DREAM THEATER ANNOUNCE THE RETURN OF DRUMMER MIKE PORTNOY

[ReaperKK]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R1QBRGEOjM

MP talking about it

Thanks for the post, I'll have to watch it when I get a free moment.

Very stark contrast from when he was in the band. Also got the impression that if he's in charge of the Setlist again, we're not going to get Mangini era stuff.

I haven't watched the video yet but if that's the case that would be disappointing to say the least.

[TAC]

After their worst album (A View From the Top of the World) I actually welcome Mike Portnoy back.  Hopefully Mike keeps his garbage woke politics off of the next album though. Bring back the memorable melodies along with great instumentals. Nothing was memorable from the last album IMO. Can't believe it was well regarded. I am hoping for an album similar to Awake filled with memorable shorter songs (by Dream Theater standards)

I've always been reminded of Awake when I listen to AVFTTOTW.
There's quite a bit memorable from the album.

[gzarruk]

Interesting stuff. It's weird hearing Portnoy express the things he wants in Dream Theater while also knowing that ultimately it's not his call. Very stark contrast from when he was in the band. Also got the impression that if he's in charge of the Setlist again, we're not going to get Mangini era stuff.

The fact that so much is an open question lends credence to the theory that the initial announcement was rushed though. It sounds like they haven't even really had a full band meeting yet.

Yeah, the way he worded it, it seems like JP just called him and went "would you like to come back?", he said "sure!" and they just made an announcement. I'm obviously exaggerating (or anti-exaggerating?) but to the DTF resident lawyers, please watch the video before saying I like to assume and make things up
Mike explicitly says they didn't talk about business at all and just had a friendly chat, that's it.

Really glad to see a wiser, more mellow MP vs how he was when he left the band. He seems genuinely excited about being back without worrying about how much in control of stuff he's going to be once they get together again.

Very stark contrast from when he was in the band. Also got the impression that if he's in charge of the Setlist again, we're not going to get Mangini era stuff.

I haven't watched the video yet but if that's the case that would be disappointing to say the least.

Well, he said he'll do what the other guys want too. Meaning, if they want to play songs from that era then he'll do it, he just wants to revisit mainly the stuff he was involved with.
He also talked about rotating setlists and that kind of thing. It was really nice actually.

[TAC]

Really glad to see a wiser, more mellow MP vs how he was when he left the band. He seems genuinely excited about being back without worrying about how much in control of stuff he's going to be once they get together again.

It's easy for him to say the right things now. We'll see how things go..

[Dedalus]

The fact that so much is an open question

I'm surprised that they had not discussed roles.

Either MP didn't want to be very direct in some of the answers or the band didn't sit down and make everything very clear about how it will be from now on (which would be weird).

Let's see how things actually turn out.

Anyway, it was interesting to watch.

[Dedalus]

Yeah, the way he worded it, it seems like JP just called him and went "would you like to come back?", he said "sure!" and they just made an announcement. I'm obviously exaggerating (or anti-exaggerating?) but to the DTF resident lawyers, please watch the video before saying I like to assume and make things up
Mike explicitly says they didn't talk about business at all and just had a friendly chat, that's it.

I imagined JP saying to the other guys:

"Guys, I almost forgot to tell you.... I met MP yesterday, we talked, we remembered old times and I asked him back to the band, okay? Thanks MM."

I'm just kidding, you can keep the torches and forks.

[Jamesman42]

I've always been reminded of Awake when I listen to AVFTTOTW.
There's quite a bit memorable from the album.

Like what? I gave it two spins and can't remember anything from it and it felt samey. 2 spins isn't a lot but past DT albums have stuck out to me, good or bad.

[wolfking]

I've always been reminded of Awake when I listen to AVFTTOTW.
There's quite a bit memorable from the album.

Like what? I gave it two spins and can't remember anything from it and it felt samey. 2 spins isn't a lot but past DT albums have stuck out to me, good or bad.

