Dream Theater - Live at the Warfield, San Francisco 1994

[@akaperry5626]

Wow, James voice was incredible back then

[@Beefnhammer]

aKa Perry I believe his voice was permanently damaged from the food poisoning, there's no other explanation for the deterioration of his singing ability

[@akaperry5626]

Yeah i know

[@Beefnhammer]

That's true, and in general I think he sounded pretty good on the SFAM tour..but after that he became the most inconsistent vocalist i've ever listened to.

[@bsmallwood1]

I have seen people say he had a second vocal injury on the SFAM tour in 2000. He did sound good for most of the tour, although he wasn't always hitting the high notes, like on the Scenes from New York live DVD. I don't know if it was just the damage from a rigours of touring in 2000 that damaged his voice or another rupture like in '94. His voice did sound noticeably worse on the Six Degrees tour, improved on the ToT tour and was damn good on the Octavarium tour. Since then, however, he has been all over the place. Seen some great performance and some bad ones. At this point, at 54, with years of touring and at least one injury, he won't sound like his old self again. Asking him to sing songs off I&W or Awake and hit all the notes is probably asking to much of him. That doesn't mean his voice is bad now, his performance on the Astonishing album and tour was amazing.

[@ejRecording]

the astonishing tour killed him too, but hes only a man, long live DT!!

[@SJ-ym4yt]

I wish I could see Awake-era DT, just to experience James in his prime. This video is incredible.

[@jamespeterson4275]

Awake era DT James in his prime barely lasted a mere few months. Food poisoning puking that tore his vocal cords to hell was 29 days after this.

[@giacomoneri1782]

​@@jamespeterson4275 I believe it wasn't food poisoning that ruined his voice, it sounds like overusing. He sounded very similar to how he sounds here in Awake in Japan and in ACOS, then he started sounding weaker and weaker as time went by. The strain of belting for hours every night is compatible with the loss, it didn't happen overnight. His 1995 voice was pretty much the same as his 1994 voice. What i can see though is his confidence was way higher before 1995, as if he started feeling and fearing the damage, which may had contributed as well to increasing the damage, like if he wasn't supporting his breath properly, or holding back or like he modified his technique to a less healthy one.

[@janbarlow3178]

@@giacomoneri1782 I agree. I think he definitely damaged it with the food poisoning, but THEN going on tour when they should have held off so he could properly heal. But the young and hungry band just couldn't. He has had his voice back a few times over the years, more mature and stronger. The Dramatic Turn of Events Tour for example he was back in absolute prime form and was singing Caught in a Web with just the same power of 1994. It was crazy. Then 11 years later...this last tour...I don't know what happened but his voice was shot. It was so sad to listen/watch him try and sing Caught in a Web...night in and night out. They should have taken the song out of the set. But that wasn't the only song he was struggling with. Regardless-- the relentless touring for 30+ years and even the spouts of 'Evening With' did him no favors on frying his voice over the years. Being the biggest DT fan for the last 30 years, it's been hard watching him have to heal his voice so many times, and wondering if he was going to be strong for the tour. James will always be the GOAT for me. But there is no question--if the DT model wasn't a relentless schedule of write, record, tour, write, record, tour, write, record, tour for over 30 years, his voice would have preserved. Honestly its amazing his voice has held up to now and that he is 61!

[@paulprice6330]

This is my favorite Dream Theatre era.

[@addictofoxygen]

For sure!

[@AshRavens]

Hands down the best!

[@nealbraatz3911]

The Kevin Moore era was the best!

[@fernandalbauer]

Hell yeah

[@latavernedama6642]

me too

[@anguspodgorny8211]

John Myung is so much the unsung hero of this band.

[@DVTOM]

Everyone gets on James now but at this time this was the best band in the world with the best singer. He has battled for years to keep going. I give that effort alone 100%! Still love DT.

[@drago7635]

People are too hard on James, of course he doesnt sound the same and who would? His Range was insane, and honestly all things considered he still sounds great. Also he is the voice of DT, like it or not it would not be the same without him

[@muhammadsyarief516]

This era of James Labrie, the most powerful voice on earth \m/

[@mephisto656]

What a voice.

[@adamfriml2149]

Vocals on this album are just incredible. James has the best performance of the band on the album. Love you James

[@kahwigulum]

James vocal injury happened on January 5, 1995. Just one month after this performance. This is peak LaBrie.

