Review & Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Venue: Mesa Arts Center ( https://www.mesaartscenter.com/ )
Date: Friday October 10th, 2025
Tour: Parasomnia USA Tour 2025
Progressive Rock/Metal bands don’t draw the large crowd like other bands. A lot of people don’t like the long songs and instrumentals performed by the bands. Typically, Progressive Rock/Metal bands are lucky if they can get 2000 fans at a show. But Progressive Rock/Metal fans are hugely loyal. They will travel hundreds of miles to see their favorite bands and some have seen a band over 70 times. Typically, there is a 90% male attendance at one of these shows. Even Rush had poor attendance until the end. It was only until the last 10 years of their career that they saw crowd in excess of 5000 people.
So where is this rant going. One of the most influential Progressive Metal bands of the last 40 years is Dream Theater. They are a 5-member band that was originally founded by 3 friends that attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. These founding members are guitarist John Petrucci, drummer Mike Portnoy and bassist John Myung. After a few years, James LaBrie joined as the lead singer. The last member of this elite ensemble is Juilliard trained keyboardist Jordan Ruduss. Mike Portnoy left the band about 12 years ago, but has rejoined them.
My son and I have a tradition that we get tickets for every time Dream Theater comes to the valley. I have even seen members of the band when they came through the valley on solo or performing with other bands. This was the 14th time we have seen Dream Theater. Most of the time we have seen them at the Mesa Arts Center which is a beautiful venue with great acoustics. Dream Theater must also like it because they personally requested this venue for this concert. They even released a couple of songs recorded here as a special Christmas Gift to members of their fan club a few years ago.
As with all Progressive Rock/Metal bands, the main focus of the music is on the instrumentals. Progressive Rock/Metal differs from most music in that it changes tempo multiple times during a song. It is also more demanding of the musicians to perform more complicated music. This isn’t you kids pop music. I don’t know if there is an actual leader of the band. They all play their role and do it phenomenally.
Probably one of today’s greatest guitarist is John Petrucci. He has been performed with another awesome guitarist, Joe Satriani on his G3 (3 guitarist) tours. John performs some of the most interesting and difficult guitar passages you will ever see.
Jordan Rudess shows his Juilliard training in how his fingers dance across the keyboards. He also has a unique keyboard that lights up with either a copy of the keys or a sonic oscillation of the music. His play reminds me of 2 of the greatest Progressive Rock keyboardists, Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman.
Probably the most underrated of the group is John Myoung, the bass player. Over the years I have seen him go from 4-string, to 5-string and now he plays a 6-string bass. John is not showy; he just lays down one of the best basslines you will ever hear. In ways he reminds me of John Entwhistle of the WHO in the way he performs.
How we get the James LaBrea. John was brought into the group to replace their original singer. His role is to play to the crowd and deliver an incredible and moving rendition of the lyrics. The one thing John does is leave the stage whenever they are going into an instrumental part of the song. This is great because he is allowing the other members of the band to take the spot light. James’ voice is very strong and powerful.
Now we get to one of my favorite members of the band, Mike Portnoy. I thought it was a mistake when he left the band, but I saw him in a few of his other endeavors during this period including, Sons Of Apollo, Whinery Dogs, Neal Morse Band and when he played drums for John Petrucci’s solo tour. I love the way John plays the drums. He is not a pure technician but seems to play with soul. His play reminds me of the great Keith Moon of the WHO what played a lot by instinct and pure raw power. With Mike back in the linkup, I thing the band has regained its mojo. Mike adds something more to the performance by taking on the backing vocal that provides additional dynamic enhancements to James’s voice.
The concert tonight was divided into 2 parts. The first part was the complete performance of there newest studio album, Parasomnia. After a short break, they came back out and performed a number of songs from their vast library (16 studio Album).
Can I recommend seeing Dream Theater, YEAH. But be prepared for some long songs and instrumentals. Normally I am only allowed to photograph the first 3 songs, but with Dream Theater that could mean 20 or 30 minutes, so they limit me to only the first 15 minutes. This part of the tour is almost over by the time you read this review, only 4 shows remain. However, they will be starting their new 40th Anniversary Tour Asia & Australia 2026 early next year. With their vast catalog of music, this new tour next year should be outstanding. I hope they bring it back to the states and pass through the Phoenix area again.
You can check out more about Dream Theater and its members by visiting their social media pages. On their website, they have tour dates for next year. I hope to see you at a future concert.
Social Media sites:
Website: https://dreamtheater.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dreamtheater
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamtheaterofficial/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/dreamtheaterofficial
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dreamtheaternet
Record Label:
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
Dream Theater Setlist:
Act I (Parasomnia):
In the Arms of Morpheus
Night Terror
A Broken Man
Dead Asleep
Midnight Messiah
Are We Dreaming?
Bend the Clock
The Shadow Man Incident
Let’s All Go to the Lobby
Act II:
La Gazza Ladra (Gioachino Rossini song)
As I Am
The Enemy Inside
A Rite of Passage
Act I: Scene Three: I. Through My Words
Act I: Scene Three: II. Fatal Tragedy
Peruvian Skies
(with excerpts of “Wish You Were here” and “Wherever I May Roam“)
Take the Time
Encore:
Dead Poets Society Video
A Change of Seasons: I The Crimson Sunrise
A Change of Seasons: II Innocence
A Change of Seasons: III Carpe Diem
A Change of Seasons: IV The Darkest of Winters
A Change of Seasons: V Another World
A Change of Seasons: VI The Inevitable Summer
A Change of Seasons: VII The Crimson Sunset
(with excerpt of “A Fortune in Lies”)