I hated it when it came out, even after around 3 spins.  In its defense it needs more listens.  I don't think its anywhere near DT's best and a lot of my initial thoughts still ring true but I can at least sit through it now and enjoy parts of it.  I can't get on board with Tim's Awake reference though.

[TAC]

I've always been reminded of Awake when I listen to AVFTTOTW.
There's quite a bit memorable from the album.

Like what? I gave it two spins and can't remember anything from it and it felt samey. 2 spins isn't a lot but past DT albums have stuck out to me, good or bad.

I hated it when it came out, even after around 3 spins.  In its defense it needs more listens.  I don't think its anywhere near DT's best and a lot of my initial thoughts still ring true but I can at least sit through it now and enjoy parts of it.  I can't get on board with Tim's Awake reference though.

While Awake has some softer spots like SDV and LSOAD, I've always considered Awake heavy, dense, and technical. Three adjectives that I use to describe View.

[wolfking]

I've always been reminded of Awake when I listen to AVFTTOTW.
There's quite a bit memorable from the album.

Like what? I gave it two spins and can't remember anything from it and it felt samey. 2 spins isn't a lot but past DT albums have stuck out to me, good or bad.

I hated it when it came out, even after around 3 spins.  In its defense it needs more listens.  I don't think its anywhere near DT's best and a lot of my initial thoughts still ring true but I can at least sit through it now and enjoy parts of it.  I can't get on board with Tim's Awake reference though.

While Awake has some softer spots like SDV and LSOAD, I've always considered Awake heavy, dense, and technical. Three adjectives that I use to describe View.

I can kind of see where you are coming from but in my eyes it doesn't hold a candle to Awake.  Maybe it time it will grow even more, I hope so.  I am happy so many people though rank it along side the classics though.

[crystalstars17]

Very stark contrast from when he was in the band. Also got the impression that if he's in charge of the Setlist again, we're not going to get Mangini era stuff.

I haven't watched the video yet but if that's the case that would be disappointing to say the least.

He also talked about rotating setlists and that kind of thing. It was really nice actually.

This is confirming all my worst fears. This may be it for me, honestly. I don't want to see the show being described here.

[axeman90210]

Very stark contrast from when he was in the band. Also got the impression that if he's in charge of the Setlist again, we're not going to get Mangini era stuff.

I haven't watched the video yet but if that's the case that would be disappointing to say the least.

He also talked about rotating setlists and that kind of thing. It was really nice actually.

This is confirming all my worst fears. This may be it for me, honestly. I don't want to see the show being described here.

I get being upset if they cut out Mangini era songs, but is there something about the rotating setlists that you don't like?

[crystalstars17]

I get being upset if they cut out Mangini era songs, but is there something about the rotating setlists that you don't like?

It's just a personal preference. I don't like surprises. I'd rather know exactly what I'm getting.

[porcacultor]

I get being upset if they cut out Mangini era songs, but is there something about the rotating setlists that you don't like?

It's just a personal preference. I don't like surprises. I'd rather know exactly what I'm getting.

If it eases your fears, I cannot imagine the setlists varying all that much between shows anymore. That would either take a lot of rehearsal/preparation or being willing to take gambles in terms of digging stuff back up. After 10+ years without that many surprises in the setlist, I can't see them instantly jumping into a more adventurous mode on that front.

The most that could happen would be varying between setlist A and setlist B, which they already did in the ADTOE days.

[crystalstars17]

The most that could happen would be varying between setlist A and setlist B, which they already did in the ADTOE days.

I could live with that, maybe. It would still make the ticket buying process more complicated though because when the setlists get posted you'd have to choose which date to attend based on the setlist you prefer. And if that setlist doesn't happen at your preferred venue, then, ugh. It's just a big eye roll.

But that's simply a fly in the ointment compared with the idea that they may choose to just ignore over a decade of the band's history. And as that's where most of my favorite songs come from, then it might be time for me to stop attending these concerts.

