Saturday, July 28, 2007

Dream Theater Concert Review

This is my review of the Dream Theater concert Friday night at the Universal Studios Gibson Amphitheatre.

Into Eternity:

Overall, this was a very disappointing set. The audio was so poor that it was often hard to hear the guitars and vocals, enough that at parts it was very difficult to hear the melody/chord progression. Further, the bass wasn't even in the mix. This didn't help their performance, which was the typical thrash/metal deal, which isn't really my taste and a bit boring "hey look, another cram as many notes as possible solo".

Redemption:

This is a band I want to hear more of… some interesting stuff, but some also some more typical metal stuff. They use a lot of odd tempo changes, and are very rhythmically interesting. What I don't get is why bands will have a riff that has very little to do w/ the vocals its behind. It just doesn't work. The audio and lighting was also mediocre for this group… at this point in the show, I was wanting my money back.

Dream Theater:

Wow… just wow. Best dream theater show ever. When the curtain dropped, the band rocked my world. They played over 2 hours, which was surprising because both opening bands played for just under an hour. They played a lot of new stuff, but also covered a lot of older songs. There were a couple I'd never heard live before, like misunderstood, surrounded, and caught in a web. All of the extended solos were very interesting, the stage presence was good, and the band was very tight (though got a bit loose at a few parts). Highlights included Rudess breaking out a keytar and playing a duet w/ Petrucci the way we always wanted him to. Another highlight was the new Dream Theater medley. They have 9 albums now… so its hard to cover a lot of that material in one show. The new medley incorporated parts from the previous 8 albums, including Finally Free and In the Name of God. The Spirit Carries on was a special moment for sure.

While the lighting for the first 2 sets was mediocre (12 intelligent lights), when the curtain dropped fro DT, I was blown away to see over 40 intelligent lights on the ceiling. Consequently, the lighting was very amazing.

Petrucci's tone was also outstanding. He preferred his new wooden design guitar.

Rudess' setup seems to grow each tour. He has a new keyboard stand which is a molded hand point upwards at its base, with the main keyboard resting on its fingers. He also has a second controller and a tone generator attached to the main keyboard, making it quite a monster.

Labrie was also on for most of the night. Sometimes he's hit or miss, but he nailed it.

Walking away from the show, I realize even more so how amazing this band is. Some of the new songs that I'm not as fond of were awesome live. The opening bands really contrasted starkly w/ Dream Theater. Dream Theater has a metal element to them, but it is entirely inaccurate to call them metal. Hearing them side by side w/ metal bands makes this painfully clear. The production of their songs is outstanding, and despite their virtuoso chops, they remain melodic and creative. It is amazing that after 9 albums, they've still got it. That, and each album has such a distinctive tone to it, each so unique and creative. This band truly is the best band ever.


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Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Gospel Worship

Just wanted to note that I'm starting to fall in love with Gospel music...

There's just something about classic hymns being sung with that kind of groove and musicianship. I am all about simplicity, (as in, Dream Theater should not lead worship), but I think simplicity is often used (especially in western non-charismatic churches) to mean simplistic.

What bugs me about Gospel music is often it has a lot of shallowness to it (theologically), but when you mix classic hymns... somehow.. it just feels complete. Its like, here God, we're going to worship you in truth and we're not going to worship you in mediocrity, but with our full persons to our very best.


Anyway.... so the question is,
if music is such a powerful medium to worship God in, why should we not strive for excellence?
What qualifies as distractions (both in being too musical and not enough)?
What does it mean (spiritually) if we are not striving for excellence?
Why is it that the very best (musically) worship teams usually are so weak theologically, and the strongest worship teams (theologically) usually are so poor musically?
How does better music benefit worship? Does it help people worship more, does it glorify God more?

That's all, any thoughts would be appreciated!


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Friday, February 2, 2007

Battlestar Galactica

I love Battlestar Galactica... but normally not because it has a redeeming moral message, but rather the drama and action are amazing, the characters and plots / commentary on humanity facinating, and the show is so incredibly dark.


I just wanted to comment how awsome last Sunday's episode was though in its message about marriage.

Its been awhile since I saw anything TV/Movie related that had such a high view of marriage. The ep. was very counter cultural:
(spoilers for those who care)

Two main characters have had this love thing building from the beginning of the show, but one problem: they both are married. The last few ep.s they've been toying with an affair... you know, the popular idea of "go with your feelings", "follow your heart" etc. Basically, its okay that your married, you made a mistake but it would be worse not to follow your heart and be miserable the rest of your life.

Except this is not what they did.... the girl was all for the affair, the guy was one step away. It came down to a choice, and he ended up choosing to stay with his wife. This was in part to the advice of another main character: who pointed out that since he was married, he never looked back.

This was just incredible.... and the episode portrayed it as both were happier for staying with their spouse. Breaking their marraiges would have been destructive and ultimately made both unhappy. Further: the plot was believable. In a culture infatuated with our own selfish desires, this was a pretty amazing message.

Anyway... great drama, good values... that's all..
(besides... who knows, next week maybe it will all fall apart, but thats why I love the show!)


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