On tonight's show, Dream Theater visits the land of cheese (in a literal sense), but this show is anything but. 

Taking advantage of a night off opening for Yes on this tour, the band takes Madison by storm for a few hours of progressive excellence.  Kicking off the show is the band's flag song, Metropolis Pt. 1.  A few flaws can be heard by the band in this opening song, but hey, it's the first song.  They're warming up!  The onslaught then begins with This Dying Soul, being played perfectly.  Pop Tarts anyone??  We then move on with Peruvian Skies.  With the last few tours, it's been nice seeing this song played more often in their sets.  I've always enjoyed the performed music that starts slow and musically and emotionally builds to a powerful deliverance.  Peruvian Skies is a good example of that. 

Coming up next is a trip to the very beginning with A Fortune In Lies, giving James LaBrie a good high-octave workout, to which he masterfully does.  Slowing back down a little bit, we come to Endless Sacrifice, and afterwards, a very impressive 13-minute improv jam.  Missing from the previous shows during their Train of Thought tour is the performance of Beyond This Life with the improv mixed in.  This is an absolutely beautiful improv, starting with Jordan Rudess and then Petrucci and Portnoy kicking in high gear.  I was very impressed with this. 

Now that the band is fired up, we breeze through a flawless performance of Through My Words, Fatal Tragedy, and Pull Me Under.  The subtle picking of guitar strings begins the next brilliant piece of work - Stream of Consciousness comes alive.  Once again, this song showcases each individual's magic with their instrument.  With constant tempo changes and precision playing involved, they performed it nicely.  We then go back to Scenes From a Memory with the performance of The Spirit Carries On.  After this was the prize of the evening.  The last three songs from Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence are played - Solitary Shell, About To Crash (Reprise), and Losing Time / Grand Finale - and then beginning the encore of the night, As I Am. 

It was nice hearing those done in succession, IMO.  Personally, I would get into the songs and be able to experience the transition into the Train of Thought realm from where Six Degree left off.  Closing out the night is a classic show closer from the pre-Train of Thought tours, Learning To Live.  It doesn't matter how many times they have closed shows with this song, there is just something about it that makes me reflect on the band, their past, where they have come from, the experiences of the night of the show they are playing, etc.  It makes one leave with a good feeling of the performance they have just experienced, and Dream Theater never fails to disappoint.

No anomalies were noticed in this recording.  Grading this show on a curve with other bootlegs in my collection, I would rate this show as an A- / A