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Dream Theater At The Tower Theatre

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

Philadelphia, PA (Upper Darby, Pennsylvania) — Dream Theater put together and is headlining the Progressive Nation Tour featuring three other progressive rock bands — Scale The Summit, Bigelf and Zappa Plays Zappa. The Tower Theatre offered a perfect venue for both sound quality and atmosphere.

Dream Theater took the stage behind a giant black curtain. As the curtain dropped, a striking light show and stage setup was reveled. It is hard to say how many pieces were in Mike Portnoy’s drum set but more than could be counted. Just the 3 bass drums were hard enough to comprehend.

They started with two songs from the most recent album Black Clouds and Silver Linings. A Nightmare To Remember opened the show followed by Rite Of Passage.
Perhaps the biggest crowd pleaser was Prophets Of War from their last album Systematic Chaos with the entire audience singing along and throwing their fist into the air.

With the amazing abilities of all the players, it was difficult to not get hypnotized into watching any one of their performances. John Myung plays the bass as though he were a lead guitar virtuoso. John Petrucci guitar work is considered by many to be the best in the world. Watching Mike Portnoy, you are not sure whether he is man or machine… until you see him spit. Not only does James Labrie offer soaring vocals, he also brings plenty of heart and soul to the stage. Jordan Rudess is both fun and interesting to watch. As a performer, he is a joy to behold. As a musician, he offers complex playing and obscure synthesizers. Because he is such a keyboard wizard, he is portrayed in a wizard costume on the animation that plays on a screen beside him.

Not only does Dream Theater present great eye candy with their light show, they also have two on-stage screens. One is next to Jordan, and the other is a large screen that hangs above the band. Sometimes the large screen is used to show live shots of the musicians playing, but more often than not, it is used to show the story line of the song. On Prophets Of War, animation of an ant colony carrying bullets relayed the message. Whether it was a wheelchair or drops of rain, the video portion would complement the live performance. It is really one of those shows that you have to see (and hear) to believe.

Setlist
A Nightmare To Remember
Rite Of Passage
Hollow Years
Erotomania
Voices
Prophets Of War
Count Of Tuscany

Encore
Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper

Dream Theater Photo Gallery

Scale The Summit Photo Gallery
Bigelf Photo Gallery
Zappa Plays Zappa Photo Gallery

Zappa Plays Zappa Concert Review

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

Philadelphia, PA (Upper Darby, Pennsylvania) — Zappa Plays Zappa is fronted by Dweezil Zappa the son of the legendary Frank Zappa. In an effort to carry on his father’s music, Dweezil has put together a nice 7-piece band. Having both a drummer and a percussionist makes for an interesting rhythm section. In fact, the entire eclectic mix of musicians did well at playing the complex Zappa arrangements.

They are part of the Progressive Nation Tour with Scale The Summit, Bigelf and Dream Theater. Their 12 song set covered a wide range of Frank’s catalog. Dweezil’s guitar playing was complemented by Jamie Kime, also on guitar. “Upon being asked by Dweezil to be a part of the band, I knew it would be equal parts challenging and rewarding. But, I had no idea how much of a junkie I would become for this music. I’m now constantly searching Frank’s vast catalog for new songs to learn in addition to periodically revisiting the songs we’ve been playing for months now, every time discovering new things I hadn’t heard before. Every musician should take some time to immerse themselves in the music of Frank Zappa – you’ll be hooked for life, and be a better player for it!”, said Jammie.

The quirky Scheila Gonzalez was both fun to watch and hear. She played keyboards, saxophone and added a nice touch with her vocals.

Setlist
Purple Lagoon
Zomby Woof
Village Of The Sun
Echidna’s Arf
Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?
Dirty Love
Pygmy Twylyte
Yellow Snow
Inca Roads
Bamboozled By Love
King Kong
Willie The Pimp

Zappa Plays Zappa Photo Gallery

Scale The Summit Photo Gallery
Bigelf Photo Gallery
Dream Theater Photo Gallery

Zappa Plays Zappa Setlist And Bass Pick

Zappa Plays Zappa Setlist And Bass Pick

Scale The Summit Concert Review

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

Upper Darby, PA (Philadelphia Area / Southeastern Pennsylvania) — Scale The Summit is a young band out of Houston, Texas. They are currently part of the Progressive Nation Tour with Bigelf, Zappa Plays Zappa and Dream Theater. Their show at the Tower Theatre showcased the talent of the band whose average age is 22.

Possessing good form and great sound, the band played their unique style of instrumental music. They refer to their music as “adventure metal” as it takes the listener on a mental journey.

Their lead guitarist, Chris Letchford, plays an 8-string electric guitar. “As far as fitting in with modern music,” Letchford says, “I don’t think that we fit in with anybody– at all.”

One of the highlights from their set was “Sargasso Sea” from their latest album Carving Desert Canyons.

Scale The Summit Photo Gallery
Bigelf Photo Gallery
Zappa Plays Zappa Photo Gallery
Dream Theater Photo Gallery