Dream Theater
Live Scenes From New York

THE REVIEW

"Click, clock, click clock..." the voice of the hypnotherapist, the first, poignant notes of "Regression"... it feels like a dream... but it's all real... The live scenes of the "Theater of Dreams" took place on August 30, 2000, at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, for those who listened to "Metropolis Pt II", it's almost impossible not to shed tears in front of the so familiar sounds, reproduced in the engaging live atmosphere... it seems like a dream from which we never want to wake up... we are about to rediscover the scared face of Nicholas, the tear-streaked face of Victoria... the ghosts of "The Miracle" and "The Sleeper", the dream is finally reality...

When you hear the first strums of "Regression", you immediately notice that the legendary John Petrucci is more in shape than ever... that James Labrie's voice still makes you dream as always, even if it shows a bit the years... and the first track flows through your body... up to "Overture 1928"... impeccably performed by Dream Theater... it's them... the human metronome drummer Mike Portnoy, who with his double bass drum rhythms will give us the rhythm to dream... now you also hear John Myung, his Yamaha RBX JM2 now has a much clearer sound, while a fretless bass punctuates some songs, Jordan Rudess, the keyboardist perhaps no longer young, but surely highly technical and in my opinion better than the previous Kevin Moore, whom you don't miss even on tracks like "Metropolis I". And here is "Strange Déjà Vu", performed perhaps a bit too heavily, but still a beautiful track... now Jordan Rudess offers us the magnificent interlude "Through My Words" which always makes me sigh... and now it's time for "Fatal Tragedy" whose first part is proposed in deeper tones, contributing to making it dramatic in tone, while the second instrumental part is played without a flaw, and always manages to engage you... now the hypnotherapist returns, and the notes of "Beyond This Life" return, a song perhaps not very catchy, but which surely offers extraordinary vocal performances and arpeggios that move you by two and a half minutes in... divine solos, to enjoy without reservations... atmospheres to taste and let yourself be carried away by... this is pure Progressive Metal! Here's Now "John & Teresa Solo Spot"... where Petrucci does lightning-fast solos, but it's not just technique... it's also soul... everything feels strange when you hear the background gospel choir, which, in my opinion, somewhat dismantled the magical atmosphere of the CD... now, here's the little Petrucci solo, and here comes the dream again: "Through Her Eyes"... impossible not to be moved, before the most beautiful, saddest song that has evoked such strong memories and feelings in me, the sweet rhythm of Mike and John's notes make us thank Dream Theater for giving us such a beautiful song... and here's the wonderful "Home" with its rhythms, its choirs, and the words that so recall the first Metropolis presented in an oriental key... beautiful, it grips your soul, your heart, the technical level is very high, but speaking of technique... "The Dance For Eternity" which is nothing but technique, there's not much soul, but you need such a song to understand who you're listening to... but, at the bass solo moment... you hear few confused notes... here's another flaw in live performances... the bass is almost inaudible... a great pity... now you change the CD... and a solo by Rudess brings to mind "One Last Time" and you feel lost... just like Nicholas, in front of the melody of the song, as in "The Spirit Carries On", you're about to shed a tear before the choir when you feel that the choir... has been transformed into a gospel... I'm disappointed... that song is a bit of a piece of my life, but that choir shattered the atmosphere... but now it's time to dream with "Finally Free", a magnificent song... my favorite... in that song lies everything, Nicholas's secret... and you find yourself moved... you can't stay calm... it's too beautiful, it conveys everything, that song is my life... and now what will there be? You hear shakers... a Rock Organ... it's "Metropolis Pt I"... the genesis, the legend... where for the first time we began to dream with Victoria... it leaves you stunned, played with the 7-string guitar, it loses a bit due to the bass solo at volume 2... and now here are some wonderful songs, but that haven't conveyed much to me... "The Mirror", then "Just Let Me Breathe" "Acid Rain" finally "Caught In A New Millennium" they are nice songs... but when you hear the sweet notes of "Another Day", the song I adore so much for its beauty and liveliness, you tend to forget a bit... finally here is a solo by Jordan Rudess, which feels very much like a touch and go, very classical, surely beautiful, perhaps not very original... and here you change the CD again, and the trilogy of "A Man Beside Itself" surrounds you like light rain... the triumphant "Erotomania", with its staggering technique leaves you breathless... and here is "Voices", a small jewel of the Live, embellished with Petrucci's wrist-breaking solo... it releases you just in time to be carried away by the wonderful "The Silent Man" with its notes that always make you cry a little, with its sweetest guitars... but we are at the end... after the beautiful "Learning To Live",here is "A Change Of Seasons" its 24 minutes of song that span poignant arpeggios and sustained rhythms... and it's over... you're still breathless... you exclaim: "What a pity about that gospel choir and the bass.." but in your heart, you have this new way of listening to Metropolis, those songs, those solos, that made the history of Dream Theater... and now they are part of your soul... "Now The Miracle and The Sleeper know that the third is love"