Once again Mr. Brian Kilby and the crew are nice enough to allow me on the Radio Free Cybertron show. Although there wasn’t much news after Botcon I did get a chance to go over my thoughts of the new War for Cybertron game (which by the way is awesome!). Go check it out and check out the guys at tfradio.net.
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The original Toy Story launched the computer animation revolution. It was the first full animated movie and set the stage for a many of cartoons we see today. The second movie was just pure fun and made me feel like a kid again. Now Pixar has brought Toy Story full circle and to a well fitting close to make this probably the best trilogy since the original Star Wars trilogy.
While the story itself is a bit standard and a rehash of the beginning (toys not sure what to do as Andy gets older), the adventure that takes this crew of favorite characters in the end is just unbelievable. Not only will children love the story, but adults will be able to resonate with the subliminal story of growing up and moving on.
Once again, I state that Pixar is the modern day Disney, showing us unbelievable animation epics that everyone can enjoy.
Simply put: you must see this movie in the theaters and in 3D. Not only is it a masterpiece of visual effects and beauty but it is also just an amazing story that will give you delight in your heart and a bit of sadness that the Toy Story saga is over.
Dream Theater came to Columbus and performed at The Newport on July 2nd. My last experience with them was in 2007, and a missed opportunity in 2008 at Cleveland’s Tower City Amphitheater (oh yeah let’s put a stage right by the lake where it is really freaking cold during the spring!)
So when Dream Theater announced they be doing some one off shows this summer I was quite thrilled. The Newport is the old fashion college theater hall here in Columbus right on OSU campus. While you wonder if you would survive if a fire broke out, you can appreciate the nostalgic feel. You also have to arrive early to get a spot on the upper balcony and never, ever go to the bathroom or risk losing that precious view.
So I imagined this show was going to be a couple of things; extremely close and personal and extremely crowded and full of energy. But alas I pondered, would the acoustics be good? Would LeBrie’s voice sound as full and rich as I remembered? Would the set list be something listenable or recognizable?
But when Dream Theater hit the stage they proved once again, they not only can reproduce their sound exactly as you remember it, but they just give you a very fun experience all around. You could tell that even though they were in a small venue, the amount of love shown back was ten-fold compared to what they must be getting on the Iron Maiden portion of the tour. The band really appreciated the crowd.
LeBrie was in top form, not only belting out the songs extremely well and very strong but also just having a ton of fun on stage. As usual, Portnoy, Petrucci, Rudess and Myung were kickass and produced an amazing amount of energy and sound coming from the stage. This drove home a two-hour whopping powerhouse of a show. Highlights included some amazing jamming for Rudess with Petrucci, and Portnoy changing his growl lyrics on ‘Nightmare to Remember’ to ‘C is for cookie which is good enough for me.’
Even in a small venue Dream Theater can deliver an amazing performance with everyone head banging their heads and rocking out. This goes to show that you don’t need every lighting trick in the book to produce a show that individuals from multiple generations will go see and enjoy.