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 …