Rock band Dream Theater to return for a concert this week

MANILA, Philippines — Rock band Dream Theater is set to return to the Philippines for their "Top of the World Tour" on May 4 in New Frontier Theater.

Ticket prices range from P7250 to P2750.

The progressive metal, comprised of James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung, and Mike Mangini, were 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. 

"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,” Labrie said.

“Go, the first time there was phenomenal, and that’s why we’re coming back. Absolutely!" he added. 
    
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," Petrucci said. "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," LaBrie added. "It’s been such a great ride, but we’re not going to stop."