Dream Theater in San Francisco

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   Words cannot describe what I just saw. It was utterly... perfect so to speak. The intensity, the volume, the sheer power, it was all there in San Francisco tonight. I remember standing in line outside the venue when a homeless person on the street said, "Damn, this must be a good show" and she was right. The place in question, the Warfield theater in the heart of San Francisco, was given another sold out Dream Theater extravaganza. My brother and I found our spot in the theater, on the left side with a clear view of the stage in sight. We waited for a half an hour, and I spent the time talking with the guy in front of us about Neil Peart's two books, Ghost Rider and Traveling Music. Then, the opening synths kicked in and the theater became dim. We all screamed with joy as a video of Dream Theater's history was played before our eyes. Then that droning F came like a shockwave, it had begun.
The show began with The Root of All Evil, a very powerful rendition that sent shockwaves (literally) through the theater. After that, a song from the old Majesty days called Another Won was played. This song was a powerful metal anthem with nice odd timed breaks between the verses. Next was Afterlife, in my opinion one of the weaker tracks on When Dream and Day Unite, but it was none the less brilliant, with Petrucci giving it his best. Next was Take the Time, played perfectly. It was followed by Caught in a Web, one of the heaviest songs of the night. I remember feeling the pulsating bass drum of Portnoy during the intro and the quality of LaBrie's voice. After that, Peruvian Skies was played. After the first verse, they went straight into Wish You Were Here, with Rudess giving a nice keyboard solo in place of Gilmour's classic one. Towards the end of the song, they changed it up and played Metallica's Wherever I May Roam, with a staggering riff and Petrucci's magnificent lead work over it. After that, they decided to throw in a demo from the Falling Into Infinity sessions Speak to Me. The song was met with a round of applause and a cheer of joy when it was over. It was followed by three Scenes From a Memory songs, Strange Deja Vu, Through My Words, Fatal Tragedy, all were played superbly and I cannot stress how much I was enjoying myself. Next up was About to Crash (Reprise) segued with Losing Time/Grand Finale, and after those songs were played the show went into intermission. I took this time to go and purchase a t-shirt that costed me $35.00.
The second set opened with As I Am, and there was a costume change by LaBrie, Portnoy, and Petrucci (who was wearing a Sting t-shirt in the first set). Myung's droning distorted harmonics rang through out the countless cheers and cries for joy. The song was played perfectly and after the maelstrom of feedback it was followed by These Walls. This rendition was powerful and of better quality than the studio version. It was followed by I Walk Beside You, and was greeted with joy as well as power. LaBrie's voice was earth shattering on this one. Next up was Sacrificed Sons, and Rudess shined on this one, with awesome Continuum and keyboard work. The band was precise and kept the flow of the song perfect. The finale of the second set was an extended take of Octavarium, with Rudess going off on the Continuum for 5 or so minutes until he switched to the lap steel. LaBrie was at the corner of the stage playing the keyboard chords while Rudess was having a ball at the lap steel. Petrucci's glittering double neck soared during the first 5 minutes of its use, and it was replaced thereafter with a shiny white Music Man. During an instrumental section of the song, a video that was very remnicient of Rush's By-Tor and the Snow Dog concert video was played with much delight to the crowd. The epic ended with hands in the air and voices at their highest, we were giving them their first send off of the night. A few minutes later, Rudess returned to the stage and gave us a minor Keyboard Solo that went seemlessly into Wait For Sleep, the crowd ecstatic knowing what song was to be played next. Wait For Sleep was met with mass applausal at its end, and the crowd cheered as the opening synths of Learning to Live were played. The song was played exactly as the studio version, until the first instrumental break, where the song went into a completely different direction. Petrucci's phaser washed cleans were met with Rudess's soaring synths. The song was ended another uproar of applause and joy as they said their final farewell.
Overall, this show was perfect and was well worth the time and money. I cannot stress the quality and integrity of the show and I recommend that you see Dream Theater the next chance you get.
Setlist:
1st Set:

The Root of All Evil 
Another Won 
Afterlife 
Take the Time 
Caught in a Web 
Peruvian Skies 
Speak to Me 
Strange Deja Vu 
Through My Words 
Fatal Tragedy 
About to Crash (Reprise) 
Losing Time/Grand Finale
2nd Set:

As I Am 
These Walls 
I Walk Beside You 
Sacrificed Sons 
Octavarium
Encore:

Keyboard Solo 
Wait for Sleep 
Learning to Live
Fanboy enough?

Edited by Cygnus X-2