On the evening of Wednesday, March 2nd, progressive metal legends Dream Theater graced the stage at Meridian Hall for the Toronto stop of their “Top of the World Tour”. This tour, which had been postponed from the previous fall, comes in support of the band’s fifteenth studio album, “A View From the Top of the World”, released in October of last year. Due to Ontario’s COVID-related restrictions, there was plenty of uncertainty regarding whether or not this show would be able to happen. Fortunately for a few thousand fans and ticket holders, capacity limits for concert venues were lifted on the first of the month, just in time for this show to proceed as planned.

The show began right on schedule at 8:00 PM, with the opening act Falset taking the stage. This four-piece band, from right here in Ontario, is composed of Zach Copeland on vocals and guitar, Braeden Kozy on guitar, Riley Fields on bass, and Chance LaBrie on drums. And yes, that drummer is indeed related to Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie – Chance is James’ son. Falset’s sound is a fairly straightforward blend of hard rock and metalcore elements, lacking the more technical and progressive ingredients that draw many a prog fan to Dream Theater. That said, they are great at what they do, especially for such a young group, and they put on an impressive show. Falset had plenty of solid guitar riffs, they made good use of dynamic shifts, and they filled their sound out with backing track elements like vocal harmonies and synth layers. Vocalist Copeland had plenty of big catchy vocal hooks, and he sounded great throughout. He also did a good job of interacting with the crowd and drawing people into the performance. In addition to sounding great, Falset has realized the value of a consistent visual aesthetic, and all the members wore combinations of red and black clothing. Even all the instruments they played matched the color scheme, from the black guitars to the red bass with a black pickguard, to the red and black finish on the drum kit. Their six-song set consisted mainly of songs on a new album that will be released in June. Even though they might not necessarily appeal to the average Dream Theater fan, Falset has the potential to make waves in more mainstream rock and metal circles, so keep an eye out for more from them in the near future.

After Falset wrapped up, the air was buzzing with excitement as the audience waited for Dream Theater to start. There was a large screen that extended from floor to ceiling behind Mike Mangini’s drum kit, onto which a video show consisting of band-related art and imagery was projected. The band would end up utilizing this screen effectively all night, displaying videos related to each song they were performing. It added a wonderful visual element to the concert and really made the experience more immersive. On the subject of Mangini’s drum kit, it was scaled down from iterations he had used on previous tours – gone were the multiple bass drums, the overhead rack, and a good number of cymbals. However, it was by no means a kit one would refer to as “small”, and still contained plenty of instruments to be hit. Before long, the lights dimmed, and a whirlwind of images on the video screen became the focal point as an introduction. It was showtime!

The crowd applauded and rose to their feet the moment that Dream Theater members John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung, and Mike Mangini appeared on stage, and remained standing for the vast majority of the night. The band kicked off their set with “The Alien”, the first track from “A View From the Top of the World”. With its technical and energetic opening riff, switching between multiple time signatures, it made for an excellent choice to start the show. James LaBrie took the stage about two minutes after the song began for his vocal entrance, and the crowd roared and applauded once more. Even after over three decades together as a band, these musicians remain at the top of their game, playing mind-bendingly complex music as close to perfect as humanly possible. They seemed to have renewed energy and enthusiasm after not being able to play live for the last two years. Mangini in particular is a joy to watch, as he always looks like he’s having a blast behind the drum kit. Towards the end of the song, his movements became comically animated, and he flailed his arms wildly as he exchanged knowing looks with Rudess.

The audience was only given a moment to catch their breath after the first song before Mangini launched into the iconic drum intro for “6:00”, the opening track from their 1994 album “Awake”. This was the shortest song played that evening, clocking in at 5:31, well below the 10-minute average length of the songs in their current set. It was also the set’s oldest song, and it was great to hear the band reach that far back into their catalog. For much of the evening, the band flowed quickly from song to song, but LaBrie took a few minutes to address the crowd after “6:00”. He mentioned how great it was to be back on tour, and how the band appreciated it that much more after not being able to do it for a while. This sentiment was shared by the majority in the audience, many of whom were likely attending their first live music event in over two years.