[axeman90210]

As far as the setlist rotation, I think the setlist won't be static, but I don't think it will be like the pre-Mangini era either where they could play any song at any time either. There will likely be certain songs in fixed positions and certain spots where they have multiple options (e.g. song five is where we play one of these two heavy songs or song eight is where we play one of these three songs from Octavarium). I think the approach has to be to just go to the show that works for you location/date wise and appreciate what you get and not sweat what you don't.

I would expect that the first tour will be all Portnoy era songs because that's literally 2/3rds of the band's discography and after 13 years out that's what they'll be excited to play with MP back. I do think subsequent tours will see *some* MM era material featured. Breaking All Illusions is held up as a DT classic on par with anything from Images or Awake, The Alien gave them their first and only Grammy win, etc... I don't think it'll ever be a ton of representation, you're not going to get a tour where they're playing 5-6 songs a night from the Mangini albums, but I would be a little surprised and disappointed if they never played anything from  those albums again.

[wolfking]

I don't think James would want to many changing songs for his vocals truthfully.  I think maybe half a dozen songs in the bank that they can just interchange and swap out a few each night here and there.  I think that would be fine.

[nobloodyname]

Yeah, the way he worded it, it seems like JP just called him and went "would you like to come back?", he said "sure!" and they just made an announcement. I'm obviously exaggerating (or anti-exaggerating?) but to the DTF resident lawyers, please watch the video before saying I like to assume and make things up
Mike explicitly says they didn't talk about business at all and just had a friendly chat, that's it.

I imagined JP saying to the other guys:

"Guys, I almost forgot to tell you.... I met MP yesterday, we talked, we remembered old times and I asked him back to the band, okay? Thanks MM."

I'm just kidding, you can keep the torches and forks.

This made me chuckle! It's so daft, it might almost have gone down that way

That aside, nice responses from MP.

Edit: the rotating setlist question and answer starts at about 6m30s, for anyone who's specifically interested in that.

[Madman Shepherd]

I get being upset if they cut out Mangini era songs, but is there something about the rotating setlists that you don't like?

It's just a personal preference. I don't like surprises. I'd rather know exactly what I'm getting.

I don't mind surprises. I just hate it when the city before gets a song I was dying for, the city after gets that song, but my city doesn't. It's happened more than once.

Btw, most interesting part of the Q&A was when Mike talked about the phone call with John and said something like, "if anything a lot of it was talking about how I'd fit in to the band."

I wonder if that was another way of saying, "you'll have a say but it'll be 1/5 of a say."

[SwedishGoose]

I get being upset if they cut out Mangini era songs, but is there something about the rotating setlists that you don't like?

It's just a personal preference. I don't like surprises. I'd rather know exactly what I'm getting.

I don't mind surprises. I just hate it when the city before gets a song I was dying for, the city after gets that song, but my city doesn't. It's happened more than once.

Btw, most interesting part of the Q&A was when Mike talked about the phone call with John and said something like, "if anything a lot of it was talking about how I'd fit in to the band."

I wonder if that was another way of saying, "you'll have a say but it'll be 1/5 of a say."

Yeah the missing out of songs you want to hear because they are not played at your show is why I too prefer sttic setlists.
I live in Stockholm and they always play one show here (ok two for The Astonishing) so we never get the benefit from rotating setlists.
There are also no other shows close by. 5 hours by train or an hours flight. So getting a second concert in is not feasible for me.

Having static setlists also helps in creating a great visual presentation of the show.

[nobloodyname]

Having static setlists also helps in creating a great visual presentation of the show.

I must have missed that the last 13 years.

[SwedishGoose]

Having static setlists also helps in creating a great visual presentation of the show.

I must have missed that the last 13 years.

[SwedishGoose]

Sure the Images & Words and beyond was not great in that regard.

