Dream Theater Are ‘Musical Chameleons’

Feb 23rd 2010 10:00PM

Progressive metal titans Dream Theater are about to embark on a tour of Mexico and South America that includes stops in never-before toured countries. In early March, the members of Dream Theater will hop a plane and head straight for Mexico which includes a fifth time playing Mexico City’s National Auditorium. After that, it’s on to Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and the untested markets of Lima, Peru and Porto Alegre, Brazil. Playing in new places keeps things fresh for Dream Theater and all the members are ready to meet fans.

“90 percent of the touring we do, and every time we go to a new market, they are Dream Theater headlining shows, so we are usually playing to ‘our’ audience, and the crowds are insane and beyond enthusiastic,” Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy exclusively tells Noisecreep.

Portnoy also explains that when the band happens to be earlier in a bill, such as during a festival or in a co-headline spot, adjustments are made to ensure everyone in attendance has a great time.

“We are very much musical chameleons, and I write set lists that can fit into many different situations, whether we are playing with Yes or playing with Megadeth.”

During the run, Dream Theater will bring fellow prog rockers Bigelf along for the experience. For Portnoy, selecting an opening act is a personal choice, based on his own fanatical love for music.

“Dream Theater’s opening acts are not decided by label, agents or management politics. The suggestions and decisions begin and end with me, and I pick them based on musical value, not marquee value,” Portnoy explains. “I take great pride in personally handpicking all of the bands that tour with us. I am the biggest music fan you will ever meet and I try to take out bands that I really like and ones that I think our fans will enjoy.”

All told, Dream Theater will perform 11 shows in six countries in about three weeks of touring.

Dream Theater’s Portnoy Honored To Be Touring With Iron Maiden

By Chris Harris

Mar 5th 2010 10:00AM

By now, you’ve probably heard that Dream Theater will be touring this summer with Iron Maiden. And yes, we’re all psyched. But no one seems as psyched as Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, who, just two weeks ago, finished helping Avenged Sevenfold track their forthcoming record as the fill-in kitman for the late Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan.

“After 25 years together, at this stage in our career, there’s honestly only three bands Dream Theater would consider opening for and Maiden is one of them,” Portnoy exclaims. “It is an absolute honor.”

Maiden will be touring this year in support of ‘The New Frontier,’ which is expected to drop sometime in late summer. The tour will cross oceans and hit Europe as well, with Dream Theater on board. Unconfirmed rumors have Coheed and Cambria as the tour’s other openers, but there’s been no word from the prog band’s camp so far.

“Through the years, we’ve done many one-off shows with Maiden, and they’ve almost all been overseas,” says Portnoy. “It is very exciting to finally be doing a full tour with them and on our side of the pond, no less. These are gonna be amazing shows that the fans won’t want to miss. Up the f---ing irons!”

Of course, Portnoy is also excited to play New York’s storied Madison Square Garden, a venue which, even after all these years, Dream Theater has yet to rock. He admits that it “is a bit of a dream come true for us.” He claims that, about a month ago, he was watching a video interview shot back in 1983, when he was in Intruder. “In the video before the show, I was interviewed and asked what my dream goal was. I responded ‘To play the Garden.’ It took almost 30 years, but it’s surreal that I will now be able to check it off the list.”