20 October, 2024. The opening night of a Dream Theater tour always feels like you’re witnessing history in the making.
Questions like ‘What kind of deep cuts will they surprise us with?’ and ‘How are they going to make the experience feel even bigger than last time?’ reverberate around the starry-eyed crowd, who for the most part look like Christmas has arrived early.
But, of course, this is no typical opening night for the progressive metal heavyweights.
It’s the first show with founder and original drummer Mike Portnoy behind the kit after 14 years away – something which, at times, looked like it was never going to happen. The relationships had become increasingly strained around the time of his departure, some hurtful comments were made, bridges were broken and a new drummer was found in Mike Mangini, who served the band well from 2010 to 2023.
But with Portnoy rekindling his creative relationship with guitarist John Petrucci for 2020 solo album Terminal Velocity and Liquid Tension Experiment’s third full-length the following year, there was always a hope, some might call it a fool’s hope, that the drummer would come home and deliver those signature grooves and fills from behind his Tama throne.
This is the night all of those dreams came true, while also standing as the band’s biggest UK headline show to date. No pressure, then!
As the lights go down, a wave of hysteria consumes the each and every inch of the arena. This is more than history in the making, judging by the looks on people’s faces they know they’re about to experience something well and truly divine, and there’s almost this strange sense of disbelief that we’re finally here.
The next three hours are significant for numerous reasons, so here’s our round-up of the biggest and best moments…
1. Singer James LaBrie introduces the returning drum hero
“Tonight is a momentous occasion,” says LaBrie, as the audience brace themselves for what they’ve all been waiting for. Things quieten down to a whisper as the singer carefully chooses his next words.
“You might have recognised somebody up on the stage? Holy f*ck! You know, it’s surreal, there’s been so moments where it’s felt surreal to have… Mike Portnoy back in the band!”
The response is deafening – so much so the singer knows even one of the most powerful PA systems in the country won’t help him get heard above the cheers ricocheting all around. The drummer stands and emotionally puts his hands together in gratitude. Welcome backs don’t really come much grander than this.
2. A classic Portnoy-era setlist
Naturally, with 15 albums behind them, it’s almost impossible for the prog metal heroes to craft a perfect setlist that leaves no stone unturned for all of those lucky enough to be in attendance.
But the songs performed tonight definitely feel like a masterclass in curation, starting with sprawling 10-minute wonder Metropolis – Part I: The Miracle And The Sleeper, and then two choice cuts from fan-favourite Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory, followed by The Mirror from 1994’s Awake album.
If you’re the kind of fan who thinks Dream Theater were creatively invincible from 1992 to 1999, this is exactly what you’d be hoping for.
The early cuts are then followed some of the more metallic and detuned tracks from albums like Train Of Thought, Octavarium and Systematic Chaos, with more ’90s material to close the night on a high.
3. Two Mike Mangini-era tracks are performed
One of the biggest questions in everyone’s minds on the way in would have been, ‘Will the band on stage acknowledge any of their creative pursuits from the last 14 years?’ This was answered early on in the set with the inclusion of Barstool Warrior from 2019’s Distance Over Time.
Another Mangini-era cut – This Is The Life from 2011’s A Dramatic Turn Of Events – is performed in the second half of the set.
And judging by the smile on the returning drummer’s face, he’s very much at home playing on the songs he wasn’t in the studio to record, rising to the challenge with no shortage of charisma or confidence.
It adds to the overall thrill of the evening in a similar way to watching Axl Rose perform Velvet Revolver track Slither on the Guns N’ Roses Not In This Lifetime reunion tour. It’s a poignant celebration of a shared legacy, if you will.
4. The live debut of Night Terror
The lead single from next year’s sixteenth full-length Parasomnia is essentially a 10-minute mission statement that summarises everything Dream Theater fans want from their favourite band – the perfect blend of big hooks, dramatic twists and, of course, searing guitar solos that only the most accomplished of players would even dare to transcribe.
Its live debut kicks off the second half of the set with all cylinders firing and you can almost sense the collective jaws hitting the floor for John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess’ unison burst lines seven minutes in, delivered at a tempo that feels faster than the speed of light.
But, as any Dream Theater fan will tell you, this is about more than meticulous technique and grand showmanship. 60 seconds later, they slow down into halftime and Petrucci squeezes the most beautiful melodies out of his silver Ernie Ball Music Man six-string, reminding us that despite all the godlike virtuosity, he can wind everything down and play with an incredible amount of restraint and feel when it matters.
This really is as good as it gets.
5. Deep cuts that haven’t been played in almost two decades
It would be fair to say the inclusion of setlist staples like Pull Me Under, Strange Déjà Vu and Under A Glass Moon would have surprised very few of those in attendance tonight. But early noughties tracks like Vacant, Stream Of Consciousness and Octavarium – the latter of which lasting 24 minutes and still not even close to being Dream Theater’s longest composition – haven’t been performed in roughly two decades, which explains the excitement that sweeps across the room as their opening notes get played. Another surprise comes in the form of 1997 ballad Hollow Years, omitted from the setlists ever since Portnoy’s exit from the band. It’s also one of many tracks where the drummer adds melody to his rhythmic contributions by pulling over a mic to provide backing vocals – something which his replacement, with all due respect, wasn’t ever able to do. This notion that Portnoy is more than a drummer is also evident in his lyrical and musical credits on some of the tracks performed tonight: The Mirror, Strange Déjà Vu and Home being some of the much-loved anthems he was paramount in creating. He’s always been an integral part of this band – even when he wasn’t actually in it – and that’s precisely why everyone single person walks out feeling like Dream Theater are whole again. Welcome back, Mr. Portnoy, you’ve been missed!
That setlist in full:
First set
Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper
Act I: Scene Two: I. Overture 1928
Act I: Scene Two: II. Strange Déjà Vu
The Mirror
Panic Attack
Barstool Warrior
Hollow Years
Constant Motion
As I Am
Second set after intermission
Night Terror
This Is the Life
Under a Glass Moon
Vacant
Stream of Consciousness
Octavarium
Encores
Act II: Scene Six: Home
Act II: Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On
Pull Me Under
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