Dream Theater

The first time I saw DT in concert was when they opened for Maiden on TFF tour. Blew me away. When they returned a year later headlining promoting ADTOE I was excited to go...until I caught the flu and had to stay home :mad:. Turns out that (in 2011) was the last time they played Houston! They skipped TX on the DT tour and when TA dates were first announced there were no TX dates (again) so I flew to Denver to see that. Later at the end of the US run of the same tour they did announce some TX dates, but not Houston. As it turns out, I had to be out of town the week DT was touring TX so I am glad I saw the Denver show (even though on the TX dates they ended the set with older material). Like the rest of you, I am waiting on the announcement of the US tour dates this fall. Hopefully after six years, DT will return to Houston. If not I will be travelling. IAW is very special to me because it was my first new CD by them. I still remember hearing PMU on the radio for the first time and being very impressed.

Since I missed the ADTOE tour, I finally bought the Blu-Ray of Live At Luna Park from Amazon (for $1.00 new!) and am watching it now. Wow. They played two nights in Buenos Aires that tour and the Blu-Ray starts with the entire first night. Then we see the other six songs they played the other night. Amazing. Although I find it odd that in the set-up menu there is an options for English subtitles, but no subtitles pop up when watching the concert...
 
Dream Theater has announced they will be touring the US this fall on their facebook. No official dates yet but they are touring.
 
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I don't think Portnoy and JLB ever liked each other honestly. Portnoy tried to get rid of him in the early 00's and even publicly said they would've gone a different direction if auditions were held in 2003 as opposed to 1990. There also seems to be tension between the two in some behind the scenes clips, but maybe that's just me.

Also, to put my conspiracy theory cap on for a moment: If an MP reunion has been discussed (and I'm sure it was after that disaster of an Astonishing 2nd leg) I bet JLB is the only holdout at this point. MP is apparently on good terms with everyone else, but if JP has to pick between JLB and the ex-drummer then the answer is obvious. Just ask Steve Harris how replacing the singer worked out.
 
I can say that I've met all of Dream Theater - minus Petrucci - and they were all very friendly except for LaBrie, who acted quite arrogant. That includes Portnoy, who while certainly loves the spotlight was very down-to-earth. I don't agree with what Portnoy said because it is quite unprofessional (as Black Wizard stated), but if he truly is insinuating some dissonance between LaBrie and himself it would not come as a surprise to me. I've always thought that LaBrie acted like a diva, and while Portnoy has shown his fair share of insecurities and annoying habits over the years, he never stuck me as arrogant or ungrateful.

I've been hoping they'll replace LaBrie with a singer who has a similar high range but also has balls and depth (e.g. Russell Allen, Tommy Karevik, etc.) for some time now. LaBrie's breathy voice works well in many of their songs and his highs are excellent after being doctored in the studio, but I have never been a live fan of his. Combine that with his annoying arrogance and I'd love to see him replaced.
 
I think it's too late to replace the singer. LaBrie is not a great singer by any means (it's painful when he tries to sing the older Dream Theater songs live) but he's not awful and his voice is the voice of Dream Theater. It would be weird with someone else. Since Portnoy left I think that Dream Theater has been a happier band. Their live performances are miles better since MP left. They need to write a better album than 'The Astonishing' though.
 
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Yeah. I saw them three times with Portnoy and they were OK, but one show was particularly dull. Since he left the band has seemed to enjoy themselves a lot more on stage during the four shows I've seen since his departure. Petrucci moves slightly more than before, Myung shows some fleeting hints of a personality and LaBrie is free to talk to the crowd a lot more. Ruddess still does weird shit with the keyboard.
 
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