Dream Theater Rules! A thread to honor the greatest band ever

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Wow....all of the shows I've been to (12+) have been huge nerd fests. Not that that's a bad thing! Seriously, I've never seen a crowd like that at a DT show. Although, it sounds like that may have been some time ago?
To those who say nerds lack testosterone, I say "Λ Λ Λ." ;)
 
Wow, so I’m not supposed to like DT? But they were one of only a couple bands that made me forever remember when I first heard them. First and biggest impact: EVH. Second: DT. I screamed at the radio, “wtf did I just listen to??!!”

Preach! I'm with you, Boogs!
 
I definitely agree on the singing. Always been their weakest point. Thankfully, with Mike Portnoy (drummer) out of the band now, there are no more terrible backing vocals. Maturity has definitely helped James LaBrie (lead singer) become palatable for me.

John Myung is a total beast of a bass player, actually. I used to feel the same as you until I saw them play live. He goes toe to toe with Petrucci on all those complex lines, but he blends so well into the mix he can be easy to overlook.

This is all truth. I love(d) Portnoy, but with him out, they are going back to their more proggy roots. Portnoy was taking them in a heavier direction. Not bad. I just prefer the old, and the 3 without MP better. Suits James' voice. Although, he is still the weak link. I guess I have to respect their loyalty to him after he blew out a vocal cord way back when. They're going to have to do something though. Just like Geddy couldn't sing like old Geddy.

Spot on about Myung is a TOTAL monster. Live, he is just amazing to watch!
 
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Complex prearranged stuff is cool but it's just that, prearranged stuff.
Fusion bands did that and then went on complex improv over changes, so in some ways it's pretty lightweight to me, and not very captivating. As for Myung, still not impressed at all with what he does, compared to the greats (Clarke, Jaco, Wooten, ... even Sheehan) not even close.

"Beast" or "bass god" don't apply here.

Love you T, but I will respectfully disagree. Maybe not bass god, but definitely a beast.
 
Ok, here we go.

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Love you T, but I will respectfully disagree. Maybe not bass god, but definitely a beast.
I hold bass up to a much higher standard, still kinda "meh" for me.
Playing a lot of prearranged passages and memorizing elaborate arrangements doesn't get a "Beast" pass in my book. Now if he could hold down a strong bass solo or be versatile enough to slap something funky then he'd be in the running.
 
No DT thread would be complete without this.


Coarse language warning. ^^^
Actually cried and nearly had an embolism.

Anyway, I’m off to see if Mr Blair will hand wind me some pickups!o_O
 
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Actually cried and nearly had an embolism.

Anyway, I’m off to see if Mr Blair will hand wins me some pickups!o_O

Rather dates this vid, eh?

I'm pretty sure it came before YouTube even existed -- if I remember correctly I'd found it on Google Video. Probably fractured about 3 ribs laughing at it when it was new. That and the O.G. Yngwie Shreds...
 
Rather dates this vid, eh?

I'm pretty sure it came before YouTube even existed -- if I remember correctly I'd found it on Google Video. Probably fractured about 3 ribs laughing at it when it was new. That and the O.G. Yngwie Shreds...
Just make sure you don’t need a pee



 
I hold bass up to a much higher standard, still kinda "meh" for me.
Playing a lot of prearranged passages and memorizing elaborate arrangements doesn't get a "Beast" pass in my book. Now if he could hold down a strong bass solo or be versatile enough to slap something funky then he'd be in the running.

 
From "When Dream and Day Unite" with their original vocalist, Charlie Dominici

 
I gotta be honest, I just threw out that meme cause it was funny, I had no exposure to DT, mostly due to the fact that I dropped off the Rock thing after the grunge era. So after taking a listen, here are my(1st time listener) thoughts on them.

The good:
-Gtr, keys, & drummer kick azz on their instruments
-Complex Return to Forever type fusion influenced songwriting & arranging on some tunes
-Good amount of improv

The bad:
-Bass player is totally overrated, the guy doesn't do much
-Their singers really svck.
-Overall I feel the Metal aspect hinders the progressiveness of this music

...... and did I say their singers really svck.

I don't know if I would've been into them if I was in this age bracket, the guitar player is a monster, but I can't see many females going to their shows so I probably wouldn't go see them. The only act with no chicks like that, that I would go to would probably be a RTF reunion show, way beyond what these kids do.

As a whole pretty good, not my cup though.
I gotta completely disagree with you on the bass and vocals. I can't imagine any other style singing with Dream Theater. I know, everyone rags on the singer, but I think he's perfect for the group. He gives the groups lyrics and focus and verses and choruses, and if you've heard any of his side projects, you know that he loves to make music, and loves to collaborate with other artists of caliber.

Ditto Myung. Who cares if he's of the caliber of the guitarist, keyboardist(s) (they've gone through several, all good) and drummer(s?)? They're all top 10 in the geek magazines. He's the bassist! He's like Lebowski's rug, he brings the whole thing together. You can't have everyone wanking off at once, that would be ... something else, not this group. It would be jazz! And if you want jazz, go listen to jazz! This isn't jazz, this is prog hard rock/metal with some quite hooky hookiness going on, so you need the bassist to do what Myung is doing. He's doing everything in support of the song, that's what he's supposed to be doing.

There definitely weren't a lot of females at my last show of theirs. Bunch of fratbros and alpha wannabes.

And yes, bodia, I didn't say nerds or non-nerds, just an overabundance of pubescent and recently post-pubescent Y chromosome types with an overabundance of testosterone jutting their chests out and acting threatingly when they pressed backwards against me and I didn't move (I couldn't). Me male you male we no press against each other. Yeah, I got news for you neanderthal, I didn't enjoy it, neither.

And yes, that was a long time ago. 1990 ish, I think.
 
I gotta completely disagree with you on the bass and vocals. I can't imagine any other style singing with Dream Theater. I know, everyone rags on the singer, but I think he's perfect for the group. He gives the groups lyrics and focus and verses and choruses, and if you've heard any of his side projects, you know that he loves to make music, and loves to collaborate with other artists of caliber.

Ditto Myung. Who cares if he's of the caliber of the guitarist, keyboardist(s) (they've gone through several, all good) and drummer(s?)? They're all top 10 in the geek magazines. He's the bassist! He's like Lebowski's rug, he brings the whole thing together. You can't have everyone wanking off at once, that would be ... something else, not this group. It would be jazz! And if you want jazz, go listen to jazz! This isn't jazz, this is prog hard rock/metal with some quite hooky hookiness going on, so you need the bassist to do what Myung is doing. He's doing everything in support of the song, that's what he's supposed to be doing.

There definitely weren't a lot of females at my last show of theirs. Bunch of fratbros and alpha wannabes.

And yes, bodia, I didn't say nerds or non-nerds, just an overabundance of pubescent and recently post-pubescent Y chromosome types with an overabundance of testosterone jutting their chests out and acting threatingly when they pressed backwards against me and I didn't move (I couldn't). Me male you male we no press against each other. Yeah, I got news for you neanderthal, I didn't enjoy it, neither.

And yes, that was a long time ago. 1990 ish, I think.

I love you, man!
 
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