[@RyanAmplification]

$17.50 for a ticket? Damn. I was born in the wrong decade.

[@rodrigocamargo8400]

Awake: my favorite album all around! Best recording, best tone from all instruments, best compositions, best performances, everything is perfect.

[@pippodream]

Definetly agree. I find this album is somehow underrated. It is their best to my opinion

[@feralkitty9378]

best tone and performances is definitely an odd opinion, i think their best tone on an album is six degrees of inner turbulence and maybe octavarium.

[@lebannerfan65]

​​@@feralkitty9378 An odd opinion? Ehh? Awake was quadruple stereo tracked guitars, a probably one or two middle lanes as well. On real amps. All on top of the line 90s analogue, right before the aurally painful digital transition began. Awake is quite literally some of the best rock instrument production of all time, and likely to stay like that. Listening to Awake on good speakers (and I mean a serious set up) is, quite simply, amazing.

[@NikolaEON]

Kevin and Mike will forever be missed in this great band

[@konstantinsalafountidis5966]

Mike is back

[@dvcerdeira1]

Awesome 90's Petrucci. Aka Ibanez Petrucci

[@alaeleo]

aka no beard Petrucci

[@matthewberesford8698]

Aka less buff petrucci

[@Mezmer7777]

No Scarred 😭😭😭😭😭😭 amazing though…favorite band on earth

[@scottheins]

They're having so much fun here, improvising and extending sections. I wish this playfulness was still present in DT today..

[@MetalheadNation]

scott heins Exactly! They went off on crazy musical tangents, so when you went to see DT, you never knew what they might do or add. It kinda died out during the mid to late 2000s for the band, which is sad. Still an amazing band none the less, and still my favorite band of all time!

[@TheLinuxExperience]

I agree this was awesome, but I guess only doable back then, when their live catalog was way smaller. Considering the amount of songs they have available and how they play around with playlists, it´s a miracle they can remember the songs themselves. Adding jams, extensions, etc. on top would only make it more difficult for them. I guess one could argue that they could just settle down on a single playlist for an entire tour and play with it, but I don´t think they like that approach.

[@scottheins]

@@TheLinuxExperience you make very solid points, and I know DT is committed to keeping basically as much of their catalog at "setlist potential" as possible. Still what I like about this isn't so much the fact that they are extending sections but just jamming in a more improvisatory mode. That's an entirely different musical flavor and it's such a treat to hear them listening to each other and hitting sections and transitions that aren't just total surprises for the lucky audience but in some cases....probably total surprises for the band themselves.

[@DoctorQuerozena]

You should rename the upload as "Dream Theater's best live performance ever", because that's what it is

[@bradley4808]

That damn food poisoning.

[@danielcabral8812]

56:43 John Myung's moonwalker. This is so epic 😂😂😂

[@abshmusic]

😂😂😂

[@Tumamagringa1]

Jajajajajaja ese wey!!

[@TheDarkEternalKnight07]

MP was probably laughing Lol

[@MirkkoDeMaio]

Man, they were tight and without any click in they in their ears. That was pure magic.

[@MetalheadNation]

Nice seeing you here! I’m a huge fan of The Flower Kings!!!

[@baskill0982]

John Petrucci with that great Ibanez!

[@GeoffBarone]

GnR4life I miss that tone

[@Dervin9612]

Damn this labrie performance beats his 92 and 93 performances

[@Rab35]

Injuries and the passing of time are never friendly. Let's be thankful for the music that was made and the ones who captured the performances like this.

[@dou-lheumanacara4310]

Derek is an AWESOME keyboardist. Differently of Rudess, he respected all the work did by Kevin with his tones, key effects, an even with his jazz veins that matched so much with the band at the time. Derek and Kevin and Keith Emerson are my Keyboard Caligulas.

[@Strato13]

I agree with you, and I'm glad I'm not the only one with this opinion. Derek was a great fit for ths band, and had more in common with KM. I don't feel like he tried to outdo everyone to the finish line, but played the part as they were written down to the small nuances and tone.

[@lebannerfan65]

​@@Strato13 Falling into infinity is a special album. Some of their deepest and most beautiful cuts on that album. Tasty all the way through

[@Strato13]

@lebannerfan65 I agree. It's a beautiful album!

