Is Dreamsonic done?

[Chino]

I had to look it up because I thought I remembered JP stating it'd be recurring. Now that Mike's back, is Dreamsonic done? Or are we going to see Dreamsonic return after the evening with format?

June 2023:
"We are all so incredibly excited to present Dream Theater's very own prog-metal music festival, Dreamsonic 2023! The lineup for our inaugural run this summer features Dream Theater, Devin Townsend, and Animals As Leaders and is going to be absolutely epic! Dreamsonic promises to be a reoccurring musical event that will deliver history-making nights of amazing music for many years to come! You're not going to want to miss this one!" - JP

I prefer as few openers as possible when I go to concerts, so I wouldn't mind if we're back to Evening Withs from now on.

[Mladen]

I'm guessing they'll follow up on it, just not for the anniversary tour or the album cycle. It might be back in a couple of years. Mike would probably also be into showcasing young bands and maybe even picking out the opening acts.

[lucasembarbosa]

That's Progressive Nation 2.0

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

I would imagine it's done for the near future. I don't think anyone was overly impressed by turn out to say the least. I could see a comeback eventually especially with MP back. He has a ton of connections and has been a better networker than the rest of the band so it wouldn't surprise me to see him curate a better lineup and make it a regular thing.

[Kocak]

They called the tour Dreamsonic because MP got the rights for the Progressive Nation brand during the "break-up". I reckon they'd do another Progressive Nation if they were to go that route for a tour.

[Setlist Scotty]

That's Progressive Nation 2.0

They called the tour Dreamsonic because MP got the rights for the Progressive Nation brand during the "break-up". I reckon they'd do another Progressive Nation if they were to go that route for a tour.

All of this.

[Mladen]

Why wouldn't they keep a fresh new brand and name that is Dreamsonic, though? After all, Progressive nations will be almost twenty years ago once they decide to tour with opening acts again.

[DreamerTV]

If I'm being honest, I think there have been far too many ideas about this format (i.e. for instance, that the low attendance also played a role in MP's return... the ball was rolling way before that)

Dreamsonic was simply a way to promote — and therefore sell to local promoters— a DT summer tour that was different from a regular DT tour, which otherwise the promoters wouldn't have bought.
In general, having achieved this goal, DT essentially got the result they wanted (if anything, it's the promoters who didn't profit much).
Whether the formula is finished or not depends solely on whether it will serve a similar purpose in the future.
For now, given the impact of MP's return, one might think that something like this won't be proposed again for at least a couple of years.

[Stadler]

Progessive Dreamsonic Nation. 

[Setlist Scotty]

Why wouldn't they keep a fresh new brand and name that is Dreamsonic, though? After all, Progressive nations will be almost twenty years ago once they decide to tour with opening acts again.

Maybe because "Progressive Nation" sounds like a festival for bands that fit in the prgoressive genre, and "DreamSonic" doesn't?

[DTwwbwMP]

Agreed. Progressive Nation is much better brand name.

[hefdaddy42]

I agree that Progressive Nation is the better name.  But I still hope the entire concept is dead.

[Shadowmangini]

You don't like DT touring with and supporting other bands? Progressive Nation got me into 3 and Zappa Plays Zappa.

[TAC]

Nothing could get me into Zapppa Plays Zappa.

[OpenYourEyes311]

Opening bands usually do nothing for me. Co-headliners, like Megadeth or Devin Townsend, I can get into. But I go to DT shows for DT. The less "other" music I have to get through, the better. Evening With shows are the best since they can play longer, and I can hear more songs.

[pg1067]

There were a handful of shows back in the '80s with good/great openers.  Most notably, I saw Metallica open for Ozzy in 1986.  However, it's been quie a while.

I saw Zappa open for DT.  I was surprised that I actually liked it, but it wasn't anything I was going to get into.  I saw a few minutes of Opeth opening for DT, but when the "singer" started into growly vocal mode, my friend and I started laughing and went to the bar to have a drink.  Other than that, every "opener" I've liked in the last 30+ years has been a co-headlining situation.

[Schurftkut]

Apparently i saw Pain of Salvation as the opening act for DT,i wasn't even paying attention because i was waiting for the "real" concert to start 

[bosk1]

Hef can speak for himself, but asking whether he likes "DT touring with and supporting other bands" is just asking a loaded question that misses the point entirely.  The point of Prog Nation and DreamSonic was to more or less create a "mini festival" type of environment where you are getting a lot of bands playing the same or similar subgenre.  That's a cool concept in theory.  But for me (and some others), there are a few problems, such as:  (1) As a whole, I don't like the "prog metal" genre.  I like a few select bands.  But there are more that I don't care for than those that I do.  (2) It leads to a shortened set for DT, a band that already has limits on what it can do with a set given that their average song length tends to approach or exceed 10 minutes.  An overly shortened set creates limitations in the show they can present.

All that being said, when it comes to openers, it's a mixed bag for me.  Seeing Trivium open for them was a great show all around.  DreamSonic also wasn't bad.  Even though I was bored to tears through Animals As Leaders, seeing Devin for the first time was a real treat.  But the bands that were on the Prog Nation bill would not have gotten me to one of those shows probably under any circumstances. 

