note this is a review of the show in February, 2000 – not the one in August that was released as Live Scenes From New York

Dream Theater – Roseland Ballroom, New York City

Walking into a sold out Roseland Ballroom minutes before Dream Theater was to take the stage, it didn’t take an honor student from the Berklee School of Music to realize that something special was about to take place. Because before the lights dimmed and the clock started ticking to welcome the first strains of Scenes From A Memory – the band would perform their latest opus in its entirety over the next 90 minutes – it was impossible not to be struck by the vast expanse of the audience . Here’s a band that radio, MTV and the popular press seem to go out of their way to ignore, yet there wasn’t a ticket to be found. More than 3000 music fans, there to see Dream Theater – Not because the band is fashionable, not because the media dictates that the band is the next up-and-coming flavor of the month, but because they are a band. A breathtaking band, and over the course of the next two hours, each and every member of the audience was reminded why.

Listening to Dream Theater is like listening to jazz for metalheads, as they make the music as challenging to enjoy, as it is to perform. They write music, not soundbytes, and they write songs that develop with every note, rather than basking in repetition and simplicity. Granted, it may not be for everyone, but for music fans that allow themselves to submit to the fluidity of the band’s orchestrations, the experience can be without rival. Individually, John Petrucci’s guitars are masterful, John Myung’s bass follows suit with poetic rhythms, Mike Portnoy commands the drumkit as if he’s leading a superpower into battle, keyboardist Jordan Rudess is nothing short of brilliant, and James LaBrie is a vocal virtuoso. Together, they make their craft look so easy it’s almost laughable, each playing lead to the others’ accompaniment, soloing just long enough for it to stay interesting and knowing exactly when to back down and let another instrument take the helm. And they never forget the song.

“But they take themselves too seriously,” cry the cynics, “It’s supposed to be music, not rocket science.” They may choose to stray as far from the absurdity of Blink 182-styled stage banter as possible, but they aren’t so square that they’ve forgotten how to crack a smile . Following a salsa-laced keyboard solo late in of the tail end of their concept album, the six television screens that flanked the stage read, “Jordon’s Also Available For Parties and Weddings.” The lights dim, then rise back up again as the band returns, spot-on, for the big Pink Floyd ending as they wrap the album with “Finally Free.” They return to the stage to “Peruvian Skies,” Portnoy behind the kit in on Ace Frehley mask, and rally through a 30-minute encore of fan favorites that include “Pull Me Under” – the song that, ever so briefly, put them on the commercial map – a career-spanning medley, and closer “Take The Time.” Once again, stunning.

And as the sold out crowd took their time leaving, we left satisfied, because we all knew that we’d experienced something timeless and special – A great band, performing great music. Unfortunately, that’s something that seems to happen less and less these days.

—Paul Gargano