Home for the holidays -- the phrase conjures up scenes of big family dinners, a warm fire, and playing with your kids under the tree. But for Dream Theater, it means spending Christmas Day working on new live material and getting ready for a five-show in five nights mini tour. The band played its third night at Toad's Place to an adoring crowd. This was DT's Christmas present to the fans.

The set list included rarities, influences, and first time performances. Concert goers were also treated to an unusual opening act, the director's cut of DT's new video, "5 Years In A LIVEtime". The fact that this was only the third show they'd played together since mid-September was irrelevant. The guys were hot. The first song, "Speak To Me", was a solid performance of a song only found on the Japanese import of DT's "Falling Into Infinity" CD. They moved right into "Lifting Shadows Off A Dream" from their 1994 hit record "Awake", a song in which the crowd sang along enthusiastically with lead vocalist James LaBrie.

The band paid homage to influences including Pink Floyd, Rush, and U2. They performed a stirring version of Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You" which showcased guitarist John Petrucci's awesome skill. DT played "Where Are You Now" to an audience for the very first time. This track is an unreleased demo from the "Falling Into Infinity" sessions and was the one song that really brought out the best in every member of the group.

The night would have been perfect had it not been for the talkers in the crowd. It seems that there were folks in attendance who really were not DT fans, and just blabbed their way through the entire show. This made it difficult for some hardcore fans to really enjoy the music. Also, since this show was all-ages, Toad's put up the under 21 net which blocked off a good-sized portion of the venue. The poor kids who lined up outside 3 hours before doors were forced to watch the performance through the net. Toad's should re-think their all-ages policy.

Be sure to check out our post-soundcheck interview with Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci. The interview was conducted by Rock Notes, Prime-Choice, and Koffin. You can pick up Dream Theater's latest CD and video on Elektra records.

Review by Steph Perry

1998, 1997 Rock Notes On-Line - http://geocities.datacellar.net/SunsetStrip/5014/