DREAM THEATER - South American leg of the 40th Anniversary Tour 2024-2025

[Stadler]

Rumor has it will be:

or maybe:

HAHAHAHA!!! LEGENDARY!!!!

(I'd sign up for the Van Halen, though, in a heartbeat!!!)

[hefdaddy42]

It'd be cool if they covered something but I doubt it would happen this go around. I feel people might be slightly pissed not getting a full DT show of DT material with MP back.

Those cover shows were fun the first time around, but I for one would prefer no cover shows ever again.  If I pay for DT, I want DT.  A song here or there might be OK, I guess, but those shouldn't happen very often, either.

[Stadler]

Those cover shows were fun the first time around, but I for one would prefer no cover shows ever again.  If I pay for DT, I want DT.  A song here or there might be OK, I guess, but those shouldn't happen very often, either.

At least the VH record is only 30 minutes long, so we'll lose, what, two songs? 

[OpenYourEyes311]

Those cover shows were fun the first time around, but I for one would prefer no cover shows ever again.  If I pay for DT, I want DT.  A song here or there might be OK, I guess, but those shouldn't happen very often, either.

I agree here. BUT, I'd be OK with them doing a DT album in full for a "Night 2" situation. I believe they did that on the 20th Anniversary tour a couple times with SFAM. Maybe they pull out Scenes or Images again since they're fairly fresh in their minds, or come out with something they've never done in full, like Awake (30th Anniversary?) or Black Clouds (for no reason at all).

I believe, however, that it will be a normal Evening With show with a slightly different set from Night 1. Surprises are fin, though.

[gzarruk]

Please no more cover sets, but what are the odds of them recording both nights for some kind of release? I just gave a quick look to the tour dates and it seemed like these are the only two shows at the same city and venue in a row. It might not be the "main" live release from the tour, but I guess it could be a LNF one if they ever bring those back.

[Stadler]

Please no more cover sets, but what are the odds of them recording both nights for some kind of release? I just gave a quick look to the tour dates and it seemed like these are the only two shows at the same city and venue in a row. It might not be the "main" live release from the tour, but I guess it could be a LNF one if they ever bring those back.

It's certainly a great opportunity to get any "rotational" songs on tape, if there are any (and I think the consensus is that there will be).

[Setlist Scotty]

Those cover shows were fun the first time around, but I for one would prefer no cover shows ever again.  If I pay for DT, I want DT.  A song here or there might be OK, I guess, but those shouldn't happen very often, either.

Assuming they bring back that tradition (and that's a BIG if) you will know if they're going to do a cover album or not ahead of time. MP was always very clear about that. And even if someone only attended the second show, it's not as if they still didn't get a full set and encore of DT material. At all the shows where they covered another band's album, they played at least 90 minutes of DT material, which is more than some bands/artists do for an entire show!

Plus those shows didn't happen often. The band performed a total of 548 shows since the tradition started (excluding the MM-era) and even out of 183 Evening With shows during that period, only 10 of those shows had full cover albums. That's hardly "often" let alone the occasional stand alone one-off cover.

At least the VH record is only 30 minutes long, so we'll lose, what, two songs? 

Maybe not even one!   

[Mosh]

I will be extremely surprised if they ever cover an entire album again. I'll be even more surprised if they make that choice on this 40th anniversary reunion tour. It would just be a giant head scratcher. Something like playing all of I&W or SFAM on the second night of a two night run? Maybe, but I would still be pretty surprised.

[emtee]

I'm more inclined to think maybe the new album in its entirety with maybe ACoS, and some epics as the 2nd set but nobody knows.

[gzarruk]

It's certainly a great opportunity to get any "rotational" songs on tape, if there are any (and I think the consensus is that there will be).

I agree! And being in a neighbor country, if they announced a live recording I'd have to try my best to go and be part of it. Convincing the wife might be the hard part, tho

[MinistroRaven]

I agree! And being in a neighbor country, if they announced a live recording I'd have to try my best to go and be part of it. Convincing the wife might be the hard part, tho

You can always file for divorce 

[gzarruk]

You can always file for divorce 

That won't be necessary

[MarceloMalulo]

Hey guys! I'm ready with my ticket for the 1st night in Chile, I'm really excited! This is my second time seeing them live, first was DOT tour. Being two nights here, I hope they record a live DVD here, it would be awesome, and the crowd is great lol, anyone here coming to the shows?

