When you get goosebumps during a concert cuz it’s so cool…hmmmm It was great!
I went down to Chicago to see Dream Theater, Queensryche and Fates Warning. What a great day! Left here around 12:30 after picking up Mike and planned on meeting Tom and Bruce at Lou Malnati’s in Lincolnwood, IL for some pizza, and a place to meet. Wow. This place has the best deep dish pizza EVER! True Chicago style. It was just awesome! We were all full after two pieces.
We then car-pooled to the Aragon Ballroom for the show. The web site for the Aragon says the show started at 8, tickets said 7:30 and the sign on the venue when we got there was 7:15. Well, being a veteran of about 17 or so Dream Theater shows, I knew that people would be there WAY early to get a good place to see the show (it was general admission) So the line was wrapped around the corner, we got in a decent place, as it probably quadrupled before they even started letting us in.
We got in, and got a good spot in the balcony. We could sit, see well, and hear well from up there!
The show itself was amazing. All the bands were sharp, sounding good, and the singers were just awesome. Hit all the high notes, etc etc. Fates Warning played a great 40 minutes, stuck to the faster, heavier songs. Queensryche came out and belted out some new stuff and classic old stuff. They are the real deal! They left the stage and the almighty Dream Theater showed everyone what it was all about! Including a special treat for Chicago as they like to do, “Since I’ve Been Lovin’ You” by Led Zep. And of course, they just NAILED it!! They finished their set up and it was all cool, but since I read the internet, I knew what was coming up next…
The Encore! All of Queensryche and Dream Theater on stage jamming to some songs. Since I did read about this ahead of time, it was cool, but I didn’t know all what they’d do, and since they all like to do special stuff for Chicago, they did… FOUR songs, Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”, DT’s “Peruvian Skies”, QR’s oldschool classic “Take Hold of the Flame” and to wrap it up, The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. The best Encore EVER!
So, to wrap:
Best Deep Dish pizza EVER
Best Prog Tour EVER
Best Encore EVER
and, it’s always good to take a trip like that and make it home all safe n sound.
