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is Prog Rock's New Rite of Passage A Kweevak.com Rock Report by Rich and Laura Lynch In its second year, Progressive Nation brought together four unique bands under the banner of progressive rock. Founded by Dream Theater's drummer Mike Portnoy in 2008, Progressive Nation headlined by Dream Theater (DT) is a broad blend of music. The American leg of the tour featured the imaginative Zappa Plays Zappa, the brazen Bigelf and the rising Scale The Summit. The European line-up includes DT, Opeth (who were on the bill last year), Bigelf and Unexpect.
 Singer James LaBrie prowled and growled all night long. Dream Theater is James LaBrie, vocals; John Myung, bass; John Petrucci, guitar & vocals; Mike Portnoy, drums, percussion and vocals; and, Jordan Rudess, keyboards & continuum -- and the band is currently touring in support of their tenth studio release, Black Clouds & Silver Linings. The Progressive Nation tour rolled into Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey on August 7, 2009. The venue is located on the boardwalk and overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. For this event, Convention Hall had a re-entry policy that allowed fans to go outside and enjoy the ocean view between sets. This was a bonus as it was a beautiful summer night and a good opportunity to talk to people as the stage set-ups were changed.
 John Petrucci - guitar deity in the house. A few moments before Dream Theater took the stage the strains of "As I Am" sung by a women could be heard followed by classical music. The black curtain fell as lights flashed with the sound of an approaching storm heralding "A Nightmare To Remember". The crowd on the floor was on their feet and would remain standing through all of DT's set. Portnoy was potent and propelled the storm from his massive silver drum kit with three base drums. The song progressed through a mix of meters and moods with furious fret work from John and frightening keys from Jordan crafting strange sounds from the continuum. James stalked the whole stage stretching out his hand to the audience as he told the story of "what began as laughter so soon would turn to pain". The new song from Black Clouds & Silver Linings was vibrant and enhanced by the visual effects on the big screen behind the band. Dream Theater would make full use of this media throughout the show with videos and close-ups of the band. "A Rite Of Passage" also from the current record was rousing and polished melding middle eastern tones with metal and varied vocals. The mighty tune meandered through a maze of mystical symbols on the screens with cryptic keys from Rudess. John Myung's bass was beguiling and he was rock solid all night. John Myung does not generally draw a lot of attention to himself but speaks bluntly through his bold bass lines.
 Dream Theater drummer and tour founder - Mike Portnoy. The next four songs would span Dream Theater's past starting with "Beyond This Life" from the conceptual Metropolis PT.2: Scenes From A Memory" album. It was dramatic and daring. The story progressed through a frantic foray of fret work from Petrucci and wicked waves of keys from Rudess who had a big screen behind his set up depicting himself in a funny cartoon wearing a wizard hat. Mike was dynamic twisting his drum sticks a bit during the song. The instrumental "Erotomania" from Awake was expansive and exploratory as it coursed from intricate to intense. Imagery from various albums was flashing on the screen as Dream Theater fluidly flowed from one series of complex chord structures to another. Mike's thunderous, tricky timings were tantalizing. James return to the stage to lead the band through a versatile and vibrant version of "Voices" also from Awake. LaBrie pensively sang the opening lyrics of the song, than paced the stage, singing with power as the song built momentum. John's solo was stellar incorporating wild whammy work with sizzling string sequences. "Solitary Shell" from Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence featured strong solos from both John and Jordan. Dream Theater took a lot of liberty from the original adding lush licks and lengthy instrumentation that made the story of the strange boy even better. At one point, Mike was positioned in front of the drums gently tapping the cymbals before moving back behind the kit to add more punch to the piece that progressed through more creative codas.
 Johnny Myung - steady and sturdy on stage in Asbury Park. "In The Name of God" (Train of Thought) was an aggressive attack on false prophets and cult leaders "killing in the name of God". It was hard hitting with fast, free flowing exchanges between John and Jordan. Myung's blazing bass lines set the pace and potency as James executed the song's points with passion. LaBrie rallied the audience to sing along to close the song and the set. Dream Theater's encore was their newest epic "The Count of Tuscany" from Black Clouds & Silver Linings. The track clocks in close to twenty minutes, exploring a wide range of complex chord structures, scenic storytelling and varied musical styles. It is a thematic and highly technical tune with countless changes and haunting hooks that added to the intricacy and intrigue of the song and left the crowd wanting more. Progressive Nation also featured the innovative and interesting Zappa Plays Zappa. Led by Dweezil Zappa fronting a seven piece devoted to performing the music of the late Frank Zappa. The group is a mix of talented musicians from various backgrounds. Their set was inventive with extensive jamming and vocal styles (male & female). Dweezil is a gifted guitar player and his soaring solos adding to the dynamic and diversity of the music.
 Jordan Rudess - keyboard wizardry on display in Convention Hall. Bigelf from Los Angeles is one of Mike's new favorite bands. Bigelf had a big set-up and a big sound. They blended psychedelic with progressive along with elements of hard rock and even pop. On stage, they were a wild, willful group of potent pixies. This fearsome foursome played pieces that were hallucinatory, haunting and harrowing exploring various speeds, styles and scale sequences. Houston's Scale The Summit were an engaging, energetic young band. The quartet played an enticing set of instrumentals that had lots of chord changes and colorful couplings. Their set was fast paced yet clearly demonstrated their potential and why Portnoy thought they were a good fit for Progressive Nation 2009.
Dream Theaters Set List - 08/07/09
 Dream Theater takes progressive music nation wide and around the world.
Related Links:
For more information on DREAM THEATER and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links --
DreamTheater.net |
Progressive Nation 2009 |
Buy Black Clouds & Silver Linings |
Convention Hall | Search "Dream Theater"
Originally Published: 08/08/2009 on Kweevak.com |
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