The next three songs in the set were “Awaken the Master”, also from “A View From the Top of the World”, “Endless Sacrifice”, from their 2003 album “Train of Thought”, and “Bridges in the Sky” from their 2011 album “A Dramatic Turn of Events”. “Awaken the Master” features some of Petrucci’s lowest, heaviest guitar riffs to date, as he played an 8-string guitar for that track. “Endless Sacrifice” features a long instrumental section (like most Dream Theater songs, really), which produced some of the highlights of the evening. Bassist John Myung, usually quietly going about his business, and staying to his side of the stage, ventured to the center to stand next to Petrucci for some side-by-side shredding. A little later in the song, it was keyboard wizard Rudess’ turn to join Petrucci front and center, picking up a keytar in order to be mobile for the occasion. It was truly astounding to watch these masters of their craft. “Bridges in the Sky” has a long backing track intro, featuring throat singing, finger cymbals, harp, and choral vocals. This sets an eerie vibe off the top, before jumping into some heavy Petrucci guitar riffs and a barrage of Mangini double kick patterns. This song also featured a thrilling guitar solo in which Petrucci made heavy use of his wah pedal set up beside the drum kit, and a Rudess synth solo on an iPad. Leading up to the end of the song, Mangini cranked the energy up to 11 for an exhilarating drum outro, as he furiously pounded all the toms in an entrancing crescendo of notes.

The band then went on to play “Invisible Monster” (also from “A View From the Top of the World”), “About to Crash” (from “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence”), and “The Ministry of Lost Souls” (from “Systematic Chaos”). “Invisible Monster” is another shorter song by Dream Theater standards, coming in at 6 minutes and 31 seconds. It features a big vocal hook in the chorus by LaBrie, which was sung along to by many in the audience. Rudess also made use of his keyboard stand’s ability to rotate and tilt, as he leaned his keyboard toward the crowd during a solo, providing a better view of his playing. “About to Crash” was a pleasant surprise, as it hasn’t appeared in their live sets very frequently at all, save for a run of shows in 2015. “The Ministry of Lost Souls” was another surprising choice, as it hadn’t been played live since 2008 when “Systematic Chaos” was still their most recent album. This song spends its first half in power ballad territory, before taking a sharp turn into an intricate and progressive instrumental section that Dream Theater is known for, complete with trading keyboard and guitar solos. Again, the band performed these songs brilliantly, and they sounded just as good, if not better than the recorded versions.

Finally, the band brought the set to a close (excluding the inevitable encore, of course) with the title track from their latest album, “A View From the Top of the World”. This 20-minute composition, consisting of several movements, takes the listener on an epic journey. It begins with some staccato shots and soaring guitar lines, and LaBrie makes his vocal entrance about four minutes later. LaBrie sounded particularly great belting out some higher notes in the choruses of this song, before disappearing offstage for a break while the rest of the band launched into yet another wild instrumental section. At about the halfway point of the song, it dropped down to a dreamy guitar and synth section, allowing Myung and Mangini to briefly disappear from the stage as well. The song then built up gradually into the final movement, in which the energy picked up once more, climaxing with a big half-time section and a barrage of rhythm section shots. The crowd was given a quick display of Mangini’s almost inhuman speed, as he performed a quick roll up and down the toms at the very end. Upon finishing the song, the band members waved to the crowd and walked out of sight, but a quick glance at the time assured people that the band still had some tricks up their sleeves.

After a brief few minutes offstage, Dream Theater returned for their encore, to another round of thunderous applause from an appreciative audience. The encore consisted of just a single song, but one can hardly complain when that song clocks in at just under 20 minutes. The band began playing  “The Count of Tuscany”, the closing track from their 2009 album “Black Clouds and Silver Linings”, and the crowd cheered with approval. This is another song that takes listeners on a winding road through multiple sections, including numerous driving guitar riffs and long instrumental passages, before breaking down to an ethereal guitar and synth section. It then builds back up to an epic conclusion, and the band performed it live masterfully. LaBrie prompted the audience to sing the final vocal lines along with him, and they happily obliged. Once the song came to a close, the band members took some time to show their appreciation for their fans before coming together for a final group bow to end the show.

Overall, Dream Theater truly knows how to deliver an incredible night of music, and their performance is a masterclass of technical abilities. They played an hour and forty minutes of highly intricate and complex music, with long instrumental passages, time signature changes galore, and plenty of fast-paced solos, and they seemingly did it all without missing a note. It’s possible that they haven’t missed a note since the 90s – who’s to say? The video components that were on display throughout the night were fantastic and added an extra element to their show that enhanced the overall experience. With regards to the set, it can’t be an easy task to curate a setlist when your career has spanned over 30 years and fifteen full-length records, but they did a great job of covering material from a variety of albums. Some concertgoers might note the lack of songs from fan-favorite albums “Images and Words” and “Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory”. However, Dream Theater played each of those albums in full for their respective anniversary tours in recent years, so their absences from the current set, while possibly disappointing to some, are justified. The bottom line is this: it’s not a stretch to say that each member of Dream Theater is a world-class musician, and their performances reflect that. If you’re a fan of progressive rock or just a fan of great live music in general, you’d be doing yourself a disservice by not going to see Dream Theater the next time they come through your area. They’re always worth the price of admission, and then some.