On Monday night, Dream Theater celebrated their 1 year anniversary being reunited with founding band member and drummer, Mike Portnoy. Shortly after 8pm, Dream Theater took the stage at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, NY. With no opener, fans were treated to an evening that lasted almost 3 hours, including a 20 minute intermission.

When it was announced Portnoy was returning to Dream Theater, the music community went into a frenzy with excitement. Shortly after the reunion news, the band announced their upcoming album, Parasomnia. After the album’s anticipated release in February, Dream Theater was ready to hit the road to play the album in its entirety on a multi-leg tour across the U.S. On top of promoting the new album on the tour, the band is also celebrating the 30th anniversary of the EP A Change of Seasons, originally released on September 19, 1995.

The show started off with Act I: Parasomnia. The stage set resembled the album cover with an old bed in the center of the stage, surrounded with video walls. The video walls were the primary visuals that paired well with an outstanding light and laser show. Also present on stage was a giant blow up shadow man, used alongside the video visuals for the final song on the album. Even though Parasomnia hasn’t been out a full year, the band played the hour and ten minute album with comfortable ease. It’s rare to see a band go on the road and play a new album in full or even more than a handful of new tracks, and fans showed their appreciation. The audience reaction to the new songs was electric. While the performance isn’t your typical rock or metal show, each fan was full of energy as they stood in front of their theater chairs head banging, playing air guitar or air drumming along with beloved drummer, Mike Portnoy. After wrapping up the 8 song Act I, the house lights came on and it was time to go to the lobby for intermission.

After a quick 20 minutes, the stage was changed from the Parasomnia theme. The stage didn’t have any props this time around, just the band with the video walls and light show. To choose a list of only a handful of songs out of the band’s entire discography, hits, and fan favorites in order to celebrate a 40 year career has got to be a tremendous challenge. There’s certainly no way to please everyone at the show, with the casual fans who want “hits” or the die-hard fans who want rare deep-cuts. Dream Theater elected to pick seven songs from six different albums. Act II began with “Panic Attack,” off the band’s 8th album Octavarium, which is one of my own personal favorite tracks. Between songs, lead singer James LaBrie kept things short and quick when addressing the crowd, making sure to leave enough time to get through the set list. Another personal favorite from the show was “The Dark Eternal Night,” off the band’s 9th album Systematic Chaos. During the track “Peruvian Skies,” the band ventured off and played excerpts from both Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” as well as Metallica’s “Wherever I May Roam.”

There aren’t many bands who are composed like Dream Theater. The amount of pure music genius and talent is almost unheard of, both in the studio and on stage. For instance, there aren’t many concerts where the Keyboardist draws attention from an audience. Jordan Rudess, on the other hand, has a unique presence. On stage around Rudess was a giant keyboard on a hydraulic platform, allowing him to shift in any direction and show off the led wall surrounding the stand. Also on stage was another keyboard stand with other types of keyboards and there was also a keytar waiting for him at the end of Act II. While on keytar, Rudess got to roam the stage and jam side by side with Guitarist John Petrucci, and Bassist John Myung.

After Act II was finished, the Landmark Theatre stayed dark. Some fans eagerly headed to the front of the stage in hopes of scoring a guitar pick or drum stick, assuming the show was over. However that wasn’t the case as a giant encore was planned. Those who did their research beforehand knew what Dream Theater had left: the 30th anniversary of A Change of Seasons. The 1995 release consisted of 5 tracks: the title track and 4 live covers/medleys. I had expected the entire album, but the encore was just “A Change of Seasons,” a 23 minute long title track. With fan excitement, it was clear the epic encore track is what specifically drew some of the crowd to the show.

With only three shows left after Syracuse, there isn’t much time left for fans to catch this tour. Fortunately, Dream Theater is keeping busy with an upcoming live album from Paris out this week, and live shows in 2026. The upcoming year sees Dream Theater traveling across to world to play shows in India, Australia, Korea, and Japan through March.

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