Dream Theater gig review

With the departure of drummer Mike Portnoy from the Dream Theater family, and new album A Dramatic Turn of Events not due for release until September, this show was something a bit different for the fans in Wolverhampton.

Drawing a setlist from their extensive back catalogue, Dream Theater made sure that there was something to please everyone over the night. Many people were also eager to see new drummer Mike Mangini (who has previously played with Annihilator, Extreme and Steve Vai) show what he could do, and he certainly didn’t disappoint.

“Under a Glass Moon” kicked off a set that pulled no punches, with a blistering version of “Endless Sacrifice” with a, for lack of a better term, ‘play-off’ between keyboardist Jordan Rudess and guitarist John Petrucci drawing cheers from the crowd.

As the rest of the band departed the stage, leaving Mangini to work his magic on the captivated audience, it soon became clear how Mangini had beaten other drummer-hopefuls to the role (if you want to see more, the “Spirit carries on” documentary is still available on YouTube). Kicking out an unforgiving drum solo so loud and fast it left you wondering how one man was able to manage it without an extra set of limbs, Mangini was greeted with a roar of acceptance and approval that it was hard to see how the show could get better from there.

But get better it did. Classic songs “Peruvian Skies” and “The Great Debate” made an appearance, before the band launched into “On the Backs of Angels”, taken from the upcoming album, to the delight of everyone watching.

As the night started to draw to a close, there was one highly-anticipated song that had yet to make an appearance. As the encore began, and the opening chords of “Metropolis Part 1” rang out through the venue, it was greeted with one of the biggest cheers of the night, proving once again, that you can’t beat the classics.

Overall, an amazing show, and a hint of what Dream Theater still have to offer.