Dansk version

All right then. The next time I feel like attending a course in counting in difficult musical maneouvres I’ll probably attend another evening class than “An evening with Dream Theater" – like this evening’s séance was titled.

But of course you’d be a complete ignoramus for not acknowledging that these five Americans both individually and as a band belong in the absolute elite af musicians. But you also have to be a totally fundamentalistic fan for not realizing that Dream Theater’s math-and-method attitude to music holds a level of passion and soul of a brick and about the same level of playfulness.

And that’s a crying shame actually dealing with an obviouly talented entity like Dream Theater. Especially having experienced Deep Purple – no slouches either when talking musical virtuosity – the week before in the same hall delivering said virtuosity smiling deliver a concert packed with playful improvisation and pure contagious mettle.
I see no reason why Dream Theater shouldn’t do the same and by that token make the manouvres on stage that much more human. So to speak.

Studies
However, that’s obviously not the Dream Theater way. On the contrary the concert was more of a close study of the musicians’ attendance to their fretboards, drums and keyboards. All of it presented on the stage-screen where every one of guitarist John Petrucci’s and keyboardplayer Jordan Rudess’ musical excursions were shown through out the evening.

Unfortunately as opposed to the Purple concert DT deliver with clenched teeth and a level of focus on perfectionism that make no allowances for music as a living, touching entity. But that of course is difficult when you hold same music in a stranglehold of perfectionism.

Put another way: when you after just two songs and despite the talent on show on stage encounter  two of Denmark’s finest guitarists in the lobby who confessed they “missed Angus Young" and when a close friend (and DT fan!) tells you that after all this perfectionism he could really do with a run through The Ramones’ catalogue ... well then ... yeah, you know where I’m going with this and where they were going:
What was the urgency and the very soul in what Dream Theater delivered in The Falconér Hall? All being said and done this display in virtuosity for the sake of same was just too much.

Wrong church?
Of course you could just say that I attended the wrong church and was among the wrong congregation this evening.
That’s fair and more power to those who might’ve had a brillant experience at the concert. But really; I have nothing against Dream Theater and I thoroughly enjoyed their latest self-titled album but I could easily have had stayed at home and enjoyed the band on my stereo.

Because and unfortunately the sound mix was terrible through much of the concert. And I think you’ll all concede that music with such detail as Dream Theater’s demands a flawless sound mix.

I wish that the congregation at this evenings musical math-class had at least been granted that.

Three stars for Dream Theater for their considerabel musical talent – the other three are missing because talent administered the way Dream Theater does it becomes plain overkill at length.