Dreamtheatre (Last Eurpoean Concert)

[derrenleepoole]

Just wondering if anyone on the TB forum got to see Dreamtheatre last night in Blackburn Lancashire, it was their last night of their European tour? Got a free ticket so thought it would be good to check out John Myung(?) on bass.

The gig kinda left me cold and bored. There's only so much sweep picking widdly guitar/keyboard solos I can take before my brain switches off! John Myung on bass wasn't that particularly exciting either. Can't really understand the hype surrounding this guy. He can play, but he seems to make a meal of it. Whether this is for show for the crowd is hard to say. But from what I've read and heard I was expecting great things and was totally bored and unimpressed.

Anyone want to chip in?

[IanStephenson]

Some of their material is really strong - I love all their older stuff, but I'm not that interested in their newer material. As they've become more established they've settled into a niche where they can indulge themselves more, and have become more "proggy", where as earlier stuff much more punchy (while still having the strengths of the newer material).

It's "theatER" - apparently i't something of a big deal to get it the right way...

Ian

[SirCanealot]

Their old stuff is amazing!

And yeah, Myung either turns some people on or, or just leaves some people clueless!

But I mean the man CAN groove, when he wants to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwgb1HD-2RU <- this song is pratically full of great grooves (or whatever).

Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZM04-ysM7g <- I love some of the grooves in this song. If you can be bothered to listen to the insane duel keyboard/guitar solos at the end, listen to the bass! Myung is always laying down a phat groove that really makes things a lot more interesting!

The more you listen to DT though, the more Myung makes sense. The rest of the band have said from time to time that Myung always knows exactly what to play in any given situation, and you start to hear that. The new album's bass playing isn't all that imo, but 9 times out of 10 then the bass needs to shine, it does! (still doesn't have enough volume though...)

Check out their early albums -- Images and Words and Awake. It was when they had their first keyboardist (Kevin Moore) and they were a LOT less interested in shredding.

Interestingly, some of Myung's hardest axework is from their second album, Images and Words! And all on a 4-string too. He scares me!