Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy sat down with Metal Pilgrim and discussed how old age affects their shows.
“Well, we’re older. It’s harder to play three-hour shows when you’re in your 50s and 60s like we are,” the drummer explained. “It’s not like it was all those years ago in our 20s and 30s. We have physical limitations that the body can only endure so much.”
He also detailed how the band has to adjust some of the songs due to their age. “And you asked in the last question if there was anything that we were conscious of when I was putting the set list together. There weren’t any songs that we stayed away from,” he continued. “Everything was fair game. But there were some of the older songs where maybe we had to make some adjustments to the vocal melodies just because James isn’t 20 years old anymore. There’s physical limitations to what a voice can physically do.”
“So there were some of the older songs, maybe from ‘Images and Words’ or ‘Awake,’ where we had to look at the melodies and make some adjustments to accommodate that. And the same could be said for the drums. Not that I’m making any adjustments, but the drums are also, like the vocals, a very physical instrument. And your body can only do so much,” he added.
Portnoy first revealed in 2024 that he has started to feel his age. However, he says he’s doing his best to keep going. “I’ll be honest, I’m starting to feel my age a little bit. I’m not the kid I was 20, 30 years ago,” the drummer said in a chat with ‘So…You Want To Be A Musician?’ podcast. “So you’ve just gotta do the best you can. I mean, for me, I play so much that it keeps me on my toes.”
“Up until rejoining Dream Theater recently, I was playing in so many different bands, which meant I was constantly playing, constantly surrounded by different musicians, which always inspired me,” he added.
Old age doesn’t mean retirement for Dream Theater. The band continues their shows, and their next is to take place on February 7 in Philadelphia. The band will also release their upcoming studio album, ‘Parasomnia’ on the same day.
