Dream Theater / Devin Townsend / Animals as Leaders

Acey68 Jul 02, 2023

In Clearwater, Dream Theater delivers an astonishing night of prog
By Jon William on Thu, Jun 22, 2023

In the eyes of prog-rock nerds all over the world, Dream Theater is one of the most highly respected and influential metal bands in the history of the genre. Even though they are not the only band to pioneer heavy music within the progressive realm, it is not irrational to say that Dream Theater is perhaps the most beloved; alas, each of the band’s members has enjoyed their fair share of individual popularity. Via solo records, magazine articles, and even instructional home videos, it is no secret that all of Dream Theater’s members are experts. Mike Portnoy’s “Progressive Drum Concepts” home video dozens of times practically taught a generation how to grasp odd-time signatures behind the kit. Everyone has a guitarist friend that’s always mesmerized by master riff beast John Petrucci’s legendary “Rock Discipline” home video.

All the more reason, then, to witness the band on the inaugural iteration of their brand new Dreamsonic festival, a diverse celebration of progressive metal making its way across 29 cities in North America, including a stop last night at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater.

The Grammy-Award winning prog metal veterans are joined by the eccentric and extremely gifted Canadian musician Devin Townsend (as a solo act with a backup band, not to be confused with the now-defunct Devin Townsend Project) and the highly-acclaimed trio Animals as Leaders, a modern instrumental progressive band that is as talented it is heavy.

Animals as Leaders started the night with “Ectogenesis,” as the hypnotic intro synth riff wakes up the patient crowd and the entire band soon joins halfway through the fourth bar. One of the main highlights of the song is drummer Matt Garstka’s footwork; halfway through the song, he plays in syncopation with guitarist Javier Reyes as they both lay down the rhythm behind Tosin Abasi’s solo riff, all before he joins Matt and Javier playing rhythm, creating an incredibly headbang-worthy bridge leading into a solo section where once again, Tosin takes the lead and rips an awesome solo.

The band continues with ripper “Gordian Naught,” the closer off its latest album Parrhesia. Highlights from the rest of the set include “The Brain Dance,” featuring a mind-bending classical guitar intro where Abasi masterfully plays over a loop of 6/4 with an odd-time signature feel, “Physical Education,” which has now become a fan-favorite and a staple of their set, and closer “CAFO,” the one song from the band’s debut self-titled to make the setlist. As an added bonus, the last two aforementioned songs were given a special added touch, as Garstka treated the crowd to short drum solos during certain breaks.

Once Townsend takes the stage, he quickly sets the tone by diffusing the awkward feeling of having people seated so close to the front with his signature wit, all while sporting a huge smile. “Lightworker” opened the set with a lively and infectiously optimistic vibe with its open grooves and very catchy chorus. “Kingdom,” an old Townsend banger from the album Physicist followed.

Townsend’s set has a lovely ebb and flow; it is certainly not devoid of headbang-worthy moments but it also features songs that have a lot of breathing room, both compositionally and melodically. Not to mention, all throughout the performance the crowd is treated with Townsend’s charm and eclectic sense of humor; at some point, he ratted out bassist James Leach for “taking a huge shit backstage.” The crowd was also gifted with “Deadhead,” an old Devin Townsend Band (also not be confused with The Devin Townsend Project) number, “By Your Command,” which serves as a musical comedic relief in the diverse set (even including an appearance from a little Ziltoid puppet, provided by a fan up front), and “Deep Peace,” an introspective and very melodic number.

The band’s performance is rounded out by songs “Truth,” (another old song that got the Devin Townsend Project treatment) and “Bad Devil,” both from the 1998 album Infinity.

Dream Theater took the stage with the crowd primed and ready. The thunderous drum intro to Grammy-winning “The Alien,” provided by drummer Mike Mangini, kicks things off, with the band going into a furious yet tasty jam of alternating odd-time signatures. The band brought it all the way back to 1994 with song “Caught in a Web,” from their album Awake, much to the audible delight of long-time Dream Theater fans (myself included). Almost without delay, next comes “Answering the Call,” a song that starts with a spellbinding groove, courtesy of Mangini. After getting through the last three sections from “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence,” the band goes into the classic “Pull Me Under,” and the crowd goes absolutely nuts. If there was a pit, yours truly would have come out of pit retirement.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the entire night comes at the end, when Dream Theater comes back for an encore to perform “The Spirit Carries On” with a little help from some friends: first, multi-instrumentalist Mike Keneally (part of Devin Townsend’s band) comes out, posted next to drummer Mike Mangini. He provides an extra layer of sound with a keyboard, complementing Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess. Not too long after, he is followed by Abasi and drummer Darby Todd (also part of Devin Townsend’s band), who flawlessly and seamlessly takes the place of Mangini behind the kit, and will alternate manning the drums with each other for the rest of the song. Last, but certainly not least is Townsend himself, who shares singing duties with Dream Theater singer James LaBrie, performing duets and taking the lead during parts of the song. As an added treat to the crowd, Abasi takes up a spot right next to John Petrucci towards the end of the song and gives him a hand performing the outro solo, harmonizing perfectly together.

Dream Theater setlist
The Alien
Sleeping Giant
Caught in a Web
Answering the Call
Solitary Shell
About to Crash (Reprise)
Losing Time / Grand Finale
Pull Me Under
The Count of Tuscany
The Spirit Carries On (featuring Devin Townsend, Mike Keneally, Tosin Abasi, and Darby Todd)