Words – @djsedick
Photos – @photo.amai
An act whose 40-year tenure brings with it a reputation to uphold and the weight of expectation
This is an anniversary show too, so take all that and at least double it
As the opening strains of ‘Metropolis’ ring out across the room, the show opens with lasers tracing lightning strikes and the band’s text logo across a curtain stretching the length of the stage and depicting the album art from ‘Quarantienne’
Anticipation fills the air as the audience can hear the band but not yet see them. The curtain drops dramatically and is efficiently moved aside, allowing the photographers into the pit, and we’re on
These guys are tight, like really tight
The massive LED screen at the back of the stage fluctuates between art deco, steampunk animations, stylised geometries and sci-fi dreamscapes that all feel like they are out of a Bioshock sizzle reel or an Alex Proyas or Jeunet/Caro film trailer, City of Lost Children vibes.
The entire venue is seated today, an unusual thing to see at an arena rock show, but it makes sense, the bands vintage is also that of their longest standing fans (we’re not all spring chickens anymorE, even though the denial is real) and that has been accounted for however, by the second song the entire floor is on their feet anyway.
It’s pretty special to observe such a mixed demographic audience – this guy is wearing a tour shirt that is probably older than the couple sitting next to him – but this is what happens when musicians are so masterful at what they are doing. Good music is timeless.
At the end of the third song, vocalist James LaBrie takes a moment to address the crowd for the first time, commenting about the last 15 months that they have spent on the road and touching on how happy they are to have drummer Mike Portnoy back in the band before thanking the audience and making a crack about coming back for the 100th anniversary tour.
FYI, fellas, I will not be open to standing up by then
Talking done, they launch into ‘The Mirror’. The screen graphics have changed and are now cycling through what appear to be neoclassical marble statues, People trapped in mirrors, reflections moving independently of their subject.
The creepy aspects of the visuals are very effective in portraying the story behind the song, and I’m realising how close to rock opera this iconic prog band often moves as the visuals help contextualise in a way that listening alone doesn’t.
Jordan Rudess and his keyboard seem to be constantly moving, which is very interesting, and his instrument occasionally has a digital display across the front of it, which shows the audience what keys he is hitting, which is also super cool.
I also, at this point, realise I’ve been watching Portnoy hitting the sides of his head with both fists as part of the beat he is playing. Bass player John Myung cruises around the stage exuding typical chill bass player vibes while guitarist (and the bands long term producer).
John Petrucci swaps between wedging the foldbacks under his foot so they can’t run away and prowling around the space like a caged big cat. I’m close enough to see the smile, though, he’s having fun.
Next up is ‘The Enemy Inside’ from self titled album, and the screen graphics have changed to psychedelic patterns that make me feel like I might be stoned – weird considering this is the first show that I have noted the absence of that particular aroma. A little ‘Wish You Were Here’ guitar fill, and Jordan Rudess is off the traditional keyboard and into a keytar to join the others at the front of the stage.
Now, everyone but Portnoy is on the foldbacks as a bit of ‘Wherever I May Roam’ gets riffed into the song as well. Solid nods to Pink Floyd and Metallica.
Back from intermission, and I notice a demon mask has been added to the mic stand.
The song is ‘Midnight Messiah’ from the latest album ‘PARASOMNIA’, and as the screen is displaying ghostly figures and terrified humans, I make a note to myself to look up Sleep Paralysis demons, which I was going to do for this write-up, but it’s already getting too long, so I’ll spare you.
The audience uses their phone torches like they would have used cigarette lighters in the band’s early years.
‘Bend The Clock’ then ‘The Shadowman Incident’ both off the latest album, and I’m not sure what inspired the themes of these tracks, but between the discordant music box intro of the former and the supremely creepy Hatmanesque visuals and repeated clock motifs on the screen, I’m getting the sense that one or all of them may need some sage.
Or salt, or a priest, or a witch
Petrucci pats the giant inflatable shadowman with the glowing eyes that is now taking up a quarter of the stage like he’s rubbing a good doggo on the belly. Okay, it’s probably him who needs the Palo Santo then, the rest of the set becomes a mesmerising blur.
I realise that we’re listening to ‘Octavarium’, which is why I’m mesmerised – it’s a 24-minute-long novel in the shape of a rock song. Incredible musicianship on full display with the screens displaying Sky Captain sci-fi.
Did I mention that these guys are tight?
The screens display images of hospital beds, Electric pulses through the synapses, and doctors looking down at you: a false finish and the crowd chanting for one more song.
These maestros come back on stage and knock out ‘The Spirit Carries On’
And the non-cigarette lighters are out again
And finally -‘ Pull Me Under’
My friend Indi, who is keeping me company this evening, is ecstatic
I was happy ages ago; it’s impossible not to be when you know that you are witnessing master craftsmen at work. What a privilege to witness it for oneself.
A huge thanks goes out to the crew at Margaret Court Arena, Destroy All Lines and Deathproof for having us!
