DREAM THEATER
Zénith - Paris, France
February 3 2012

Dream Theater was headlining the Zénith de Paris for a sold-out show on this cold and snowy february night.

Well, it's been more than 10 years since the last time I've seen Dream Theater indoors, and I had a great time tonight.

I've seen Dream Theater at some open air festivals in in between, but let's admit that Dream Theater is not the kind of band that fits the atmosphere of a summer metal festival.
The other reason, is that I hadn't followed all their latest records, and I think one appreciiates more a Dream Theater when one knows the songs.

Anyway, almost 10 years after a concert here at the Zénith in 2002, I thought it was about time to see a real Dream Theater concert again.

When the show was about to start, we heard the first notes of Welcome To the Jungle from Guns'n'Roses. It was only 5 seconds, but everybody recongnized it and screamed. So, the lights were shut down and Dream Theater's intro started.

There were 3 screen shaped like half-cubes in the back of the stage. During the intro, we were shown animated images of the Dream Theater guys personified as wizards, before they came on stage and started with the song Bridges In The Sky.

Different movies were shown on the screens during the songs, and two of them were very notorious:

During the song Outcry there images of revolutions in Egypt and other arab countries, clearly showing support to this people in their struggle to gain freedom.

Later, during On the Backs of Angels, the screens showed images of bank notes and the stock exchange: another subject that's currently on everyday's news.

Well, as you can imagine, the musicians were all amazing. There's no doubt that this band is composed by some of the most gifted rock musicians around.
James Labrie's voice was at its top too.

One word about the new guy in town, Mike Mangini: his drum-kit is impressive and he used every cymbal and drum on it! That guy's an impressive rhythm machine!
Now, don't start comparing him with Mike Portnoy: Once a musician has reached a certain level of excellence, there's no need to compare.

I think the band chose the right songs for tonight's setlist.
The second song was 6:00 and from this moment on, I had a lot of good memories! Surrounded, The Spirit Carries On, A Fortune In Lies... It's been since I hadn't heard these songs, and it feels good!

There was a nice acoustic interlude, where James, John Petrucci and Jordan played two songs: The Silent Man and Beneath The Surface.
I love the song The Silent Man and never thought I'll ever hear it live.

I spent a great evening with Dream Theater. I won't lie, sometimes the songs and the solos seem a bit long, but seeing the band indoors can't be compared to their festival shows.

One thing is certain, I won't let 10 years pass until the next time I'll see a Dream Theater show indoors!

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Setlist Dream Theater – the Zénith - Paris, France – February 3 2012

Dream Theater Links:
Dream Theater Website
Dream Theater official store
Dream Theater T-shirts and Merch at EMP
Dream Theater concert tickets
Dream Theater CDs on Amazon.com
Dream Theater CDs at Play.com
Dream Theater on Metal Traveller's Flickr
Dream Theater iTunes downloads

Dream Theater Line-up: