Rock N Roll Inferno in Torrential Rains: The Dream Theater Concert

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Entertainment | October 10, 2017 | Guest Article

Warren D'Souza SOUND.com

They came, they saw and they conquered the hearts of each and every one of their fans, as well as all those who worked on this milestone production. Some may want to know who is Dream Theater? Let me tell you, if you are in the prog rock and heavy metal scene, you will be ostracized for not knowing DT. And if you’re a musician, you will know that if there is any band in the world where all 5 players are in their A-Game, then that is Dream Theater. This would be a concert where each player has his own set of fans as well as fans of the band in entirety. 

Such was their sonic assault on Bandra Kurla Complex that I am not sure if their working class fans went to work the next day. This is not a wannabe fan concert, whoever came there worship the band, where I can safely say the musicianship is better than the music. There will not be a repeat of such performances in India in a long time, so those who regretted not coming need no respite, because what I personally witnessed was the best concert ever in India in my 19 year career span as the founder and working member of SOUND.COM.

The Sonic Blitzkrieg we delivered was a sound design ‘in honour of’ and not supply to the band. This is the genesis of why some concerts can only be executed by people who are passionate about their craft. The rampage was so gigantic that when the band hit their fans like a freight train, they were simply mesmerized by the aural and musical experience and of course, the incredible old-school lighting without the assistance of any video content, just left all of us so amazed! If you are a Lighting Designer, you missed this show pal, as Steve Baird, whom I got to know is a lighting legend himself, just left Shailesh Gopalan and me in disbelief at what he achieved in such few fixtures.

William ‘Bill’ Fertig, the FOH Engineer, was also left awe-struck: “This is the first gig ever where it has rained from set-up to show to tear down continuously!” By the time the band hit centre stage the rain just ramped up, we had so much rain that we did not need to use the haze machines at all. And the band was charged up too, to see the fans in ankle deep slush, head banging to their music, drenched and not caring about the weather or the lightning that was cracking right through the performance. 

And what better than to receive accolades for a job well done from Ed Hammond, Dream Theatre’s Stage Technician, on the very night of the event. Ed wrote to me: “Many Thanks for making our show a great success tonight! Hope we cross paths again.”

Each and everyone who has worked on this show is a living legend and stories I can tell you are not enough to show what people can do to make a show happen. This is a business for only a passionate few that can be motivated far beyond the monetary gain or just wanting to do this to have it on their CV. Events in India outdoors generally get cancelled with torrential rains, but what happened last night (Oct 8, 2017), in Bandra Kurla Complex, is a testimony of an ‘against all odds’ show, risking cancellation, driven 100% in technicals without compromises, will be remembered by me in years to come. And I am a witness. Hell Yeah!!!

Contributed by Warren D'Souza- Director, SOUND.COM
Twitter- @warren_dsouza
#soundguyforlife
 
Event Crew
Promoter​​​- Opium Events – Cyrus Gorimar
Audio​​​​- SOUND.COM
Backline Support​​- GearHouse
Lighting​​​- Stage Gear
Trussing ​​- Stage Gear
Venue Construct​​- V-Ideas
Production Head​​- Vinay Agarwal
Tech Production​​- Shipra Venkatesh
Production Support- ​Production Crew