Dream Theater - Hovet, Stockholm

Well well, I had high expectations for this one. Small arena, maybe 5000 in the audience, not more. When we arrived we positioned ourselves some 7-8 rows from the stage, seeing everything that took place on it.

They started the show with Root of all Evil, no surprise. It's an opener, although a boring track, it's still an opener. What struck me during the song was how bad the sound was, I was rather pissed to say the least. My god, Myung, was barely audible at all. All the other instruments sounded ok, but without Myung's godlike bass accompanying them it sounded rather dull.

And so it went for most of the first part. Lots of songs from the new album (which I consider not-to-good), These Walls, U2:ish I walk beside you etc etc. NO Panic Attack, which I personally think's the best trick together with Octavarium.
The tracklist of the first part was in general disappointing. The only song they played from "Awake" was mediocre Caught in a Web. Learning to Live was a gem though. But still, Myung played his bass in vain, his fingers leapt across the string without emitting more than a silent hum.

Then a break of fifteen minutes arrived, and then the second set started. They started it off with Glass Prison, and the energy of the audience started to increase, that's one catchy track. They went on with more less interesting tracks, among them a track from their first band, Majesty. Myung was still tuned down. The energy had decreased to it's low level again. Sacrificed Sons, came and went. But then one of their biggest highlights since "Six Degrees..." kicked in, Octavarium! Now that's my absolute favorite "track" from the new album, and  it sounded good live. Also the bass sound had been fixed a little, albeit still not being good enough.

After Octavarium, which in my opinion rather saved the whole gig, they played their bonus. And NOW the public went crazy. Pull Me Under/Metropolis Pt1 - Medley. This is what I wanted to hear. DT at their best: Images And Words. Me and everybody around went crazy and the temperature rose.

Unfortunately after this the concert was over. And although feeling rather euphoric after the grand finale with Octavarium, Pull Me Under and Metropolis, I must say I had expected more. After all the discharge came at the end of the concert, much too late.

With an average setlist and a sound which should've been much better, I give this a 3/5. I would not have gone through the problem of making it to Stockholm and getting a place to sleep to see this if I had known how it would be.



sh*t I use "rather" a lot.


Edited by Friamannen