•
Rating:
Live at Budokan, ladies and gentlemen
Yes, finally after an exceptional Train of Thought Tour, Dream Theater recorded on April 26, 2004, at the legendary Budokan Hall in Tokyo.
The evening begins as expected with Myung's bass introduction to announce the concert's opening with As I Am, which is followed inexorably and without pause by This Dying Soul, as always performed impeccably with its countless and lightning-fast musical scales. Already from the beginning of the concert, you can notice the great moment of the band, James LaBrie on this Tour returns to sing at very high levels. Without respite, they move to Beyond This Life, a great piece from Metropolis II, presented in an extended version enriched by a succession of guitar, keyboard, and drum solos in a tribute to Frank Zappa. This is followed by the wonderful Hollow Years where Petrucci delights us with a solo sharpened for the ToT Tour.
After these sweet notes, it's time for the two gritty and inseparable War Inside My Head & The Test That Stumped Them All, which conclude CD no.1.
CD no. 2 starts with Endless Sacrifice, always beautiful and engaging, which transports the audience with its arpeggios and the warm voice of James.
Finally, we come to the surprise of the evening: the instrumedley; something truly unique, the execution of a piece that in my opinion will remain in the history of prog. This exciting piece is performed impeccably and has The Dance Of Eternity as its main theme, with which it begins, ranging from Erotomania to Metropolis I, passing through Ytse Jam and the Liquid Tension to ultimately reconnect with the initial piece.
After this whirlwind of breaks, countertimes, and electrifying riffs, a slow is needed, and here comes the lunar introduction of Trial Of Tears, which makes the Budokan audience dream again, after which we move to New Millennium where Mike demonstrates truly unexpected vocal talents. It's time for Rudess's solo, which precedes the revised Only a Matter Of Time.
For the final part of this second CD, on my part, I would have preferred the keyboard solo performed at the Palalottomatica - RM while instead of New Millennium, I would have put Honor Thy Father, but all in all, the setlist needs to be respected, and the result doesn't displease me at all.
And here we are at the third and last CD, which begins with the two pieces from Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, namely Goodnight Kiss and Solitary Shell, which as usual are performed perfectly and overwhelmingly one after the other to immerse the audience in the atmospheres of the 2002 album, then like a bolt from the blue comes the instrumental flow of consciousness Stream Of Consciousness, which charges the audience again with its dry and powerful rhythms, again from Six Degrees Disappear, which seems slightly different from usual, perhaps because it is accelerated by a few beats.
From the first notes, it is impossible not to recognize Pull Me Under, now a historic piece and the band's showpiece that excites all the ytse jammers present. At this point, the five pretend to have finished the show but come back in grande style performing the last and wonderful piece In The Name Of God, which now, in the absence of Acos, is great for closing concerts. Petrucci's solo pushes the strings to the limit, hitting the last note that shakes the heart, moving even those not present.
Sure, a finale with A Change Of Seasons would have been asking too much, but at the end of the concert, DT were more than satisfied with their work, and we thank them for once again letting us hear music with a capital M.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 As I Am (07:26)
Don't
Tell me what's in
Tell me how to write
Don't tell me how to win
This fight
Isn't your life
It isn't your right
To take the only thing that's
Mine
Proven over time
It's over your head
Don't try to read between the
Lines
Are clearly defined
Never lose sight of
Something you believe in
Takin' in the view from
The outside
Feeling like the underdog
Watching through the
Window I'm on the outside
Living like the underdog
I've been trying
To justify you
In the end
I will just defy you
To those who understand
I extend my hand
To the doubtful I demand
Take me as I am
Not under your command
I know where I stand
I won't change to fit your plan
Take me as I am
Still
Running up hill
Swimming against the current
I wish I weren't so
Fucked
Feels like I'm stuck
Lost in a sea of mediocrity
"Slow down,
You're thinking too much
Where is your soul?"
You can not touch
The way I
Play
Or tell me what to say
You're in the way
Of all that I believe in
Takin' in the view from
The outside
Feeling like the underdog
Watching through the
Window I'm on the outside
Living like the underdog
I've been wasting my breath
On you
Open minds will descend
Upon you
To those who understand
I extend my hand
To the doubtful I demand
Take me as I am
Not under your command
I know where I stand
I won't change to fit your plan
Take me as I am
To those who understand
I extend my hand
To the doubtful I demand
Take me as I am
Not under your command
I know where I stand
I won't change to fit your plan
Take me as I am
04 Hollow Years (09:18)
He's just the kind of man
You hear about
Who leaves his family
For an easy out
They never saw the signs
He never said a word
He couldn't take another day
Carry me to the shoreline
Bury me in the sand
Walk me across the water
And maybe you'll understand
Once the stone
You're crawling under
Is lifted off your shoulders
Once the cloud that's raining
Over your head disappears
The noise that you'll hear
Is the crashing down of hollow years
She's not the kind of girl
You hear about
She'll never want another
She'll never be without
She'll give you all the signs
She'll tell you everything
Then turn around and walk away
Carry me to the shoreline
Bury me in the sand
Walk me across the water
And maybe you'll understand
Once the stone
You're crawling under
Is lifted off your shoulders
Once the cloud that's raining
Over your head disappears
The noise that you'll hear
Is the crashing down of hollow years
Carry me to the shoreline
Bury me in the sand
Walk me across the water
And maybe you'll understand
Once the stone
You're crawling under
Is lifted off your shoulders
Once the cloud that's raining
Over your head disappears
The noise that you'll hear
Is the crashing down of hollow years
Once the stone
You're crawling under...
The noise that you'll hear
Is the crashing down of hollow years
06 The Test That Stumped Them All (05:00)
She can't stop pacing
She never felt so alive
Her thoughts are racing
Set on overdrive
It takes a village
This she knows is true
They're expecting her
And she's got work to do
He helplessly stands by
It's meaningless to try
As he rubs his red-rimmed eyes
He says I've never seen her get this bad
Even though she seems so high
He knows that she can't fly
and when she falls out of the sky
He'll be standing by
She was raised in a small midwestern town
By a charming and eccentric loving father
She was praised as the perfect teenage girl
And everyone thought highly of her
And she tried everyday
With endless drive
To make the grade
Then one day
She woke up to find
The perfect girl
Had lost her mind
Once barely taking a break
Now she sleeps the days away
She helplessly stands by
It's meaningless to try
All she wants to do is cry
No one ever knew she was so sad
Cause even though she gets so high
And thinks that she can fly
She will fall out of the sky
But in the face of misery
She found hopefulness
Feeling betterng
Set on overdrive
She had weathered
This depression
Much to her advantage
She resumed her frantic pace
Boundless power
Midnight hour
She enjoyed the race
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By TheSilentMan
The setlist proposed by the group, however, remains in my opinion the biggest flaw of this discographic release.
Portnoy is overflowing everywhere... Petrucci barely manages to play 4 notes not at the speed of light... Ruddess is the true revelation.
