For their first ever visit to Perth Dream Theater promised a 3 1/2 set packed full of their uncompromising brand of progressive metal. Judging by the excitement of the people queuing outside the venue prior to the doors opening then it was certainly something the Western Australians were looking forward to. Not that the gig had been without it's fair share of troubles. Originally scheduled for January 25th the date had been put back a day to avoid it coinciding with the visit of Bon Jovi and that meant a venue change as well. Then there was another venue change just a few days prior to the actual show, the organisers informing fans that they needed to exchange tickets from 4pm on the actual day of the gig. Basically that meant massive queues at the Box Office as people tried to sort out their ticketing arrangements. Add to this the fact that the 26th is Australia Day, which is basically a national holiday complete with huge firework displays and Perth was busy to say the least...

For all the problems however the Burswood Theatre was a beautiful building, massive velvet seats for those who chose seating tickets, a small standing area downstairs and a generous stage for the bands to perform on. A subtly funny video. Hitler with subtitles, kicked the evening off before the band hit the stage and launched into Constant Motion. If you've never seen Dream Theater before then it really is amazing to watch such skilled musicians at work. Vocalist James LaBrie was in equally fine voice, the vocals proving perhaps even stronger than on album, and holding his own easily against the backdrop of musical genius. Panic Attack & Endless Sacrifice quickly followed showcasing the beautiful guitar playing of John Petrucci and the sheer entertainment value of Mike Portnoy behind his massive kit, entertainment that is only matched by his virtuosity on the skins.

With the set due to be split into two sections the remainder of the first half saw the band deliver the brilliant Forsaken from last years Systematic Chaos opus as well as the exquisite Take The Time. Taken from Images & Words this was the song that first attracted this reviewer to Dream Theater as a band and the live version certainly didn't disappoint, my husband bravely putting up with my vocals throughout the song. LaBrie's emotive vocals were then showcased beautifully on I Walk Beside You, a ballad Dream Theater style and that was the end of part one.

The second of the two sets started smoothly enough with overture 1928 allowing the musos in the audience to see the band really stretch out,  Petrucci's fingers flying up and down the fretboard. From there it was back into full metal mode, albeit with Dream Theater's own progressive overtones. Fatal Tragedy and Erotamania followed and then the band launched into Voices and it was obvious that something had gone wrong. LaBrie appeared confused, looks were shared between each of the five and it was plain that there was a problem on stage. As it turned out the band had lost power to all of their monitors and with roadies rushing around desperately trying to fix the problem it was announced that there would be a short break.

That short break grew to half an hour and suddenly the whole band were back on stage, but it was obvious it wasn't to resume the show. Dream Theater had managed to blow the venue's entire power system and so that was the end of that. The band took their bows and left behind a lot of bewildered, sad people. In saying that three quarters of a Dream Theater show is twice the full show of many other bands and despite the problems, three venues, dates changes, power blow outs, this was quite possibly one of the best gigs I've witnessed. They said they'll be back, here's hoping it's sooner rather than later!

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