Dream Theater played their first show with drummer Mike Portnoy in 14 years, kicking off their 40th anniversary tour Sunday night (October 20th) at O2 Arena in London.
The 18-song set was a career-spanning experience, traversing many eras of the band and revisiting numerous tracks from Portnoy’s original stint.
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Billed as “An Evening with Dream Theater” on this tour, the set was broken into three segments (Act I, Act II, and the encore), each sticking heavily to material Dream Theater recorded with Portnoy behind the kit. Notably “Vacant,” “Stream of Consciousness,” and “Octavarium” were played live for the first time since the mid 2000s, and the band also debuted “Night Terror,” the new single from their forthcoming album Parasomnia.
Earlier this month, we spoke with Portnoy about his feelings going into that first show in London with his Dream Theater bandmates.
“That very first night at the O2 Arena in London, I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like,” he told Heavy Consequence. “I’ve dreamt about it 100 times, through the years, of what it would be like to be onstage with those guys again. And to feel the interaction and the love and the excitement in the audience, it’s going to be so electric. I can’t wait. I cannot wait. And we’re now getting so close. It’s going to be incredible.”
The UK/European leg of Dream Theater’s 40th anniversary tour runs through the end of November, followed by a Latin American jaunt in December (get tickets to those overseas shows here).
After that, the band will make its way across North American in February and March, kicking off that leg of the trek on February 7th in Philadelphia. You can get tickets here.
Below you can watch audience footage of Mike Portnoy’s first show with Dream Theater in 14 years and see the full setlist.
Setlist:
Act I
Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper (first time since 2017)
Act I: Scene Two: I. Overture 1928
Act I: Scene Two: II. Strange Déjà Vu
The Mirror (first time since 2014, with “Lie” outro)
Panic Attack (first time since 2015)
Barstool Warrior (first time with Mike Portnoy)
Hollow Years (first time since 2010; demo version)
Constant Motion (first time since 2015)
As I Am (first time since 2019)
Act II
Night Terror (live debut)
This Is The Life (first time since 2012, first time with Mike Portnoy)
Under A Glass Moon (first time since 2017)
Vacant (first time since 2006)
Stream Of Consciousness (first time since 2004)
Octavarium (first time in full since 2006)
Encore
Act II: Scene Six: Home
Act II: Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On
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