[@mallolollo]

1:04:08 OMG !!! WTF JAMES ??? YOU'RE IN DOPING ??? AHAHAHAH GREAT MAN !!! HEY GUYS, THIS IS THE HISTORY !!!

[@Matheuszalenski]

This is the real Dream Theater! Love Derek Sherinian playing with these guys.

[@driftless7134]

They should have stuck with Derrick for longer than one album.

[@Matheuszalenski]

@@driftless7134 agree!

[@kevinmcguinness1113]

Agree. I missed this tour, but saw them on the next one in London for Falling Into Infinity. My favourite DT line-up - they played a lot from Awake and Falling Into Infinity, but also quite a bit from the Kevin Moore albums. If you haven't already, check out the ONCE IN A LIVETIME album and the 5 YEARS IN A LIVETIME DVD, probably the closest you'll get to this concert now, outside of bootlegs and fan club releases.

[@Jeffkingson]

Dream theater in its best. Derek Sherinian was a perfect match for the Band.

[@EloirTroyack]

JP's guitars sounded and looked better back then

[@alexsartandmusic]

They really did, although, in my opinion, JPs live tones from 2002 to 2005 really pushed the envelope

[@irmasil3]

I can agree with the looks..I really like the JP2 colours especially...I also really like the majesty guitars as well though! To me, the majesty is far better in terms of quality and options..His Ibanez was just a standard model with a graphic and DiMarzio pickups.... But as for the tone...Com'on man. I understand enjoying the tone, but between the refrigerator Rack with 2 Triaxis, DBX Compressors, 1 x Mark 2C+ amp and a tone of EQing, saying that the guitar makes the difference is..well,... an overstatement. You want the tone? Get a Triaxis and a guitar with a Steve's special. I personally believe that the JP2C amp is a masterpiece and you can definitely get this sound easily out of it..And I have 2 Triaxis already....

[@daneph]

Ibanez rules

[@stratdeville]

Everything was better back then.

[@crisdrumming]

True. He doesn’t know what change in the eq anymore.

[@dodgrblu]

Oh man, Lie sounds so badass. LaBrie killed it!

[@traumadiffuser3705]

Awesome version

[@Tomfoolery1972]

These people were so lucky to be in this audience, when Awake was brand new. 🙏

[@DELHERBEDISAR]

Is absolutely incredible the high-definition of the C-5 at the 1:45:47. And now, after heared this, the food poisoning was not a mainstream-lobby but the Old' Labrie was a extreme vocal athletic singer without regulary voice training. If so, the high-notes before the foodpoisoning timming could be very clear and very timbrical in belting terms, and definitely this is not the case. Between foodpoisoning(december-29 1994) and the first horrible concert(january-19, 1995) just elapsed less than a one-month. Its an absurd in technically terms(The voice-recovery process). The Labrie case is the consequence of hard-job without proper rest and no vocalizations workout regulary like the opera singers do and Labrie knows this point because he took opera-lessons. And the foodpoisoning increased this bucle but is not the main reason or causality.

[@naelz1114]

Damn...DT in their prime!

[@robertr9138]

I was there! Killer show

[@lorinctelkes1046]

robert r lucky biatchhh!!! :D I'm jealous!

[@Diegosaurio]

John Petrucci wearing same T shirt as Rock Discipline video LOL

[@canman87]

Lol, probably just filmed it back stage and then came out and played the show xD

[@u.v.s.5583]

And Mike wearing the same fur coat that he wore on the cover of When Dream and A Day.

[@Tumamagringa1]

Petrucci recording rock discipline this same day! xd

[@tijnmoer9136]

merio rodriguez garcia or you know, he wears shirts multiple times

[@fenderaraujo4523]

Thought the same

[@NavidKhan84]

JP at his magnificent best..how i miss that JP!

[@nickh1933]

Same here!

