The Boston, Mass., quintet Dream Theater has spent more than 40 years combining the sheer power of metal with the complexity of progressive rock.
The Grammy-award winning band’s show at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center on Sept. 9 will be a roller coaster ride of savage riffs, neck-snapping time changes, haunting synths and, perhaps surprisingly, catchy melodies courtesy of guitarist John Petrucci and vocalist John LaBrie.
The melodies are important. Dream Theater is a band that proves that “complex” does not have to equal “difficult.”
In fact, the band, LaBrie, Petrucci, keyboardist Jordan Rudess, bassist John Myung and drummer Mike Portnoy, recently put out a new album of complex-yet-accessible tunes called Parasomnia. The album, which has already been streamed more than 20 million times, takes up the first set of the band’s North Charleston PAC show.
“We’re super-excited to play it from start to finish,” Rudess said in a recent interview with the Charleston City Paper.
“That’s the way that we put it together, and I think it’s the way that it should be heard. Here we are in an age and a day when people don’t have that much patience. But I think it’s really important for Dream Theater and for others to create the kind of material that people can sink their teeth into.”
It’s an interesting sentiment in an age where, thanks to streaming, many listeners pick and choose tracks instead of diving deep into an album.
“I think it’s important to our collective society to have work that is more demanding than scrolling through Instagram reels,” Rudess said.
The second half of the show will feature another full-length performance. The band is revisiting its debut EP, A Change of Seasons, which turns 30 this year. The rest of the set features fan favorites like “Pull Me Under,” “As I Am” and “Another Day.”
It’s been interesting for Rudess to play the epic 23-minute title track of “A Change of Seasons,” given that he hadn’t joined the band when it released the EP. He’s only been in Dream Theater a mere 26 years.
“I remember the first time I played that song,” he said. “I remember being backstage and Mike Portnoy asked me how I felt about playing ‘A Change of Seasons’ that night. I didn’t want to say no, but that is a very long and very complicated song. And I was like, ‘Well, I guess so, let’s try it!’ That’s what I think about when I think about that song.”
It’s interesting that Rudess mentioned Portnoy, because the drummer’s return to the band was a big deal. He’s an original member, leaving in 2010 and returning in 2023 to take part in Dream Theater’s 40th anniversary tour.
Once the tour was over, the band decided to record Parasomnia with Portnoy as a fully reinstated member.
Rudess said Portnoy was a perfect match to the album, a conceptual collection that explores various sleep disorders, the unconscious mind and the blurry line between dreams and reality.
“John had the idea to do Parasomnia before we knew Mike was coming back,” he said, “but the album idea is very conceptual. And that was perfect for Mike coming in because he has a movie-director type of talent, and he just loves diving in and figuring out all kinds of interesting connections. He used the abilities that he has to make this album unique and special.”
Now, with Portnoy back behind the kit and new material to play, Rudess sounded energized when he spoke of Dream Theater and its future.
“There aren’t many bands that have been around this long,” he said. “But we still feel vital when we’re playing music. We feel a lot of connection with each other. So I think there’s a lot of energy towards doing this tour and then creating another album. One can’t look too far into the future, but I definitely see us continuing to make music.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO: Doors open at 7 p.m. Sept. 9, North Charleston Performing Arts Center, 5001 Coliseum Dr., North Charleston. Tickets range from $88-$126: northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com
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