite songs from previous albums. If this show is coming to your city, go see it because this is a must-see.
For Act 2, fans were treated with Dream Theater playing Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory in its entirety. For those of you who are not familiar with the story of the album, I am just going to give you a brief description of the story. It follows a troubled man named Nicholas who is going through past life regression therapy. In a trance induced by his hypnotherapist, he learns of a woman name Victoria. He eventually deduces that she was murdered and he was Victoria in a past life. I encourage you to listen to the album and learn about the rest of the story for yourself. I was most excited about this part of the show because I got to hear some of my favourite songs from that album like “Fatal Tragedy”, “Home”, and of course, “The Dance Of Eternity”. No Dream Theater show though, is completed without playing their most famous hit “Pull Me Under”, which was the only song for the encore. It was a perfect way to end the show. I will absolutely come back and see them again.
Overall, Dream Theater performed an amazing show once again, engaging the audience every chance they got. There was something for everyone, whether you wanted to hear the new album, whether you love Metropolis Pt. 2, or if you just wanted to hear some of your favourite songs from previous albums. If this show is coming to your city, go see it because this is a must-see.
RSS Feed
