Last night, I had the fantastic opportunity to see Dream Theater live in Denver. They performed their 2016 rock opera-style concept album, The Astonishing. I absolutely love that album. It has such high dynamic range, especially with the use of a lot of acoustic instruments as well as a wide range of themes ranging from cinematic pieces that build tension and set the mood all the way to their traditional progressive metal style. The entire show was just packed full of energy. It was well beyond my expectations. I just couldn't stop being excited the entire time. All five members played loud and proud. I was especially impressed by John Petrucci's long sustain on his guitar notes.
Of course, I did wear earplugs because I am hypersensitive to loud sounds and also because I know that prolonged exposures to high volumes can and will damage your ears. I didn't want to risk suffering through tinnitus, or worse: temporary or permanent hearing loss, so I kept them in for the vast majority of the show. There's no shame in admitting that. Sure, some people might give you guff and call you a sissy or something along those lines, but it's not that big of a deal. Not to mention I had my Hearos high fidelity earplugs, which I love. They do such a good job of quieting everything and they really retain their tone.
I decided to take my earplugs out during the intermission. I had wandered over to the front of the stage to take a good look at the equipment. I thought it was so cool that all of Dream Theater's gear was sitting right there! I was mesmerized by the sight of Jordan Rudess' rotating keyboard, John Petrucci's foot controllers and MESA/Boogie amplfiers, and Mike Mangini's unique, aesthetically pleasing drums. When they were about to start the second act of the album, I hurried back to my seat, which was all the way up on the balcony, and the music startled me because it was so loud and so sudden, especially since my earplugs were out. I decided to try no earplugs just for "2285 Entr'acte" and then put them in for the rest of the show. It's only a two-minute song, so I wasn't hugely endangering my ears necessarily. You'd think the music would've sounded better without earplugs, but I found it to be quite the opposite. I couldn't hear the details of the music with everything hitting my eardrums so hard. This is also a problem I have whenever I have gone to dances and didn't have earplugs. I put my earplugs back in at the beginning of "Moment of Betrayal" just so I could save my ears the pain and also be able to hear everything more clearly. When they began playing "Heaven's Cove," I was captivated by Petrucci's lovely 12-string acoustic guitar. The sweet, rich, percussive tone that came from it was, quite literally, music to my ears.
The overall concert sounded amazing and was really fun. It was my first concert for any professional music artist, and it is one I will remember for the rest of my life. I was glad to get to see it, and I hope that eventually I get a superb hi-fi system that is able to come pretty dang close to the experience I had. The show really inspired a connection between me and the music, and at the end of the day, that is what hi-fi is all about.
