Live at Luna Park review (with brief John Petrucci interview)

Dream Theater

Live At Luna Park (Eagle Rock)

Rating: 7 out of 10

The progressive kings prove they’re still the masters

When Mike Portnoy walked out of Dream Theater three years ago, he left a gaping void far greater than that of 'just' a drummer; he was their founding member, their captain and more often than not, their voice. But time has shown Dream Theater safeguard their dynasty as undisputed kings of progressive metal with great vigour, in both writing and on stage over their 15-month-long A Dramatic Tour Of Events. Their eighth multimedia release captures two nights on the final leg of the tour in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the 8,000-capacity Luna Park arena and is the first to include Mike Mangini, a drummer who, against many odds, was embraced by their legions as a replacement worthy enough of the grand task at hand.

Opener ‘Bridges In The Sky’ is a masterclass in musical expertise, of course, but it's also one that epitomises Dream Theater's flair for crafting anthems within intricate webs of organised chaos. Early classic ‘6:00’ gets unearthed for the first time on these shores, and by the time a grinning Jordan Rudess walks off his riser during ‘The Dark Eternal Night’, keytar in hand, the show is in full swing. After the inevitable five-minute drum solo (probably edited down, to be fair), another lost gem is unveiled – this time ‘A Fortune In Lies’ from their 1989 debut – to raucous cheers across the arena. Admittedly the crowd are fairly subdued compared to footage of other metal acts conquering South America, but for a Dream Theater show, this is about as lively as it gets.

There's a brief acoustic set with live strings composed by Eren Basbug (a Turkish composer whose orchestrations of Dream Theater's music had been scouted online by the band themselves), which, despite the harsh compression on James LaBrie's voice during the quieter parts, show a more human side to their metro nomic precision. As always, it is John Petrucci's guitar solo that is greeted with the loudest cheers of the night, summarised by a heartfelt tribute from his frontman, praising the shred guru's ability to move men to tears as well as an odd quip about how women are more in touch with their emotions.

The grace and majesty exuded by Dream Theater over the years is most evident on tracks like ‘Surrounded’ and ‘The Spirit Carries On’, with the band looking calm and composed under the magnifying glass of softer dynamics. The camera-work is up close and personal, and coupled with bonus footage such as warm-up routines, soundcheck and even the pre-show meal (no really), there's more than enough to sink your teeth into. The Blu-ray also features six multi-angle options on ‘Outcry’, should the director's cut not suffice, and the deluxe edition comes with a 60-page hardback photo book. Live At Luna Park might not be Dream Theater's finest live release, but it is one that contains enough rarities and bonus footage to warrant a place in any fan's collection.

—Amit Sharma

Sidebar

John Petrucci [Guitar]

Why did you choose to film this in South America?

"We always wanted to shoot a DVD in South America. Going out there we knew we had so many incredible fans and our concerts there have been some of the biggest, craziest and most intense we've ever put on. No one's really seen that side of our career, except for the people out there.

And why Argentina in particular?

JP: It could've been any of those countries: Brazil is great too, but Argentina was chosen because we knew they had the perfect venue for us, which was set up for two nights. It was also far enough into the tour, so we knew the show would be really dialed in!

How have things changed now that Mike Mangini is in the band?

JP: The biggest difference is in the group dynamic – we're at the start of the whole new adventure with Mike. We've become this even, unified force. Our personal power has turned into a group energy, which we all felt and everyone responded to.

What makes this different to all your other DVDs?

JP: This one just had a bit more going on within the world of DT at that moment in time; we felt it was very important to capture that. We told [director] Mike Leonard that there's a lot of visual interaction with Mike Mangini. He really tried to pick up on those moments where you can see the communication and almost hear what we're saying to each other. Plus with the whole 360º view, you can watch the show as Mike and see John Myung looking at him making funny faces – it's pretty cool!

Box

Curtain Calls – Four Classic Live Dream Theater Documents

Images And Words: Live In Tokyo – Atco (1993)

Recorded over one night in Japan at Tokyo's Nakano Sun Plaza, Live In Tokyo is the best footage you'll find of the band in their early years. The DVD also comes with the making of their Images And Words breakthrough, giving fans a rare glimpse of history in the making.

Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York – Elektra (2001)

Quite possibly the definitive Dream Theater live offering, this gold-certified release sees the band concluding their Metropolis 2000 tour at New York's Roseland Ballroom, Performing Scenes From A Memory in its entirety. Worth a watch for Portnoy's haircut alone.

Score – Rhino (2006)

It's not every day a band gets to celebrate their 20-year anniversary, so a "very special evening with Dream Theater'' was made even more special by the symphonic grandiloquence of the orchestra from the Octavarium album. The release went platinum within months.

Chaos In Motion 2007-2008 – Roadrunner (2008)

This time compiling footage across a tour instead of one single night, Chaos In Motion documents the band's world trek in support of Systematic Chaos, including recordings from Bangkok, Vancouver, Rotterdam and Buenos Aires (Luna Park, no less).