Dream Theater – Parasomnia 2025
Hard Rock Live, Orlando
September 12, 2025
Images and Words by Michael Giordano
The big news in the Dream Theater camp last year was the return of their legendary drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy, and the recording and release of their latest album, “Parasomnia”. Sadly, I wasn’t able to make it to any of the 40th anniversary shows, but thankfully, the band announced a second leg, with the new album to be played in its entirety. While this was an exciting announcement, the far more recent reveal that their epic “A Change of Seasons” would be played as the encore at every show made me thankful that I had picked up my tickets the first day they went on sale. And it’s a good thing I did, because even before that announcement, the show at Hard Rock Live had sold out. To say the evening was incredible was a bit of an understatement. This was the 7th or 8th time I’ve seen the band live, and to make things very short, this was one of the best DT shows I’ve ever been to, with several factors playing into making this a very special show.
As mentioned earlier, the first half of the set was the new album played in its entirety. The stage setting was a dark theme to match the album, with a dilapidated and broken bed taking center stage. The crowd came to their feet as the band came out one by one, giving the returning Mike Portnoy a huge round of applause, with this being his first Florida show since his return. As the band sank their teeth into the album, the Orlando crowd never sat down for the rest of the set. I was a big fan of the new album, feeling that it was the strongest album for the band in a few cycles, and hearing it live gave it new life. “Night Terrors” was fantastic to hear live, and seeing a giant inflatable Shadowman rise for the titular epic certainly set the mood. Coming off the release of the video for “Bend the Clock”, the Orlando crowd absolutely ate that song up, going crazy for Petrucci’s solo, quite possibly one of his most memorable ones ever.
After a short break which the crowd used to sit down and recharge for the second half, the band returned with a variety of tracks from throughout their career. Starting off with “As I Am”, the band blazed through the “Train of Thought” fan favorite before moving into “The Enemy Inside”, which was a fantastic song that I hadn’t revisited in quite some time. One of the highlights for me was “Panic Attack”, a song that has always been a favorite of mine, and features one of my favorite John Myung riffs ever. Following this was a pair of favorites from the “Scenes from a Memory” album, “Through my Words” and “Fatal Tragedy”. Hearing these timeless classics played live with the original lineup was so incredible. The band then moved into a creative version of “Peruvian Skies”, with Jordan Rudess doing an improvised lap steel intro, and the band incorporating themes from Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” and Metallica’s “Wherever I May Roam”, before finishing the night with a rousing rendition of “Take The Time”, which I always felt was one of the great songs to hear DT play live.
After another brief break, scenes from the classic “Dead Poets Society” played, which signaled the start of “A Change of Seasons”. I could go on a lot about this portion of the show. This song has long held very deep meaning for me, as well as holding some of my favorite musical sections from the band. It’s also a song I would either never hear live in its entirety, or at best, would only get small sections of. To say that I’m grateful to have heard such an incredible rendition of the song in its entirety, and with the original lineup is an understatement. To apologize to everyone sitting near me for (quite badly) singing my heart out to the song is also an understatement. It was just an incredible way to cap off the evening.
There’s quite a few things to unpack about the show in general. First off, it was so great to have Mr. Portnoy back on stage, and part of the show. Mike has a very large personality on stage, whether it be for some between song banter, or backing vocals, and it was great to see that energy back in the band. On another note, it was great to have his contributions to the house show music before/between sets/aftershow return. He’s always had a great way of presenting songs to match the mood of the show, and his choice of classic horror/suspense movie themes was spot on to the eerie theme of the show. Welcome back.
And then there’s Mr. Labrie. During a recent Prog Report interview, he spoke about this topic, and mentioned some training/treatment he had recently undergone. All I can say is that it paid off. James’s voice was the best I have heard it in years, having an energy (specifically some of the harder parts of “Take the Time” and “A Change of Seasons”) that made me incredulous. It was a joy to listen to.
And of course, I can’t leave out the rest of the band. Jordan was the Wizard of a Million Sounds, supplying synths and orchestrations for the songs on his spectacular keyboard rig. John Myung’s bass was impeccable as always, and Petrucci never failed to excite the crowd with some of the most technically challenging guitar solos out there. The whole band musically was absolutely on fire, as if absolutely no time had passed in the 13 years that Mike had been absent from the band.
Lastly, the stage visuals for this show were spectacular, and quite possibly the best I’ve ever seen from the band. The “Parasomnia” set was eerily appropriate, with fantastic animations depicting the stories behind the songs. My only complaint about the show, other than it didn’t go an additional 3 hours? James not making use of the on stage bed during one of the extended solos. The light shows for the second set were also spectacular, with lasers and colors that made the experience and audio visual delight. I do have to state though that there was one fairly brief section towards the end of the second set (I can’t recall the song off hand at the moment) that was a bit over the top, to the point that I had to shield my eyes for a few moments, but aside from that, it was spectacular.
I can’t express how great this show was, and everyone I spoke with after the show shared the same thoughts. This was a band in their 50s and 60s playing with the energy and skill of a band half their age. They haven’t slowed down a bit, and are at the top of their game, playing an absolutely fantastic selection of songs, showcasing why they are the premiere prog band in the world.