[Trav]

Rumor has it will be:

or maybe:

Did you have these on standby??

[devieira73]

I loved the Marching Out cover, it seems like the old man is farting big time!! 

[Setlist Scotty]

Did you have these on standby??

When I started doing them in 2002, MP didn't want to reveal which albums he had in mind, so I took it as a challenge to guess which ones they might be, and decided to have fun doing a variety of them where I thought I could do something convincing, create a proper band logo (if it wasn't merely a font), incorporate the Majesty symbol somewhere that didn't look out of place and also if possible some elements from DT's album covers or inner sleeve artwork. Before MP split, I did 80 different covers but lost the desire afterward. Curiously enough, with MP's return I stared doing a few more as well as completing a few that I had started but never completed. The vast majority will never be used, but it's a project that I enjoy doing.

I loved the Marching Out cover, it seems like the old man is farting big time!! 

I love it for the irony of the title in comparison to what the old man is doing!   


edit: And since I'm sure there's the inevitable question what all the other covers are, here's a compilation of many of them that I have posted as my cover photo on my FB account:

[devieira73]

Nice, Scott!! The "Awake Under Pressure" is specially good!!
PS: thinking better... I guess I just explained your joke on the MO cover! Did you think of that on first place, right?

[Stadler]

I dig the Majesty logo in the style of the Eddie Van Halen guitar stripes!  That's awesome!

[Setlist Scotty]

Nice, Scott!! The "Awake Under Pressure" is specially good!!

Thanks! That's one of my favorites, too! You probably can't see it, but in place of the handwritten p/g on the right side, I lifted one of MP's hand drawn Majesty symbols and put that there in it's place. 

PS: thinking better... I guess I just explained your joke on the MO cover! Did you think of that on first place, right?

I did. When I was first trying to figure out what I could put in place of Yngwie and I saw the back of ACoS, I thought having the old man in the lawn chair was the most preposterous and ridiculous thing that I could put there that could work (especially with the coloring), and given that Yngwie is preposterous and ridiculous, I thought it was fitting!   

I dig the Majesty logo in the style of the Eddie Van Halen guitar stripes!  That's awesome!

Now that detail is something I never thought of. Originally I just had the Majesty symbol super-imposed (reversed) on the Diver Down flag, but then thought a better way to do it would be to blow of the Majesty symbol just to see the inner white lines (more like the original flag). The EVH guitar stripes didn't even come into my mind, but I'm glad to make a further subconscious connection!   

[Trav]

Thanks. Yeah I was curious if you had just started making them for fun along with the commissioned ones. Or if there was an "official reason" for those. Kudos because I remember seeing those as they were being presented back in the day, and they were always so cool. If I didn't compliment you twenty years ago on the MP forum, I'll make up for it now! 

[Setlist Scotty]

Thanks. Yeah I was curious if you had just started making them for fun along with the commissioned ones. Or if there was an "official reason" for those. Kudos because I remember seeing those as they were being presented back in the day, and they were always so cool. If I didn't compliment you twenty years ago on the MP forum, I'll make up for it now! 

Thanks for your kind words! Much appreciated!   

[brakkum]

Another Brazil date announced on MP's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/mikeportnoy/

[MirrorMask]

That video is hilarious 

[Dedalus]

I wasn't planning on seeing the current tour, but at the last minute I decided I would go to the show. And I did.

For a number of reasons I hadn't been to a show for ten years (not only DT, but any band). Financially it wasn't easy, this is the most expensive show I've ever been to in my entire life.

Knowing that they would play Metropolis, even with James' difficulties, was the main reason. I became a DT fan because of Metropolis and I had never seen that song live (I don't count the medley with Pull Me Under). In a way I owed it to that 90s teenager who discovered I&W and started following that band more and more closely over the years. It took a while, but I finally saw Metropolis in its entirety live. And I think JLB did a great job on that song (and was excellent on several others).