[@musicman700]

Ibanez days are gone ... but everybody evolves, even JP, but i must admit the "ibanez days" have something "magical" within

[@AlejandroRasmussen7]

Martin Tomášik the tone had a dinstinctive quality to it. It was saturated but still you could hear the note snap amd cut thru. Nowadays his sound is overal great but doesnt have the personality nor the notes pop out in the solos, plus he had a more precise technique back then. Just compare the alt picking run in metropolis from this era with the ones he does currently

[@NavidKhan84]

@@AlejandroRasmussen7 Also his playing changed...at that time he used to do some intricate modal variations and mix a lota neo classical stuff within his arpeggios...that gave the compositions and solos distinct feel and flava...now its more mainstream and fast pentatonic shit mostly, cheap lyrics and also a lota sloppy playing in live shows...age caught up a bit i feel

[@MassimilianoBucciol]

Derek Sherinian

[@VincePazera]

Thank you all so much for bringing this video to 100,000 views!! Long live DT!!!

[@mirkofodor33]

Back from the day when bootleg meant something. Thanks for the upload

[@rodrigocamargo8400]

56:43 - Super high note! Back then Labrie's voice was super.

[@alawrence89]

1:04:08, too

[@rodrigocamargo8400]

@@alawrence89I am surprised he can still sing today after singing with that gritty voice while reaching those high notes.

[@nickosc88]

Incredible james! we will all jam with you in the next life when your voice has returned to its true form

[@nickh1933]

Amazing video. I saw them about 6-7 times around Connecticut between 93-97. Including a special 'Home for the Holidays' show in New London in a very small club called the 'El N' Gee.' They played 'A change of Seasons' for the second time ever (It was a rare and big deal at the time). The album had just come out a month before. These were Incredible shows that blew everyone's minds. The energy and power Mike had back then was amazing, John's tone was perfect and his playing was cleaner, James sang well, Derek was an exciting addition. The sound quality here is great for a 'bootleg' and this is the real live sound I remember. This is a great representation of how great they were during this era. Inspired and Hungry!

[@tylusbaumgardt1099]

What i'd give to go back and see those shows... I can only imagine.

[@JoeJayOutspoken]

This show was 12/01/94. Fates Warning opened up for Dream Theater that night. If you look closely, you can see James is wearing a Fates Warning shirt from their "Inside Out" tour / album. I saw Fates 2 days later in Santa Barbara on the 3rd. Portnoy was there to support Fates so, got to hang out with him before and after the show. Both Fates & DT played at the Palace in Los Angeles 6 days later on 12/09/94. Mike remembered us, came and said hi along with Derek! It was a super cool week to take off from work as a 20 something year old! You don't get the time back, go enjoy it! Jay-

[@teeple1877]

James in 94 was unreal! The rasp in his voice that he had live and in the Awake album was the best!

[@PentUpPentatonics]

James's voice, Petrucci's tone, Myung's swagger, K-Moore's soul. Doesn't get any better!

[@ogulcanyolcu8714]

"Scarred" would create a huge fire...

[@Themirrorslie17]

Nothing can ever top how good this band was during this era

[@deggs37]

Would give anything to have seen them on this tour

[@manifestgtr]

Damn...seldom do you see musicians asking their monitor engineer to turn it down. They must’ve had a killer rig/sound guy around this time EDIT: I have to say...this is absolutely incredible sound for a camcorder of this era. The bass response during lifting shadows is absolutely unreal. Its so cool to see Johnny M playing guitar for Silent Man, too..

[@PaulLoughrin]

I noticed that too. I was like, huh? Lol!

[@Desto13]

I think that comes from all the live sounds/cabs JMX has on stage. I miss those days.

[@lorien42]

Great sound, I just hate it when videographers zoom in on guitarists during keyboard solos and on keyboards during guitar solos...It happens entirely too often with Dream Theater.

[@karokkiolo2491]

Because even them can't figure out who is playing what lol

[@germanpenalozamartinez61]

Agree. I think that's because a lot of fans who were recorded, wanted to play guitar like JP

[@MrTheRich13]

DreamTheater Magic ! They were on fire this night ! James was especially special!

[@AlleGomesOficial]

Everybody in this show was insane in their performances, James sings absolutely well. great band and great times songs from these years. I hope that they recover this criativity in your new album. And I Have to thank the people that rec this, you capture all great solos!

[@Claudio_AG]

Isn't this just before James' vacation in Cuba? His live voice is amazing. Amazing footage, a jewel.

[@puturro]

the camera is never pointing on DS on many moments he plays an important keyboard part hahaha

[@Sexton_blake93]

Excellent upload, thanks! Sadly live vids of DT performing Awake material pre-food poisoning are in short supply on youtube.

