Pop Break Live: Dream Theater ‘Parasominia Tour’ at The Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island on October 22, 2025
Words + Photos: Lina Glasir
In a commanding display of musical ambition and flair, Dream Theater gave a performance that spoke to the power of a band reunited. With founding drummer Mike Portnoy back in the fold and the new concept album Parasomnia at its centre, the show in Providence, Rhode Island felt less like a mere tour date and more like a statement of intent.
From the evening’s opening moments, the band made it clear this wasn’t business as usual. The stage was dominated by a large bed — its rumpled sheets under moody lighting forming a literal anchor to the album’s theme of sleep, dreams and nightmares. Video‐walls on either side of the stage projected shifting imagery: landscapes dissolving into mist, disembodied eyes, morphing figures. Alongside, a giant inflatable man with red eyes lurked at stage right, his presence at once whimsical and unsettling. Smoke curled around the drum riser; lasers traced patterns overhead, painting the air into moving geometries.
As Dream Theater launched into Parasomnia in its entirety, the audience rose and never sat again—cheering, dancing, singing along, fully engaged from start to finish.
After a brief intermission the band returned to deliver a second act built on their catalogue of hits. Here was the reward for longtime fans: the familiar anthems, the virtuosic instrumental passages, the signature Dream Theater dynamics.
The encore was the moment many in the room were anticipating—and the payoff was spectacular.
The 23-minute epic “A Change of Seasons” opened with cinematic scope, traversed wide emotional terrain and brought the evening to a close with dignity and exhilaration. It was the kind of performance that makes you reflect on the journey of the band, the passage of time and the power of live music.
Dream Theater Setlist (via Setlist.fm)
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
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
Take the Time
Encore:
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
