Speaking with Chile’s Sonar FM, drum legend Mike Portnoy discussed his return to Dream Theater 13 years after he left the band. Check out the interview below.
Portnoy: “Personally, I think we’re just all older and wiser, more mellow. I am not as much of a control freak as I used to be; I’m a lot more easygoing, a lot more mellow. So, yeah, there’s the one side of the natural age of everybody just — we’re now in our 50s and 60s, and I think we’re just more mature and experienced. But the other side to that question is finding my place within this new chemistry and overseeing every area. And then when I left the band, they needed to take some of these areas and divide them up amongst themselves and have different people overseeing different areas.”
“Now that I’m coming back, I have to kind of see what’s comfortable. I have to very much respect that they’ve had 13 years without me and they may do things a certain way differently now.”
Dream Theater recently announced their 40th Anniversary Tour 2024 – 2025.The tour – presented as An Evening With Dream Theater – is the first outing since drummer Mike Portnoy’s return to the lineup joining vocalist James LaBrie, bassist John Myung, guitarist John Petrucci, and keyboardist Jordan Rudess.
The European leg consists of stops in 23 cities and kicks off on October 20 and runs through November 24. Dream Theater will be performing classics and fan favorites from their catalog in what promises to be an unforgettable evening of music.
An Evening With Dream Theater 40th Anniversary Tour 2024 – 2025
October
20 – London, England – The O2
22 – Berlin, Germany – Uber Eats Music Hall
23 – Koln, Germany – Palladium
25 – Milan, Italy – Forum
26 – Rome, Italy – Palazzo dello Sport
28 – Munich, Germany – Zenith
29 – Zagreb, Croatia – Arena Zagreb
November
1 – Budapest, Hungary – Budapest Arena
2 – Prague – Czech Republic – Fortuna Arena
3 – Lodz, Poland – Atlas Arena
6 – Helsinki, Finland – Metro Areena
8 – Stockholm. Sweden – Waterfront
9 – Oslo, Norway – Spektrum
10 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Poolen
12 – Luxembourg – Rockhal
13 – Zurich, Switzerland – The Hall
14 – Lyon, France – Halle Tony Garnier
16 – Lisbon, Portugal – MEO Arena
17 – Madrid, Spain – La Cubierta de Leganés
20 – Stuttgart, Germany – Beethovensaal
21 – Frankfurt, Germany – Jahrhundderthalle
23 – Paris, France – Adidas Arena
24 – Amsterdam – AFAS Live
Dream Theater has been in their DTHQ studio working on their 16th studio album and the first with Portnoy since 2009’s Black Clouds & Silver Linings. More information on the upcoming release will be unveiled in the future.
(Photo Courtesy of Dream Theater)