by Paul J. Pelkonen
Dream Theater: (l.-r. John Myung, Jordan Rudels, James LaBrie, Mike Mangini, John Petrucci)
in concert Friday night at the Beacon Theater. Photo by the author.
Guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung remain fleet instrumentalists, playing long intertwining lines with an ease that bespeaks their conservatory education. Kevin Moore and Mike Portnoy are gone: Mr. Moore left in the 1990s and Mr. Portnoy departed under a black cloud in 2011. Their replacements are keyboard wizard Jordan Rudess and drummer Mike Mangini, who has the first Mike's chops but not his personality. However, the biggest flaw is in front. James LaBrie's tenor is no longer smooth: it is worn y time, injury and repeated heavy use. Though he summoned reserves for some big moments, it is a pale reflection of his younger self.
That's less of a problem when singing newer material, which is adjusted for the vocal cord injury the singer suffered in 1994. However, this tour, built around a complete performance of Images and Words was a disaster waiting to happen, forcing the Canadian native to push himself back into that old stratospheric territory where the notes are high, the air is thin, and the audience, many of whom have seen this band many times before, are less inclined to be forgiving.
The concert had no opening act. The first set focused on later material from the band's catalog. Playing in front a windowpane backdrop, the band sounded relaxed and confident as they slammed into "The Dark Eternal Night" from the Systematic Chaos album. The Godzilla stomp of the verses yielded to complicated arpeggios and rising melodic lines tossed from instrument to instrument in a difficult juggling act. Deep cuts followed: "The Bigger Picture" (from the self-titled album) "Hell's Kitchen" (the latter with a fragment of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds") and "To Live Forever", a b-side from the Awake era.
Train of Thought remains the heaviest Dream theater record and its leadoff track "As I Am" might be the best pure heavy metal song this band ever wrote. As if to acknowledge that, a glance between guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung led the band to suddenly switch songs, playing the opening riff, first verse and first chorus from Metallica's "Enter Sandman." This galvanized the audience, and jumped the energy level for the rest of the show. Without a pause, the band switched back to the more angular "As I Am riff. The first half ended with "Breaking All Illusions" the blowout track from A Dramatic Turn of Events, the first record with Mike Mangini on drums.
Mr. LaBrie's vocal problems were exposed in the second set. "Pull Me Under" had the singer struggling with either a throat ailment or a faulty cordless microphone. He pressed hard, producing a soft whisper in the first verse of "Another Day" which turned into a steely yelp at the crescendo. After struggling through Take the Time, he took a long break as the players soloed, retreating from the stage. "Surrounded" was an improvement: the song is difficult but written in such a way that each note rises in pitch: like singing your way up a ladder to the high dive at the end. He took the last part very slowly, caressing the vocal line with help from Mr. Rudess' piano.
"Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper" was next. This is one of the band's signature tracks, and for once it was performed in its entirety. (The torturous second verse with its multiple high notes is usually omitted in a live performance.) After these big notes, the players slipped into the instrumental middle part only to take a break again, this time for a lengthy Mike Mangini drum solo. "Under a Glass Moon" followed with Mr. LaBrie stabbing at the high notes and sometimes missing. "Wait for Sleep" (with a Jordan Rudess piano solo) and "Learning to Live" rounded out the album, the last been the strongest performance of the set. As an encore the band offered the massive title track to A Change of Seasons but most fans took out their phones to look up what song it was.