[CraftyCaleb2483]

Even though I was bored to tears through Animals As Leaders

Ouch!

[gzarruk]

I used to like AAL, but the last time I was going through their discography I got very bored too, so I'm with Bosk on this one

The three players are amazing, though

[bosk1]

Oh, absolutely amazing players.  But what they were doing onstage did not translate into something I was interested in.  And combined with the fact that the mix was so muddy that I literally could not make out the notes being played, it made for an incredibly boring experience for that 30-40 minutes. 

[gborland]

DT have had some amazing openers over the years. SB, PT, SX, etc.

And also some shit ones.

[hefdaddy42]

You don't like DT touring with and supporting other bands? Progressive Nation got me into 3 and Zappa Plays Zappa.

Hef can speak for himself, but asking whether he likes "DT touring with and supporting other bands" is just asking a loaded question that misses the point entirely.  The point of Prog Nation and DreamSonic was to more or less create a "mini festival" type of environment where you are getting a lot of bands playing the same or similar subgenre.  That's a cool concept in theory.  But for me (and some others), there are a few problems, such as:  (1) As a whole, I don't like the "prog metal" genre.  I like a few select bands.  But there are more that I don't care for than those that I do.  (2) It leads to a shortened set for DT, a band that already has limits on what it can do with a set given that their average song length tends to approach or exceed 10 minutes.  An overly shortened set creates limitations in the show they can present.

That's it.  DT is at their best with lots of time to play.  When I see DT, I want to see DT, and the best way to do that is in their normal "Evening With..." format.  I've also seen them with an opening band, and that was OK, but it still cuts into DT's time to play.  

[Setlist Scotty]

That's it.  DT is at their best with lots of time to play.  When I see DT, I want to see DT, and the best way to do that is in their normal "Evening With..." format.  I've also seen them with an opening band, and that was OK, but it still cuts into DT's time to play. 

^^^^^^^
Exactly this.

[TheCountOfNYC]

I love progressive music, but time constraints are the genre's enemy. Dream Theater has 7 songs near, at, or over the 20 minute mark. Every album except for WDaDU, TA, and DoT has at least one song over 10 minutes. Unless I really like the band they choose, any DT opening act only serves to limit what songs or how many songs I can hear my favorite band play. Honestly, unless Dream Theater brings Haken on the road as their supporting act, I'd rather them not have an opener at all.

[TAC]

Just proves that one man's trash is another man's Haken. 

[Mosh]

The weird thing to me is that in the press release for MP's return they specifically say the intention is to bring DreamSonic back. I'm not sure what the point of mentioning that is if they don't plan on it. Also the branding ultimately doesn't matter between Progressive Nation and DreamSonic, although it has been a very long time since Progressive Nation (even if we include the sea), so DreamSonic might win out the branding war just by being something that happened more recently and will be more familiar to people. I also wonder if this an area where MP's role in the band isn't what it was before and JP wants to be more of a driving force in the festival organizing side of things.

The other thing is that I don't expect evening with format to stay the standard for Dream Theater going forward while they also probably want to continue playing bigger venues. A DreamSonic package kinda solves both of those issues as it allows DT to play a shorter set (easier on James potentially) and if they can get strong support they can probably keep the venue size similar to what they're doing on the current tour. Not sure what the venues are like across the board but I do see a few North American shows are the same venues they played on DreamSonic. I assume when the reunion glow wears off they will either have to downsize or do a touring package.

[bosk1]

^That would be my expectation as well. 

[Schurftkut]

You could also read into it that there will be a Dreamsonic tour maybe in 2025 that has no DT in the line-up.

--The band recently wrapped the inaugural DREAMSONIC Tour – a traveling progressive music spectacle that will return for more runs in the future. --

Haken
Temic
Whom Gods Destroy

i could see those three touring for instance

[gborland]

Whom Gods Destroy

No way Sherinian is allowed anywhere near a DT tour anytime soon.

[hefdaddy42]

No way Sherinian is allowed anywhere near a DT tour anytime soon.

I would tend to agree

[MoraWintersoul]

I would think MP would also know better than to put Haken and Temic on the same lineup

It's a bit sad Dreamsonic/Progressive Nation hasn't had a warm welcome by DT fans. I understand being a DT fan =/= being a fan of prog music, but that's one less chance for fans of prog music in the US to enjoy a national tour by a prog metal band, even if they're just DT's opener.

[hefdaddy42]

You could also read into it that there will be a Dreamsonic tour maybe in 2025 that has no DT in the line-up.

Such a tour would be dead on arrival.  At least if it was attempted at the same scale/venues as the original version.

Dreamsonic needs DT to anchor it.  

[brakkum]

No way Sherinian is allowed anywhere near a DT tour anytime soon.

What's the reasoning for this, something happen with him?

[gborland]

Not-so-subtly badmouthing them various times over the years, particularly with his digs at JLB.