Gary Holt recently went to a Dream Theater show and shared what he thought on Instagram.
“Just got my mind blown in every way by Dream Theater, sickest show I’ve seen in ages!” the guitarist wrote in the caption of his post, along with a video from the concert. “What an amazing performance, sound, playing, everything was perfect!”
Holt continued, “Thanks Mike Portnoy for the show!! I’m hooked! And time to burn my guitars after watching John Petrucci, seriously ridiculous epic playing!”
“Awww thanks Bro. So glad you dug it,” Portnoy commented under Holt’s post. On February 7, Dream Theater started their 40th anniversary tour in North America.
The 18-song set included the live debut of a new ‘Parasomnia’ song, a ‘Systematic Chaos’ song performed for the first time since 2017, and Portnoy’s first North American show with the band since 2010. Fans packed the Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia to see Dream Theater celebrate their 40-year history.
The setlist was similar to Dream Theater’s 2024 tours, with a few changes. ‘Midnight Messiah’ had its live debut, becoming the second song from ‘Parasomnia’ to be performed live. ‘The Dark Eternal Night’ was played for the first time since 2017.
On ‘Parasomnia’s release day, Portnoy shared a message with fans. He wrote, “Exactly one year ago (to the day!), Feb 7th 2024, the five of us stood in the same room together for the first time in well over a decade… we then spent the majority of the year creating our first album together in 15 years. Today, we can finally share it with all of you…”
He added, “We could not be prouder or more excited about what we created. We were so inspired being together again and feel we really rose to the occasion to create something special. ‘Parasomnia’ represents everything that is classic Dream Theater… mixing tastes of the past with visions of the future…”
“We hope you enjoy this sonic experience. It is best enjoyed in your optimum listening environment… (preferably from start to finish like watching a film). But however you take it in, we hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we did making it,” he concluded.
Dream Theater will perform in Portland on February 28 and in Reno on March 2.