[@willacewallace5905]

Voice sounds like the album!! Incredible!

[@marcioramos8792]

Thank you so much for posting this concert! I am a big fan of DT since 1996. I had a great opportunity to watch the concert in 1997. That time Labrie's vocals were so powerful. Petrucci moved a lot on stage (nowadays he seems stuck). Portnoy is another concert happening at same time. Myung is the same, from another planet and Sherinian playing perfectly! I miss that time...

[@rubenhdezdiaz]

no protools sessions, no click tracks, no food poisoning....man, they are rocking so fucking hard! shit! I even feel they are playing the songs a little faster than the recording tracks.....

[@huntercovarrubias6312]

I think it’s funny that Take the Time is 8 minutes long and they managed to make it 14 minutes for the hell of it, that’s why I love DT

[@chimetalx1962]

Cool James with a Fates Warning t-shirt! The band sounds amazing on this one

[@SpocksBart]

They supported DT on this tour… had been there in Germany. Lucky days!

[@Zebula77]

I love how you can actually see Petrucci's face here. :) Seriously, though - what a performance.

[@ricben1973]

Uauh! Labrie fantastic! Full, consistent and warm voice!

[@TheHammersmashdave]

at 16:10 the way they stop after the intro of take the time right before coming in full force, is legitimately incredible from a long-time live performing musician's perspective knowing they're not on ears and not on click. that shit is hard to pull off anyways, but without the safety net, man that's crazy.

[@lebannerfan65]

Real groove. I miss this stuff in (live) music nowadays. Everything is way too sanitized today, click tracks, backend reinforcement, and what have you. It takes the energy and life out of the live shows. Give me a jam between 4 stellar musicians and the amps cranked with a lifetime of chemistry between them any day. I'll miss these guys something fierce in 20 years.

[@justsupersteve]

such a shame that these camera men in all these DT bootlegs didn't care a single fuck about keyboards... Holly fuck I wanted to see Derek killing it but the camera only focused on Petrucci even when JP wasn't playing any solo....

[@germanpenalozamartinez61]

Not everybody understands the magic from keyboards 🙄... And a lot of DT fans want to play guitars. I totally agree with you

[@Hadrian1616]

I saw them in tempe, az this tour. Brutal show. I was drenched in sweat and sung my voice hoarse. Best DT experience of 8 shows. 2nd best was PHX, AZ scenes from a memory in 2000.

[@baskill0982]

1:11:50 wow! Jame's vocal range was really really fucking awesome man!!!

[@abshmusic]

John Myung's best bass tone by far. Excellent 🔥

[@DTArchive]

Over 100,000 views. Nice job, Vince! You didn't need to name drop me in the description either.

[@nads9223]

This is insane. The first show I ever went to. I have the ticket stub still. Thanks for posting. ❤❤. Still remember fates opened with point of view. Bad ass.

[@dylanstevens2410]

I love how you can hear the crowd react

[@CenkBarknUs]

Wow, this brings tears to my eyes. The VHS intro, the date, the ticket to the show. What a feeling of nostalgia of something that I’ve never ever experienced nor I will. And, of course, my favourite era of DT -minus Derek on keyboards lol, joking. Thanks for sharing. ✌🏻

[@davidgamble2673]

My first live DT show. Remember it well! Awake will always be a top 5 album for me.

[@ilRoma83]

One of the best Petrucci’s performance. His control and his sound are incredible! I miss these times!!!

[@jorgepaul5049]

My favorite album, It so dark, and the tunes were so heavy!!!

[@jeffcordova9633]

Love the Awake era Footage, especially before james had his Food poison incident. His voice is good now even for his age and the amount of touring does, but in a perfect imagine how he would sound now if he hadn't had that incident?!?! that aside i remember my uncle ripping Images & Awake to my 1st Mp3 player, when i was a freshman in highschool, i listened to them front to back constantly i dont know how i would have made it without these guys & Staind

[@delucaluigi2]

He would have been astonishing even today!!

[@mr.sidecomments9278]

the closest thing we have of how good an older Labrie would sound like is at the Live @ Luna Park dvd or any videos from that tour cycle (Score does not count)

[@odysseaslag8567]

it was his fault...After the incident he immediately continued the tour...no rest+bad technique literally killed his voice..

