A friend just texted me saying Portnoy was back and I replied "A little late for April Fools, innit?" but sure enough, I rush here to check and WHOA OMG WTF THIS IS CRAZY!
Literal chills. All over. I was NOT expecting this, but looking at the last few years of MP's career, maybe it was making sense, as well as MM's solo album coming out (or did it already come out? I haven't paid attention). Seems like Neal Morse is winding down and I wouldn't be surprised if he called it quits after next year, at least from touring. Transatlantic was pretty much done last year, and Flying Colors doesn't seem to be returning anytime soon. The Winery Dogs have been fairly successful, though their time together is so spread out I don't see MP needing to leave them to be with DT.
But...it's wild. The Final Chapters of DT have begun, and now we get the SFAM-BC&SL line-up once more. I think JP working with MP on his solo album *and* LTE3 were signs that JP wanted to play with MP again in DT, and it seems like that'll happen. I'm astonished (in a good way), and I cannot wait to see what happens next for MP and the band. Holy crap...
EDIT - I wonder if they'll play any material from the MM-era on tour, and if so, it'll be REAL interesting to hear how MP covers MM's parts. Maybe he'll watch all those "If Portnoy played (this song)" videos on YouTube.
-Marc.