AtomicCrimsonRush I always look forward to putting this DVD on as I know I am going to get the best of both worlds; symphonic orchestrated music and full on Dream Theater prog. I agree with some reviewers that the setlist is not exactly mind blowing but it nevertheless spans the 5 year history. It is interesting the way the orchestra blends into the metal sound, similar to the Metallica S&M concert, or indeed Kiss Alive IV. It is always of interest when metal meets symphony. The DVD "Score" is very well produced, sharp editing throughout and excellent sound quality. There is nothing wrong with the visuals at all, with the band members sharing the spotlight, but the problem lies in the setlist itself. There are too many omissions and some opportunities wasted in the early part of the concert.

It opens with some deadset oddities such as The root of all evil, I walk beside you, Another won and Afterlife. It isn't until Under A Glass Moon that it really takes off showing the power of that brilliant track and Petrucci's amazing guitar solo. Later we are treated with The spirit carries on and the entire suite of Six degrees of inner turbulence; absolutely flawless and indispensable on the live stage. After an ovation the band belt out Vacant, The answer lies within, Sacrificed Sons and the masterpiece epic Octavarium that is quintessential to the band. The Encore: Metropolis Pt. 1 is a brilliant way of ending the concert to a rapturous crowd.

Disc 2 is packed with some hit and miss Bonus material including a mammoth 20th Anniversary Documentary, that has some fascinating info on the band and the way that not everything goes to plan on a tour. Portnoy has too much to say and now it is a bitter taste now he has scarpered and been replaced. The Octavarium Animation is terrific, and the live performances are always a treat including Another Day (Tokyo - 1993), The Great Debate (Bucharest, Romania - 2002) and Honor Thy Father (Chicago - 2005).

The DVD comes with high recommendations due to the visual quality, and overall package. Ignore the early part of the set and just enjoy DT at their absolute best in the middle half of the concert accompanied by masterful orchestration. A must for all DT fans and one of the best DT DVDs available to this point in time.

Andyman1125 What live should always be. Dream Theater really hit a home run with this DVD. Recorded on the last show of the band's 20th anniversary tour along with an entire orchestra (named the "Octavarium Orchestra" and led by well known conductor Jamsheid Sharifi), the concert, lasting for over 2 hours, was shot in Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The band opened with a couple of their hits of the new album before going through each and every studio album and playing one track from each, and most of them not the ones you would think they would play (No Pull me Under!!). The band is at their complete best, with extreme energy, chemistry, and great stage presence. Even in the massive Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence the band keeps going and going and going and going with the same energy as the first track-- which is highly impressive! The whole DVD is a blast to watch, especially watching each member do his part and the whole band functioning as a whole. A great buy! 5 stars.

Metalbaswee This is possibly one of the best concert dvd's/cd's ever made. And one of the few i can actually watch/listen to entirely without stopping.

Directing: To start of, it is a Mike Portnoy directed dvd, which means quality. The right shots at the right time, so you can see al the good and cool musical moments, and there are quite a few. 5/5

Setlist:

Again, a great choice on the songs, from their whole career. They start of with The Root Of All Evil from Octavarium. Great opener, and way better then the album version.

Then they smoothly flow into antoher track off Octavarium, I Walk Beside You. Although this track has been highly critized for sounding to poppy and U2 like, I personally think it is a great song, and deserves a place on the setlist.

Then we dive into Dream Theater/Majesty history with a track that was previously unreleased, and could only be found on the original Majesty Demos, named Another Won. This being the first song they ever wrote and recorded, i just think this is great, it is one of my favourite tracks on the album, because here you can really hear and see how good they always were, especially Mike Portnoy and John Myung do an outstanding job on this track.

Up next is Afterlife, a track of When Dream And Day Unite, which i absolutely never listen to, because of the other singer on that record (Charlie Dominici) and the bad recording quality. But god, this version is amazing. Labrie does an amazing job with his vocals, especially with some of the higher notes/screams. The best part of this is the ending solo/unison played by John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess, which they play flawless.

After a small talk from James LaBrie we go Under A Glass Moon, of Images And Words. Just generally awesome. The middle section with the drum solo and guitar solo gives me the chills everytime i hear it.

Innocene Faded, a track of the album Awake, i played. Not my personal favourite of the album, but i guess they didn't want to play an instrumental like Erotomania. But after Erotomania, this is the best track they could have chosen of this record. Sounds great, especially the guitar solo in the end.

Then we move on to a rather obscure track, called Raise The Knife. This track comes of the original Falling Into Infity demo's, and is considered to be the dong they play from that time period. And i don't like it. It doesn't feel all that DT to me, and is way to long in my opinion, i would have prefered Peruvian Skies or Trail Of Tears over this.

And then, of Scenes From A Memory, The Spirit Carries On is played. A great intro piece by John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess, following into a flawless version of this song. It all sounds great, especially the guitar solo and LaBrie's vocals

After a short break the orchestra is revealed to the audience, and starts to play the Overture of Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. This 40+ Min. epic is performed great, both the band and the orchestra do an outstanding jobs, and keep mistakes to a minimum. This track, on this dvd, got me hooked on Dream Theater, which whas a life changing moment for me. Highlights are Goodnight Kiss and Solitary Shell.

Next up is a song of Train Of Thought, Vacant. Although not a bad song, or a bad choice, this song does not represent what the album stand for, which is balls to the wall metal, and Vacant is a simple balad, but a very beautiful one.

Then we once again return to Octavarium for the next three songs, starting off with The Answer Lies Within. Absolutely epic track and recording, one of the most beautiful songs ever created, i get the chills every time i hear the orchestra play that middle section.

Up next is Sacrified Sons, my least favourite Score and Octavarium track. I'm not going to talk about this song, as i usually skip it.

Then, a giant epic song is waiting to be played in front of thousands of people, named Octavarium. After and almost 8 minute intro solo by Jordan Rudess, the song really kicks in, and from that moment, the band blows their load on every possible level. The musicianship is great, the orchestra doe an amazing job, everything goes very smooth, and the animation video is very entertaining as well. Highlights in this song are the synth solo the middle, the intrumental section after the middle, and the ending solo by John Petrucci, which is the perfect ending for any song.

After a small break the band and orchestra come back for an encore, Metropolis Pt.1. This is a very epic ending to a very epic dvd experience, performed great.

Just to say, it isn't perfect, i'll give it a 4.8.

Video & Sound Quality: The usual Dream Theater quality. Which is outstanding. 5/5

Extras: The documentary is fun to watch, but there is not much on there that is unknown to the die hard fans. The Extra tracks are fun, but nothing really outstanding. 4/5

It is safe to say that this is a masterpiece, that anyone with only the slightest intrest in dream theater should own.

5 stars.

rushfan4 THEY SHOOT! THEY SCORE!!!

This concert DVD documents Dream Theater's 20th Anniversary concert at Radio City Music Hall in their hometown of New York City. The concert includes 14 songs played over two sets in front of 6,000 rabid Dream Theater fans. The first set includes 8 songs covering the first 8 albums of the band's career. As the first set concludes an orchestra appears. Egads and gadzooks!!! What is this you say???? An orchestra at a metal concert. Has the world gone mad??? Well, let me tell you, like with Metallica and their S&M performance, this works really well for me, although I suppose that it might add a cheesiness factor if you already have a negative opinion of Dream Theater.

I typed a longer review but it got lost, so screw it. I gave this 4 1/2 stars. I think that this is a fantastic show for Dream Theater. All of the guys played well. LaBrie sounds as good as ever, and the addition of the orchestra adds that little extra touch.