My wife had a private birthday party to go to on July 6th. I had already flirted with the possibility of going to see Dream Theater on their current tour - either in San Antonio, or the next night in Austin. I checked out the setlists that were being uploaded, and also made it known that I'd love to go.
Amazingly she surprised me with a ticket for my upcoming birthday. Since her party was two blocks away from the Majestic Theater in downtown San Antonio, it was a perfect opportunity.
So we met the birthday girl and her friend at Texas Land & Cattle for an awesome steak dinner before the festivities. My wife had a $25 gift certificate from about 2 years ago. So we had an amazing steak dinner for about $15.
They went on without me, and I walked over to the venue. The Majestic Theater is a super place to see a concert. They provide a full bar. They allow smokers to exit, and re-enter. There is really no bad seat when it comes to your view. It has pretty good acoustics, and it's a nice & tight intimate setting. I had a great seat in the lower mezzanine. This was my view:
The set list was as follows:
Intro: Dream Is Collapsing (Hans Zimmer song)
1 - Bridges in the Sky
2 - 6:00
3 - The Dark Eternal Night
4 - This is the Life
5 - The Root of All Evil
6 - Lost Not Forgotten
7 - A Fortune in Lies
8 - Surrounded (preceded by Jordan Rudess Keyboard Solo)
9 - On the Backs of Angels
10 - War Inside My Head
11 - The Test that Stumped Them All
12 - The Spirit Carries On (Preceded by John Petrucci Guitar Solo)
13 - Breaking All Illusions
Encore:
14 - Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper
I thoroughly enjoyed myself (small $5 beers not included). This was my 7th time seeing Dream Theater. I so-o-o looked forward to "The Test That Stumped Them All," and it was absolutely incredible live, as I expected it would be.. even though it wasn't my drumming idol, Mike Portnoy behind the set. "The Spirit Carries On" blew my mind as well. It's been many years since I've heard them do this one live. John Petrucci has officially cemented himself in my mind as one of the top-3 guitarists AND musicians ever.
It was my first DT show post-Mike Portnoy. I must say that Mike Mangini is a super-talented drummer, but things just didn't seem the same without MP. I reflected on how sad I was when he decided to leave the band back in the summer of 2010.
• This guy was way in the back left, but he captured most of Petrucci's solo, and the sound quality is VERY good.
But here is a great video of the encore song, "Metropolis Part 1", captured by Gabriel Macias:
Then I was off to join my wife's party. It was a fun night!
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