It was good to see DT live again. And welcome back Portnoy.





PS: illustrious presence of Brazilian musicians among the fans. Felipe Andreoli and Marcebo Barbosa from Angra and Jean Dolabella (former drummer of Sepultura) were there watching the show with us.

[nobloodyname]

And welcome back Portnoy.

Nearly fell off my chair when I read that

Delighted you had a great time! I think it's a show well worth seeing.

[Dedalus]

Nearly fell off my chair when I read that

Delighted you had a great time! I think it's a show well worth seeing.

[Dedalus]

Seriously though on Portnoy, he gave me two impressions during the show: the first is that he is really enjoying being back with the band (not that it is a surprise). He gives the impression of someone who is very happy to be back with the band he started with the Johns.

And the second is that he seems more relaxed. This is the first time I have seen a show with MP where he did not take the microphone to talk to the audience, not even once. James interacted with the audience (the moment when he alluded to the heat they felt when they arrived in Brazil was priceless. They were unlucky, because it is worse than usual  ).
Mike waved, smiled, thanked everyone, but without the need to be the center of the show as he did years ago (for example, on the SC tour I attended).
Of course, his return is still a big event for the audience and there is that component, but they really managed to let things flow as a show celebrating DT and not something too focused on MP.

For me, this was a very good and positive point.

[Dedalus]

About the setlist.

I would choose another song instead of As I Am, possibly by Six Degrees, but it's easy to understand why they chose to play it. It's a moment of catharsis for the audience, people really get into it. The same goes for the songs that constantly appear like TSCO and PMU. The audience goes wild.

I think this also says a lot about casual listeners. If I saw an audience that goes wild with AIA, PMU, TSCO, Panic Attack, I also saw a certain indifference to Octavarium. The intro was the big moment to go buy beer, take a piss, check their cell phones, do anything other than pay attention to what Jordan was doing. 

I'm not a ToT fan, but the Vacant + SoC duo works really well. I've always loved Vacant, it's a beautiful song.

I really missed Mangini playing Barstool Warrior, but it was a good version. I think Portnoy really likes TitL, because he sings with passion.

Night Terror was the lowest point of the night for me. It didn't work. Maybe because it's not a song that is ingrained in my neural networks. Even songs like Constant Motion worked better.

Highlights: Metropolis, Octavarium, O1928 + SDV, Vacant + SoC, Home and This is the life.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Mike waved, smiled, thanked everyone, but without the need to be the center of the show as he did years ago (for example, on the SC tour I attended).

This is a great point and something I noticed at the Mexico City show as well. Everyone knows their place so well that the stage feels like a very balanced space for every member of the band. It makes me incredibly happy to know that JLB and MP are at peace in every possible angle.

[voncorn]

This is probably already a well-known observation to a lot of fans here, but just from audience videos alone, it's incredible how passionate Latin American crowds are for DT. I've seen tons of great videos from the European leg, but this particular one of "Octavarium" from Mexico City gives me the chills hearing the audience singing (hell, ROARING) along to nearly every word. And even "singing" along to certain guitar and keyboard melodies too!

 

[Awaken]

This is probably already a well-known observation to a lot of fans here, but just from audience videos alone, it's incredible how passionate Latin American crowds are for DT. I've seen tons of great videos from the European leg, but this particular one of "Octavarium" from Mexico City gives me the chills hearing the audience singing (hell, ROARING) along to nearly every word. And even "singing" along to certain guitar and keyboard melodies too!

 

This is awesome

[MinistroRaven]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/waAKPzwNrI0

[MirrorMask]

Meanwhile, poor Mike can't catch a break, after his sister, he also lost his longtime dog, Mickey. I remember him posting news that he was old and sick so it was just a matter of time, but damn, a pet is the perfect solace when you deal with loss and now he's lost him as well, being away from home also in this occasion. It sucks that he finally got the reunion he longed for so many years, and then while he's on tour he loses a sister and then a pet.

[WilliamMunny]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/waAKPzwNrI0

What are we seeing here? Did James miss a cue?

[brakkum]

Looks like he skipped the last line before the "TRAPPED" part