Take Backs from Dream Theater Concert India 2017

Dream Theater, after 27 years of waiting, did their debut India show on October 8, MMRDA Grounds, Mumbai. Opium Events made this long-lived dream come true for thousands of attendees. The concert saw a footfall of approximately 8500+ progressive rock fans. The concert experience was a packed set of 3 hours, with a lot of rain, outstanding sounds and minus the "Act of God", great organization! It was a historic evening! Cyrus Gorimar, a musician himself, as well as the brain behind Opium Events, an event production company that has in the past been responsible for bringing in international acts including Joe Satriani in 2005, Sepultura in 2007 and Michael Angelo Batio in 2015.  It's fair to say Cyrus has been the greatest follower and fan of the prog. rock band Dream Theater, and he has been working on his dream of bringing down the band since 2008. He not only managed the India debut show of the band but also was the promoter as well as the production company behind the show in Dubai.

Meet & Greet Dream Theater India 2017

The purpose of meet & greet was grabbing a chance for personal interaction with the band. The standard format applicable globally was followed by Dream Theater India Meet & Greet as well. The official meet & greet partner were SoundRink, and those who applied for the meet & greet via SoundRink did get the once in a lifetime chance to meet their favorite band. You get only get 10 seconds to speak to the band. Those are 10,000 milliseconds to experience something you waited 27 years for! The meet & greet happened in a small hall behind the stage, the band sat on the other side of the table. Fans qued up to experience 10-20 seconds with their favorite band member, get a picture clicked with the band, getting their autograph and seize every second. Here's a personal experience shared by Varun Rajput, singer of the band Antariksh who was one of the lucky ones to be there! [caption id="attachment_2071" align="alignright" width="473"] Varun Rajput with Dream Theater[/caption]

I waited for this moment for a very long time, I am still recovering from having gotten drenched in the Dream Theater Concert, it's a happy memory. I have been a fan of their music for 12-13 years, we used to play so many of their songs in the earlier bands I was a part of. It was a surreal moment for me, also waiting for so long to finally watch them play live. I cut my vacation short, flew in early all the way to make sure I don't miss out on my much awaited concert experience. I froze when the moment came where I didn't know what to talk to them about, you know? I got a chance to speak with John Petrucci about his guitar, the earnie ball Magesty, its the same guitar as I play, and I'll remember that conversation always. It was brief, but it meant the world.

The Concert Experience

So what makes a concert experience fulfilling? The Sound & Stage production was great, while it was a dry day, people were high on the sound and rain! We witnessed a footfall of close to 8500 people gathered at MMRDA Grounds. Unfortunately, the opening act Blue Blood couldn't perform due to an injury of a band member. The concert commenced at 7:30 pm, the band played a full-fledged 3 hour set for the crowd who were chanting "Dream Theater", hopeful the show goes on despite the rains. The entire ground was well carpeted, we can't undo the damage Mumbai floods had already done to the grounds. The crew and management were very kind and hospitable, helpful towards most concerns that came in from the audiences. The elevated dream class arena had some delicious food being served and had a passage to the platinum section to experience mind-blowing sound from the console. It sure was all worth it! Production, Sound, Safety & Security, Permits, everything was on point! 

The Turnout was as expected and more! We saw the spirits of the Rock And Metal community after a long time, said Cyrus Gorimar in an exclusive interview with Loudest.

Did They Break-Even?

It's not very likely that they broke-even, while it was impressive to see the turnout despite the cost of tickets being slightly on the higher side. It's important to note that the organizers pulled off one of the biggest shows of the year, without a sponsor or secondary funding. They completely relied on ticketing as a revenue stream. This was after a long time BookMyShow saw such a fast and good response towards sales of tickets for a rock show. The organizers worked hard and smart on their budget expenditures, to ensure a minimum to no losses. In the recent past, we have noted many international acts flying into the country and in fact, many are due this year. To name a few, Ed Sheeran, Kygo, Wiz Khalifa, and many more. Did you know ticketing revenue ideally should be one of the major revenue streams for the event and entertainment ecosystem, while most organizers do not budget ticketing revenue as an enabler to break-even? Surprisingly, anything that comes from tickets is said to be profits! This is only so because India is used to free consumption of music, and this negatively impacts our industry. This concert definitely a good example of the changing trends.

This was a passion project, not a business venture, so that should tell you everything on the economics, said Cyrus. If I haven’t recovered my costs you wouldn’t see me do something else...he added.

Kudo's to the Management On Running The Show 

To quote Benjamin Franklin, "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail". The Management was well prepared to tackle the weather condition, to ensure the show goes on without any compromises. And therefore the rains didn't stop anyone, not the fans, the band or even the organizers. It was almost like an added effect of rains, which made it all even better. Heavy Rains, Dry Day, BIG Crowd, and the worlds biggest band in India. I mean, can you picture all of that together? THAT happened. Like many publishers mentioned, Dream Theater is a sound band, they tour almost 6000+ kgs of sound equipment and gears with them. The risk of it all getting destroyed due to rains?  Holy Moly! Can't let happen.  

When we at opium deal with Production we deal with complete top notch quality work without any compromise. Hence the rated roof stage quality and rated trussing put the entire band at ease, along with other arrangements. A band as professional as DT wouldn’t go ahead with an under baked show set up, said Cyrus Gorimar

 

On The Challenges 

Rain was a challenge. It was not just mere rains but the thunderstorm lightening and heavy rains put together. Our production was so strong without a compromise that it could withstand a cyclone. And that’s why the artist played to a no compromise, no nonsense production. We had 3D walk thrus of the entire venue said Cyrus.

What Did The Fans Say? 

All we can say is, it was a happy ending. The rock community in India is very close-knit and definitely knows how to enjoy. They know what it really means when we say "The Show Must Go On". The audiences were as ready for the dreadful rains as the organizers were. Rainboots, Umbrellas, Raincoats, Plastic bags, they were all set! There were some unpleasant experiences faced by the audiences due to rains, but the management did take most requests, concerns into consideration for those who approached them.

Watch this video compiled and uploaded by a fan!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgWuqtvZEww[/embedyt]

Vaibhav Chawla, New Delhi, From learning their songs to playing some of them live to finally witnessing the band perform it for you. Its been an epic journey so far. BIG ups to Cyrus Gorimar for making this happen! 3 hours of Dream Theater for someone who's grown up listening to DT non-stop. #Eargasm #DreamTheaterIndiaTour #ImagesWordsAndBeyond

They'll Come Back in 2019  

Closing the talk with the thought that, it took them 27 years to come to India, they're gonna make sure they don't miss out on this big chunk of fans waiting to watch them live! See you soon Dream Theater!