Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy is being accused of ‘unnecessarily’ speeding up the songs during live performances by a fan.
The discussion about the matter started when a fan took to the Dream Theater subreddit on Reddit to explain that they had seen that Portnoy plays too fast in the band’s more recent shows. While a few fans agreed, most people didn’t like that the user was ‘complaining’ and stated that it was normal.
“I know this fanbase is full of absolute nerds but holy cow, you guys can be so insufferable. It’s a live show, it’s supposed to be an entertaining spectacle, if you want flawless performances you should just stick to the studio recordings, where they play with a click track and edit out any imperfections,” a user responded to the entry.
Another user said it’s what makes concerts better. “It’s the normal human factor. It’s part of why we go to concerts instead of listening to a CD. I for one am grateful that the abysmal click is gone. I don’t want sanitization in my concerts. I want to see the real band, not a cleaned-up version.”
“It’s not uncommon for bands play faster when doing concerts… Not a concern to me,” one other user wrote. Another blamed John Petrucci. “‘…Petrucci struggles to play fast licks because Portnoy plays too fast…’ John needs to sit down with his metronome and practice, then.”
“I agree that Portnoy rushes songs and always has. But why would this be worse as they get older? I assume the tendency would be to slow down technical and/or fast songs as one ages,” another shared their theory. One user even joked about the situation, saying, “Portnoy said f*ck a click track I’m the click track b*tches.”
Portnoy played his first live show with Dream Theater on October 20 since his return to the band. In addition to that, Dream Theater will release their sixteenth studio album, ‘Parasomnia,’ on February 7, 2025, through InsideOut Music. The LP will be the band’s first with Portnoy since 2009’s ‘Black Clouds & Silver Linings.’
While the 2024 leg is done for now, the next leg of the tour isn’t too far. Dream Theater is scheduled to play their first show in 2025 on March Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They will make stops in Canada, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, and more before wrapping it up on July 27 in Istanbul, Turkey.
