Dream Theater
Setlist
Pull
Me Under
Strange Deja Vu
Through My Words
Fatal Tragedy
Misunderstood
Lie
The Great Debate
Peruvian Skies
The Spirit Carries On
Take The Time (Rush Working Man and By-tor and the Snowdog
Teaser)
My
venture started one Friday 8/9/02 morning when I got an email from KNAC.com
saying that I’ve won a couple of tickets for DT’s gig in Albuquerque, NM and
a couple of aftershow passes, and a copy of their latest release Six Degrees
of Inner Turbulence.
I
waited impatiently until Wednesday 8/14… My friend Bravlio and I where going
to travel 5 hours to watch DT perform (we are from the Juarez, MX – El Paso,
TX borderland area). Actually, I was going to see DT and he was going to watch
Satriani play. This was going to be my third time watching DT perform. Anyways,
we got to the venue very early, so we just hang around at Albuquerque.
We
went back to the venue, The Journal Pavilion at 6pm, and got in, and watched
everything there. It was a pretty big venue, which actually sits about 12,000
people.
So
now: time for the show.
King’s
X started playing at 6:55 pm. This was my first time I actually heard something
from this band. I knew Ty Tabor’s work in Platypus and Jelly Jam, which are
projects that I really like. Anyways, they played a 5 to 6 song set. I don’t
know the setlist, but this guys really rocked! Their lyrics are great, and the
musicianship and talent of this band really blew my mind off. I think King’s X
is a really good band out there. They have their unique style and sound. Thumbs
up for King’s X, they waved goodbye, and the countdown for Dream Theater
began. 935pm. My wait had come to an end. The SFAM outro tape started playing,
and then the band started playing the chords for Pull Me Under. This was my
first time I’ve had the chance in hearing it live, so it felt like a special
moment. The band kept playing on through Strange Déjà Vu, Through my Words and
Fatal Tragedy, before James spoke to the people at Albuquerque (DT’s first
time around here). I was looking at the people around me and they were actually
enjoying DT. Dream Theater doesn’t have much exposure around this areas of the
country, but the crowd was really impressed. Misunderstood was the next song,
first time I’ve listened to it. It was awesome. DT started playing Lie through
the ending of Misunderstood. Back to Awake, great memories, great songs. People
were in awe when they saw John Petrucci solo. The next song was The Great
Debate, I guess my all-time favorite song along with
ACOS
and 6DoIT. I think at this show I was more interested in the reaction of the
crowd present at the show. People were actually chatting about DT, whispers like
“look at the bass player. He’s really good”, or “did you see what the
keyboard player did?” or “nice clear voice”. It was pretty nice hearing
all those comments from the crowd. Next, the lights went down, and suddenly John
Myung came along with his fretless bass. Peruvian Skies was the next song.
I’ve never tought I would hear this one live. It was awesome. As the song
ended, lights went out, and James brought a chair and Jordan started playing the
intro for The Spirit Carries On. It was nice to see the crowd pull out their
lighters through the song. Take the Time was the last song. It was great to hear
something from the Images and Words era. They ended the song with a Rush Teaser
(Working Man, and By-Tor and the Snowdog). It was an excellent jam. The concert
ended and my friend and I went to the backstage area. We were meeting Dream
Theater! Actually, I was because my friend was not into Dream Theater (but
anyways, a great experience for a 1st Dream Theater gig). I was
getting nervous, and impatient at the same thing. At last, the guys came.
Jordan, John M., John P., Mike and James. My favorite band, my inspiration for
life. I’m not exaggerating here. I find Dream Theater as one of my
inspirations in my life. They are still doing what they love to do, excel in
their skills, and keep going with their thing, not thinking about the current
music world, which is all commercial, and most of the bands are that are out
there are in the business for the money, and not for the true appreciation of
the art music. Anyways, I won’t get into that argument here. I got taken
pictures with all of the guys! I couldn’t believe it. I was speechless for
most of the time that I was there. I actually said to James that I was goo-goo
from the James Labrie Forum. I think I sounded a bit stupid, lol, but I enjoyed
the time I was with them. I got DT’s program signed by the guys, as well as
the SdoIT cd. It was around 10 pm and we went back to our seats to watch
Satriani play. I’m not into Satriani but he sure plays great. We left before
Satriani ended. We were exhausted and still we had to drive back to El Paso, and
Juarez. I guess this was one of the best days of my life, If not, THE BEST. I
enjoyed a great night of music, three great bands, and met Dream Theater. The
venue’s sound was great. The crowd was really into the show, and there were
like 10000 people! It was an unforgettable night.