I have listed Dream Theater as one of my favorite bands for years now, but I’ve been a horrible fan. I don’t really listen to them all that much and I never even got around to buying their most recent CD.
I also never even considered to see them the last time they came anywhere near my area…
But things change, you know…
I will definitely be a better fan from now on!

First came King’s X.
King’s X is one of those bands that’s been around forever, but I not really paid any attention to. They came on strong and played a short, solid set.
It was a good time.

Next up, the band I really wanted to see, Dream Theater. I always considered them to be the most intelligent band…ever. These guys KNOW their music. They know how to write music and they understand how music works. And my God, if they got paid by the note they’d be the richest men on the planet!
Dream Theater is guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung, drummer Mike Portnoy, vocalist Jamie Labrie, and keyboardist Jordan Ruddess. These are some of the most talented men in their particular field. I was absolutely blown away with the intricate, powerful musical prowess these men displayed flawlessly!
It’s almost scary how good they are. They can be a little self-indulgent, but Fucking A, as talented as they are, GOOD!
The highlight came during an, I dunno, 15-20 minute jam, a medley of some of their best musical chops. The drummer suddenly introduced Iron Maiden drummer Nico McBrain, obviously a SOUTH FLORIDA RESIDENT…but he didn’t play a number with them, no, he came out with a soccer ball, and while these guys were playing amazingly technical, hundred notes per second music, they kicked and head butted the ball around the stage.
It was surreal!
But it was awesome.
Dream Theater kicks major ass!

Then came Joe Satriani, possibly one of the best guitarists in the history of time!
The man has scary skills and some really catchy songs, mostly instrumentals, like “Summer’s Song”, featured in an old commercial with some kid dancing by a boom box…
For this show it was all instrumentals though.
There was some really great guitar playing, and such a talented guy wouldn’t travel with a bunch of slouches behind him, so his back up band was pretty great too.
To be honest though, I was a little disappointed by the fact that he closed the show.
I THINK that he and Dream Theater were considered co-headliners, but it was a little anti-climactic to be so blown away by Dream, then much more mellow to close it all out. Still, it was an excellent show overall.