The Astonishing however..... that would have been a great BR

[nobloodyname]

To be fair, the presentation for The Astonishing was indeed pretty good

[MoraWintersoul]

I got the impression that he's not gonna advocate for MM-era songs himself but is not gonna mind playing them when they inevitably end up in the setlist. He could have said something more affirmative, but he's just being honest: putting those songs in the setlist is not going to be his specific focus and it's going to have to come from the other guys.

[nikatapi]

I got the impression that he's not gonna advocate for MM-era songs himself but is not gonna mind playing them when they inevitably end up in the setlist. He could have said something more affirmative, but he's just being honest: putting those songs in the setlist is not going to be his specific focus and it's going to have to come from the other guys.

That makes sense. There's no reason for Mike to want to play these songs (let alone ask for it), but if the rest of the band wants to include a few in the set, he's not opposed to it either.
I really liked this Q&A, indeed MP seems like almost a different person now, much more subdued compared to what i remember from him a decade ago.

[MoraWintersoul]

The change in him has been gradual. I think it was his album collection videos a couple of years ago that had me first noticing how much chilled out and positive he is about everything. He showed an OSI vinyl (last record in this episode) and talked extremely positively about the experience. Not that he wasn't entitled to his feelings about it before, but it seems like he could really objectively see it for what it was for the first time - a different kind of experience for him and an opportunity to be part of something interesting, even though he didn't have the control and input he liked to have in his projects at the time.

[KevShmev]

I think many of us have noticed how much more mellow Portnoy has been the last few years, so I wasn't surprised at how he handled that questioning.  He made it clear, in a casual way, that being back in charge of set lists is his biggest want, but time will tell how that plays out.  As has been talked about, I think the best case scenario would be meeting in the middle and keeping a handful of spots open each night to rotate rather than doing it to the level they did from 2002-2006.  I am sure Petrucci knows that "forcing" Portnoy to adhere to their modern day "we are playing the exact same set list every night" stance would likely result in an unhappy Mikey, so I suspect there will definitely be some give and take where that is concerned.  I think the most obvious agreement would be them letting Portnoy largely be in charge of set lists again, with the understanding that songs from Mangini era need to be featured as well to some extent even it's just one or two songs a night.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

I am sensing that they will meet in the middle on many things. I don't think they're going to ask him to play a lot of MM era songs because for DT16 at least they're going to juice a lot of the nostalgia that fans are experiencing. It's probably going to be nearly all MP era material. Maybe they throw in the Alien, which is their only grammy winner. Also when you get to a certain age it becomes very cumbersome to learn someone else's songs. Not everyone wants to do that.

At the same time I do not think we are going back to full on rotating setlists because I think if JP and JR wanted to do that, we would have seen it in the last 13 years. However, I could see a compromise that includes swapping out one or two songs depending on the show.

Given MP is awesome at the fan engagement stuff I think they'll tell him to have at it. If anything it will take some burden off their shoulders. However, the reunited DT is not going to be the 2010 DT. MP is clearly seeing his place in the band differently at this time. You can hear it in that interview. At this point, the most interesting thing about all of this is how the band dynamic and live shows will evolve.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Very stark contrast from when he was in the band. Also got the impression that if he's in charge of the Setlist again, we're not going to get Mangini era stuff.

I haven't watched the video yet but if that's the case that would be disappointing to say the least.

He also talked about rotating setlists and that kind of thing. It was really nice actually.

This is confirming all my worst fears. This may be it for me, honestly. I don't want to see the show being described here.

I get what you are saying. As a huge fan of the MM-era, I would also be disappointed if they totally ignore the last 13 years of music- and to me, that would be a statement about what they think about the demand to hear those tunes. I think in the very short term that is likely what will happen. But 2-3 tours from now I think some of that stuff will creep back into the setlist to a limited extent. I could see MP's style meshing really well with songs like Fall Into the Light, S2N, Paralyzed or Behind the Veil.

