Cruise To The Edge is back with a special celebration for Mike Portnoy’s birthday, numerous tributes to Greg Lake and John Wetton, and of course, plenty of fun in the sun. Prog reports back from the high seas...

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Then there is Mike Portnoy’s 50th Birthday Bash, a celebration which has been in the works for over a year. Being involved in so many bands, he certainly has enough music to choose from, but until the ship is on the water everything is kept a secret. As all the guests gather on the pool deck atop the ship, Portnoy greets everyone on the massive outdoor stage that is complete with professional lighting and has sound that would rival any theatre. He promptly introduces his Flying Colors bandmates Neal Morse, Dave LaRue, Casey McPherson and Steve Morse, who play a four-song set. Marillion’s Pete Trewavas is brought up next to complete three-quarters of Transatlantic with Neal and Mike, with Spock’s Beard’s Ted Leonard filling in for the absent Roine Stolt. They play three tracks over a 60-minute set, with Neal Morse Band’s Bill Hubauer and Pain Of Salvation’s Daniel Gildenlöw joining in.

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The previous four days were all somewhat of a prelude to the highly publicised closing set by Mike Portnoy. Portnoy had announced that this was going to be the premiere of Shattered Fortress, the collection of five songs that compromised the ‘Twelve-Step Suite’ that he wrote during his time in Dream Theater. However, there is still one more surprise, a performance of another one of his side projects, Liquid Tension Experiment. With Tony Levin on board with the band, it’s no shock to see him on stage revisiting his role in the group. But joining Portnoy and Levin and filling the roles of John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess are Eric Gillette (The Neal Morse Band) on guitar and Diego Tejeida (Haken) on keyboards. The foursome shred through three LTE tracks, setting the stage ablaze with their instrumental gymnastics. Gillette in particular shows he’s up to the challenge of playing Petrucci’s parts.

Once this is over, Portnoy unveils the Shattered Fortress line-up. Gillette and Tejeida remain, while other Haken members, guitarists Richard Henshall and Charlie Griffiths, bassist Conner Green and vocalist Ross Jennings, fill out the rest of the group. The blistering set is one for the ages, especially for any Dream Theater fans. Pain Of Salvation’s Daniel Gildenlöw and Spock’s Beard’s Ted Leonard each relieve Jennings at certain points, as does Portnoy, who sings ‘Repentance’ while still behind the kit. The set lasts 90 minutes and brings the Cruise To The Edge to a truly fulfilling end.