DREAM THEATER PROG METAL AT MANCHESTER APOLLO 17TH FEBRUARY 2023

February 18, 2023
International Concert Reviews, UK Concert Reviews
by Billy Seagrave Photographer/Writer

Billy Seagrave headed to the O2 Apollo Manchester for an evening of Progressive rock/metal, noted for being one of the early progenitors of the progressive metal genre. An Evening with Dream Theater awaits.

First to grace the stage tonight where Arion, a Finnish symphonic/power metal band formed of Lassi Vääränen (vocals), Iivo Kaipainen (guitars), Arttu Vauhkonen (keyboards), Gege Velinov (bass) and Topias Kupiainen (drums). They gained their first bit of fame from the Finnish national final of the Eurovision Song Contest with their song “Lost” in 2013. With a powerful entrance and tremendous hair flips, the crowd knew they were in for a real treat tonight. With impressive lighting, vocals and instrument playing, the night was off to an incredible start. The crowd were duly warmed up and ready for tonight’s main event.

Set List

1/ No One Stands in My Way

2/ I’m Here to Save You

3/ Punish You

4/ Unforgivable

5/ Bloodline

6/ At the Break of Dawn

Progressive Metal pioneers DREAM THEATER Theater – James LaBrie (Vocals), John Petrucci (Guitars), Jordan Rudess (Keyboards), John Myung (Bass), and Mike Mangini (Drums) – share a unique bond with one of the most passionate fan bases around the globe as evidenced by their two GRAMMY Award nominations and 15 million records sold worldwide. On their 15th full-length and second studio release for Inside Out Music / Sony Music, ‘A View from The Top Of The World’ the band continues to challenge themselves and push their musical envelope – something they have done for over 30-years performing together.

After a 30-minute change over, as 8:30 pm approached it was time to awaken the masters. Lights dimmed and intro rolled, and the band took to the stage launching in to “The Alien”. The virtuosity of the musicians transcending time, they were on the button as usual: mind-bogglingly, precisely executed. James Labrie joining his bandmates two minutes into the song he sounds better than ever and delivered a great performance.

It was followed by the song “6:00”, which transported the audience right back into the band’s early career in 1994. This song, which is a classic DREAM THEATER song with its catchy melodies, was probably the shortest song on the setlist on the night. “Sleeping Giant” such as “Bridges in the sky” came next and the latter is known to have some darker tunes. Several times that night, guitarist John Petrucci didn’t miss the chance to be the centre of attention next to the singer James LaBrie and to present his know-how to the crowd.

Even after over three decades together as a band, these musicians remain at the top of their game, playing mind-bendingly complex music as close to perfect as humanly possible. “Solidarity shell” and “About to Crash” are delivered impeccably, whilst the grandeur of “Losing time/Grand final”, sees the band continuing the relentless pace, showing a grace and stamina, that must be commended as much as it should be admired. Dream Theatre are known for their complex mix of keyboard and guitar solos. Again, the band performed these songs brilliantly, and they sounded just as good, if not better than the recorded versions. “A View from the Top of the World” brought the set to an end.

Returning for the encore, to rapturous applause, the band embarked on epic finale to the show, with a mammoth 20 minute plus version of “The count of Tuscany”, it was breath-taking, leaving you acknowledging a set that has delivered for a solid two hours.