[hunnus2000]

I am sensing that they will meet in the middle on many things. I don't think they're going to ask him to play a lot of MM era songs because for DT16 at least they're going to juice a lot of the nostalgia that fans are experiencing. It's probably going to be nearly all MP era material. Maybe they throw in the Alien, which is their only grammy winner. Also when you get to a certain age it becomes very cumbersome to learn someone else's songs. Not everyone wants to do that.

At the same time I do not think we are going back to full on rotating setlists because I think if JP and JR wanted to do that, we would have seen it in the last 13 years. However, I could see a compromise that includes swapping out one or two songs depending on the show.

Given MP is awesome at the fan engagement stuff I think they'll tell him to have at it. If anything it will take some burden off their shoulders. However, the reunited DT is not going to be the 2010 DT. MP is clearly seeing his place in the band differently at this time. You can hear it in that interview. At this point, the most interesting thing about all of this is how the band dynamic and live shows will evolve.

I agree with the majority of your post except the bolded part. I hope they do equal amount of MM era which was an era of great melodic songs and I have no doubt MP would not struggle to learn MM songs. I want to see them move forward and am tired of hearing PMU live which would strain JLB's voice.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

I am sensing that they will meet in the middle on many things. I don't think they're going to ask him to play a lot of MM era songs because for DT16 at least they're going to juice a lot of the nostalgia that fans are experiencing. It's probably going to be nearly all MP era material. Maybe they throw in the Alien, which is their only grammy winner. Also when you get to a certain age it becomes very cumbersome to learn someone else's songs. Not everyone wants to do that.

At the same time I do not think we are going back to full on rotating setlists because I think if JP and JR wanted to do that, we would have seen it in the last 13 years. However, I could see a compromise that includes swapping out one or two songs depending on the show.

Given MP is awesome at the fan engagement stuff I think they'll tell him to have at it. If anything it will take some burden off their shoulders. However, the reunited DT is not going to be the 2010 DT. MP is clearly seeing his place in the band differently at this time. You can hear it in that interview. At this point, the most interesting thing about all of this is how the band dynamic and live shows will evolve.

I agree with the majority of your post except the bolded part. I hope they do equal amount of MM era which was an era of great melodic songs and I have no doubt MP would not struggle to learn MM songs. I want to see them move forward and am tired of hearing PMU live which would strain JLB's voice.

I hope you are right and they do an equal amount but part of me suspects they are going to give us 99% MP era songs. Time will tell how this all shakes out. We are going to hear the Alien again (albeit it a very different version with a new drummer), no doubt about that.

As far as MP learning the MM songs, I don't think that is an issue either because he is not going to try to play the parts faithfully to what MM played. He's going to play an approximation of it in his own style. Most people aren't going to care or be able to discern the very fine details of what is going on regardless. It's going to work well for some songs and be a little meh for others to the extent that a small number of fans want to hear what Mangini played.

[TAC]

As far as MP learning the MM songs, I don't think that is an issue either because he is not going to try to play the parts faithfully to what MM played. He's going to play an approximation of it in his own style. Most people aren't going to care or be able to discern the very fine details of what is going on regardless. It's going to work well for some songs and be a little meh for others to the extent that a small number of fans want to hear what Mangini played.

This. MP is an amazing drummer and perhaps time has caused people to forget this. I have no doubt that MP could play the entire Mangine Era catalog.

[emtee]

13 years of music...that would be a huge chunk of their history to avoid. My guess would be 80/20 or 90/10 in terms of percentages.

And yes, MP is a quick learner and whatever the band asks of him, he will execute. I don't think it will be a carbon copy of MM's parts, it will be MP's take on them and the integrity of the songs will not be compromised in any way.

[TAC]

Even during the MM Era, once an album's proper tour was finished, JP never kept any MM songs in the set to begin with, save for BAI on the DT12 tour, and The Bigger Picture on the I&W&B tour.