Date of Performance: January 25, 2004
Venue: Vorst-Nationall, Brussels, BE
Dream Theater?s last visit to Belgium without any doubt delivered their best performance on Belgian soil since their very humble beginnings. For the very first time ever they were able to perform at Vorst-Nationaal which is the biggest rock venue in Brussels. The band's previous visit to Belgium saw them perform at De Brielpoort in Deinze (known for its bad acoustics!) and as headliners of the Graspop metal meeting in Dessel, recordings of the latter have been released as the DT fanclub disc for 2003.
Due to a lengthy soundcheck, the interview time had to be restricted to a mere fifteen minutes, so although it had been a while since I teamed up with Jordan Rudess, fifteen minutes surely isn?t enough to talk about the new album, let alone discuss Jordan?s upcoming solo activities.
At 7:30 pm the band took to the stage and I dare say 
I was lucky enough to have my earplugs with me as it once again was a very loud experience. My photopass enabled me to be in the special photo pit for the first fifteen minutes, taking shots that you can see on this site. At one given moment Jordan noticed me and in a friendly way put his hand in the air to say hello. Especially James LaBrie seemed to be in great shape, reaching those high notes without the slightest effort. I won't go into every single detail of the set but it surely was a hard-edged, energetic Dream Theater we saw that night.
With the actual tour only just beginning, the set in Brussels once again was rather different than that of Rotterdam a week before. 
Nevertheless, every member of the band perfectly knew how to execute every single detail. Huge screens in the back of the stage showed the skills of our musicians as spread over the stage were little cameras. Jordan even had one of those cameras stuck onto his Kurzweil keyboard. This special visual effect makes sure that everyone in the audience can witness all that's happening. If you're standing in front of Jordan you can still see clearly what John Petrucci is up to, and if you're standing close to John you can see what Rudess is doing. 
In fact, before the actual concert starts, these screens deliver an overview of Dream Theater's career, starting at the very beginning, with Kevin Moore and later Derek Sherinian, down to the first inclusion of a then long haired Jordan Rudess. The crowd loved every single second of it and often sang together with the band.
Halfway through there was a fifteen minute intermission, which by no means was a luxury, as the entire set lasted for no fewer than three hours. Three hours of technical prowess and energy by the world?s leading prog metal outfit, although it has to be said that Petrucci and Mike Portnoy seemed a little distant, 
especially where the interaction with the crowd is concerned. John Myung simply remained John Myung throughout, whilst it was mainly LaBrie who was the most entertaining. With "In The Name Of God," the regular set came to a close, but everyone in the audience simply knew they would be back.
Prior to the band hitting the stage again, the screens showed a scene from the movie Dead Poets Society in which Robin William says the words "Carpe Diem," a saying so important in the life of Mike Portnoy and all of Dream Theater for that matter. Fans immediately knew that this was the sign for "A Change Of Seasons," which the band delivered in all it?s 23 minute glory.
Around halfway through this composition, I made the wise decision to leave the hall, as I knew I would be stuck in traffic for several hours once all 5000 fans started leaving venue at the same time. However, after 2 hours and 50 minutes, I was more than happy to have witnessed one of the best Dream Theater concerts I have ever experienced! Pity for the very short interview though!