[@jeffcordova9633]

@@odysseaslag8567 Honestly I think Mike had something to do with it but then again who knows. I think that Mike or some of the other members pressured him that there was money at stake and all the obligations of the tour and that they had dates lined up and there would’ve been a lot of money lost if they had canceled or postponed the tour. Honestly I mean like I said who knows it just sucks because James is voice on a week was so bloody powerful. Age changes things too who knows how his voice would’ve turned out now

[@odysseaslag8567]

@@jeffcordova9633 i agree...Maybe those rumors are real who knows,at least they make sense..Anyway its sad..he used to be soo good..lets hope that he will return stronger than the previous years due to covid..

[@uncleant3780]

I like back when Mike was Jesus on the Drums

[@lebannerfan65]

Peak DT. Peak prog. Peak metal. What a groovy fucking band

[@victorsalgado3606]

56:40 Damn James, that was just fuckin perfect! I really regret your food poisoning incident after this concert.

[@gtrpimp76]

This show was literally days before my first ever Dream Theater concert at the Palace in Hollywood. BTW-the Fates Warning set was also amazing! I need to see if anyone has uploaded their set, especially the song "Monument."

[@nickuts1588]

Mapex kit was awesome......Sounds incredible.....

[@PrimeAspect]

My first DT show! Fates Warning opened. Amazing concert.

[@TheDarkEternalKnight07]

Fatez Warning and Dream Theatre!

[@vincentstephan3052]

Notice how James dons a Fates Warning hoodie. ;)

[@nads9223]

Same with me. First show ever. Just found this on KZbin and it rips. No wonder I was a fan for puddle after this.

[@valentingomez5162]

10:33 esta transformado que bestiaa!

[@gargoyle1850]

The kick and mikes kit in general is so powerful

[@peterjoffe9562]

1:04:07 James, YES 🤟🏼🤟🏼🤟🏼

[@1siriuswolf]

Huuuugee vocal influence.. James was untouchable here 🤘🏼

[@Evowar05]

56:44 damn that scream is fucking amazing

[@marklowery8193]

what John plays at 47:58-48:04 is beautiful

[@JR-vg3vu]

The beginning of the awake jam is definitely a homage to the start of Xanadu by rush, or at least inspired by.

[@williamreynolds3487]

More proof that LaBrie was a beast right before his vocal cord rupture, and that’s what did him in. So sad.

[@MrPaillote]

I wish I had seen them live on that tour, at the peak of their awesomeness!

[@michaelwade379]

Their best years by far

[@federico5756]

What a kickass band they were! Thanks for uploading

[@PaulLoughrin]

James Labrie is incredible

[@Umuliuz]

Discovered them when Images came out, and when Awake came I was 14 and so pumped :p. Wish we had KZbin back them :p

[@AlleGomesOficial]

I love the petrucci tones from these times

[@AlleGomesOficial]

Yeah... I love too

[@huntercovarrubias6312]

Love DT forever, but I’m really loving hearing them play with Derek, it’s legendary

[@anthonycortez9191]

I never really payed much attention to his playing until very recently. I think I he's my favorite DT keyboardist

[@renzoluise]

I totally agree. Derek is also my favorite DT keyboard player and i would say that i'm a great fan of the "pre-Rudess era" DT. From "Scenes from a Memory" everything changed (not last the guitar sound)..... great album, but not my cup of tea.... btw, is just my opinion.

[@jimjones6419]

There are no words to describe this. Thankyou for putting this out for all the world to see and hear.

[@user-oy7gz5bf2h]

I had a copy of an imported VHS from Japan (WAY before youtube!!) where James already was having vocal problems. It's great to hear something from that tour when he still had the goods!!!

[@taufiqibrahim]

Labrie is really great! Missed Kevin though :(

[@safelyanonymous5717]

a lot of DT purists agree with you when DT lost moore they lost their creative force Kevin may have some issues and a depressed man no question but was a great songwriter and was underrated on the keyboard as well

[@AlexanderSimarmata]

His voice really powerful in this era. Yeah, i talk about james

[@Quietus5]

Epic footage right here! I was ignorant during this tour because I didn't become a fan until 1995.

[@douglaskeen873]

Wow! Dream Theater AND Fates Warning! That was one hell of a ticket!

[@Tumamagringa1]

Woow labrie sound like amazing before the tragedy