Dream Theater, comprised of James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung, and Mike Mangini, was in the middle of a sold-out world tour in support of their last release, Distance Over Time, and the 20th anniversary of Scenes From A Memory when a global pandemic brought the world to a stop.
The musicians found themselves at home with LaBrie in Canada and the rest of the group in the States.
As fate would have it, they’d just finished construction on DTHQ (Dream Theater Headquarters), a combination live recording studio, rehearsal space, control room, equipment storage facility, and creative hive. With LaBrie in Canada, he initially wrote with the band via Zoom on a monitor in DTHQ.
In March 2021, he flew down to New York, quarantined himself, and recorded his vocals face-to-face with Petrucci. The album, A View From The Top Of The World, ultimately threaded together lean and uncompromising hooks with tried-and-true technical proficiency.
“We just love to play our instruments,” observes Petrucci. “That never goes away. I love to be creative, write, and exercise that part of my mind. We’ve been able to do this for a long time, and we don’t take it for granted. Whenever we get together, we know we can’t disappoint ourselves or our fans, so we manage to try even harder.”
“We approach every album like it’s our first,” adds LaBrie. “It’s been such a great ride, but we’re not going to stop.”
“My takeaway from Manila, for the first time, is that “it was incredible” and I really don’t know how to describe it better than we have. We didn’t know what to expect; we did get there, and finally, we’re doing the concert. It was an amazing experience; the fans were absolutely fantastic, and we could tell that they were having an amazing time and a great experience. Go, the first time there was phenomenal, and that’s why we’re coming back. Absolutely!” answered Labrie when asked about their takeaway from their first concert in the Philippines.
Their “Top of the World” tour in the Philippines will take place at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on May 4, 2023 (8:00 p.m.), presented by Ovation Productions. Tickets are available at ticketnet.com.ph. Tickets are priced at PHP 2,750 (lower box), PHP 4,750 (patron C), PHP 5,750 (patron B), PHP 6,750 (patron A), and PHP 7,250 (VIP).
For more details and updates about the concert, please check the official website and Facebook page of Ovation Productions at https://ovationproductionsmanila.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/ovationproductions/.
