If Washington six-piece Periphery didn’t know this before the start of this tour, they probably do now. They try – and hard – during their 40-minute slot, but a largely disinterested sea of faces greets them.
Periphery do have the advantage of public endorsements from DT men Labrie and Petrucci, and they are far from awful – indeed songs like “Icarus Lives” and epic set closer “Caravan” hint at immense talent, but the big stages aren’t quite for them at this point in their career.
The same is not true of the world’s biggest – and best – Prog Metallers. Dream Theater. They recovered from the shock loss of drummer and founder member, Mike Portnoy, in rather stunning fashion. First they recruited sticksman extraordinaire Mike Mangini and then unleashed their “A Dramatic Turn of Events” record last autumn. And in case you thought Portnoy might be just too big a void to fill, their show at Wolves Civic Hall last July was one of the great gigs of the 21st century and if tonight’s festivities don’t quite measure up to that then you have to say its pretty close.
Kicking off with “Bridges in the Sky,” one of six songs aired from their new opus, the New York are on stage for over two hours of nigh on flawless metal.
Rather like last year it is (almost) a career spanning set, but as if to emphasise the quality and depth of their material, it features only one track (“On The Backs Of Angels”) that was played on the last jaunt.
Particular highlights are many, but “6.00” from 1994’s “Awake” album, “The Root of All Evil,” and “Outcry” sounded superb. However, it was perhaps “War Inside My Head” and “The Test Stumped Them All” that showcased the peculiar talents of the group best of all. Both these tracks originally featured as part of the 45-minute title track to “Six Shades Of Inner Turbulence” but here, separated and used as stand alone songs, they are phenomenal.
It hardly needs saying that the band are technically flawless musicians, but aside from Mangini’s jaw dropping drum solo and Petrucci’s blues licks to usher in a triumphant “The Spirit Carries On” they are content to allow the songs speak for themselves.
Frontman James LaBrie flexes his pipes during the short acoustic section, while keyboard wizard Jordan Rudess, perhaps the most extrovert of the group, performs his mad-conductor’s role with some aplomb – and of course bassist John Myung keeps his head down throughout and just gets on with the job.
The evening climax’s with “Pull Me Under” – the bands one big US hit – and whilst you can, if you like, have some minor quibbles – nothing from the “Black Clouds and Silver Linings” album is played and it could have been a touch louder, one thing cannot be argued about: Dream Theater are the best in the world at what they do, and tonight they were all but perfect.
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