Dream Theater 'Live at Budokan' is one of a handful of concert DVDs that continues to wow me completely. On 5 October, 2004 at the peak of their abilities, Dream Theater played at the Budokan, Japan. Although eight years ago and since then they have had other concert DVDs like the majestic 'Score', this is their landmark concert High Definition DVD. Now that it is available with improved sound and visuals on Blu-ray, I thought it high time to give coverage to these giants of progressive rock metal.
I love watching live music and have been fortunate enough to see Dream Theater play in Brisbane, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand. This Blu-ray is possibly as good as it gets other than being at their concerts. Indeed some may say it's better. At least in the comfort of your home you can manage the volume to what suits you plus have close-up views that only binoculars could achieve. (I make this comment as the Auckland concert was excessively loud and at times there was possible distortion.)
Back to this Blu-ray which is most beautifully crafted and meets all my requirements for a perfect concert. i.e. great sound, crystal clear visuals, a massive selection from their discography plus additional long instrumental breaks with the camera following the person playing the solo. (It always frustrates me when the drummer plays a brilliant fill and the camera man zooms on the vocalist who is not even singing. This fortunately doesn't happen on this recording because Mike Portnoy, the drummer, and John Petrucci, the guitarist produce it.) Clearly Dream Theater have projected their creative and hard-working ethic to the production values of this Blu-ray. This recording has been carefully thought through, even to the placing of the cameras for excellent closeups for each member. The Blu-ray is full of positive surprises and features; the range of song material to the ability to show the lyrics on screen.
The DVD was previously unsurpassed in sound and video quality. The Blu-ray version is crisper - yes, the colors far more vivid and richer and what I particularly noticed was the shine and sparkle on items like the Sabian cymbals. You notice small details like the glint on wedding rings, the reflection off Petrucci's guitar. It's these details that take an already brilliant high definition DVD and makes the viewing experience even more impact full. I was taken aback as to how beautiful the primary color lighting looks on Blu-ray. This is an amazing quality recording. Photos of my TV screen showing the Blu-ray. This gives some indication of the clarity and colour in spite of the obvious loss of photographing a TV screen.
Yet I did not repurchase this for a visual improvement as I had thought my existing DVD copy was great. I bought this for the DTS HD Master Audio and the sound improvement is significant. Referring to 'As I am' the opening track of the concert you immediately notice a significant improvement in the bass levels. The opening bass note of the first bar is strong and resounds with a power not experienced on the 5.1 sound.
Overall there is a greater richness on the Blu-ray as you hear the growl and warmth of Myung's bass together with warmth of Portnoy's toms. There seems far greater dynamic range with the bottom end of both the bass guitar and the bass pedal far more forceful. My sub-woofer gets a real workout yet the high range notes of the keyboard still ring out. There is greater separation with no difficulty to hear all four instruments and vocals. The many rapid unison guitar and piano lines over Myung's bass is wondrous. In Petrucci's solos you can hear the subtleties of tapping plus string wrenches. If anything the sound detail also shows their flaws so LaBrie sometimes doesn't quite hit the note, but after a marathon two hour fourty-five minute concert, I am not surprised.
For those who have woken up a decade after he was already one of the world's greatest prog-rock drummers, this concert is a Mike Portnoy showcase. (Mike Portnoy is sadly no longer with DT but that is an article in itself.) Disc two has all the extras including the Portnoy solo and the Instrumedley - which allows you to focus just on Mike for a monstrous drumming display. That doesn't mean there is no solo drumming in the concert. Far from it! You're in for a surprise as the keyboard drum battle during 'Beyond this life' is like an added drum solo. I found this the highlight of the opening barrage of 3 songs - Rudess and Portnoy seem to have such fun and Portnoy gets to inventively show off what every little cowbell, percussion and timbale sounds like on his enormous double set of drums. He really shows how musical he is as he copies Rudess's keyboard lines on the kit.(Of course a few blizzards of bass drum bliss are effortlessly displayed throughout!)
A warning to classic rock readers. If you are averse to metal, this concert may be an acquired taste. The first twenty minutes of this concert are some of the heaviest moments of synchronised Dream Theater mayhem; the end of 'This Dying Soul' shows the most frighteningly fast unison lines of Petrucci and Rudess. Mesmerising! Portnoy is so solid as he segues from one time signature into the pounding grundge time midway through 'This Dying Soul' - makes you want to bounce with LaBrie as well. As LaBrie states 'We have one hell of a show coming at you, this evening'. At this stage of the concert you're only two songs in and sixteen still to come. As on any DT creation you'll see why Petrucci is arguably the most technically gifted rock guitarist in the world today. Combined with Myung, Rudess and their powerful vocalist, LaBrie, this is the benchmark of prog metal virtuosity. If you like intense, inventive heavy rock music that requires repeated listening, this is a wonderful value Blu-ray - brilliant!
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