After 6 years of semi-constant touring and 2 live mini-EP's, it seemed the right time in our career for a "proper" live album to represent our musical catalog thus far.
This whole double CD is taken from one show in Paris. This was one of the final headlining shows on the "Touring Into Infinity" tour. In order to capture as much music possible (and also because some our songs are very LONG), we performed a set that evening that was over 3 and a half hours in length.
A live Dream Theater show is really the only way to understand and experience what this band is all about. Besides getting to see us actually PLAY our instruments (which seems to be the biggest appeal of DT), you become part of a society or a secret club which is exclusive to these fans that are absolute FANATICS!! Our fan base has never been casual. They are hardcore fans that go to dozens of shows on a tour. They know every set list we play. They know every nuance of the music. And it is this interaction with these great fans that can only be fully understood & appreciated by going to a Dream Theater concert.
The songs represented here in this collecion cover a spectrum of our 10 year recording career. There is a balance of material from different albums, a balance of "popular" songs and cult favorites, a balance of heavy songs & softer songs, a balance of our very complex songs & our more simple songs. And of course, what Progressive live album would complete without the obligatory self-indulgent solo spots!!!! The arrangements to the songs are almost never the same as the album versions. Some songs are extended and have improvised jams thrown in, some songs are shortened and have been combined to create medleys, some songs have bits & pieces of cover tunes thrown in......It's this variety and these embellishments that I think make our live show, and this album, exciting to listen to everytime.
