JAKARTA - A big celebration for progressive rock music lovers is presented in a concert titled "An Evening With Dream Theater - 40th Anniversary Tour 2026" which took place at the Beach City International Stadium (BCIS) Ancol, North Jakarta on Saturday, February 7.
That night, James LaBrie (vocals), John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Jordan Rudess (keyboards), and Mike Portnoy (drums), performed in front of ten thousand spectators who filled the room.
At 20.00 WIB, the intro music was played. The stage was closed with a large screen, which when opened, the personnel were ready in their respective positions. The audience's hysteria accompanied "Metropolis" which was displayed as the opening repertoire, followed by "Overture 1928" and "Strange Déjà Vu".
"Jakarta!" LaBrie shouted as he greeted the audience. "We're going to spend most of the night together. Are you coming?"
LaBrie's invitation was enthusiastically received by fans. Dream Theater immediately stepped on the gas to bring other numbers, such as "Fatal Tragedy", "The Mirror", to "As I Am".
On the sidelines of the performance, the vocalist made a slight reference to Mike Portnoy's presence, after on the previous three tours, Dream Theater performed with another drummer.
"We're on our 40th anniversary tour, but we're also celebrating the fact that our brother from a different mother, has come back into the band... Mike Portnoy!" said the vocalist, who was immediately greeted by a roar from the audience.
Dream Theater not only performed old songs. After a break of about 20 minutes, the members returned to the stage to perform the setlist from "Parasomnia", the first album since Portnoy's return, which was released in February 2025.
Not to mention, five of the eight tracks on the album are played in sequence, including "In the Arm of Morpheus", "Night Terror", "Midnight Messiah", "Bend the Clock", and "The Shadow Man Incident".
The show lasted about three hours, where the audience's favorite songs were performed by Dream Theater as a climax. "Octavarium", "The Spirit Carries On", and "Pull Me Under" were presented in sequence to close the memorable night.
"Thank you to all of you who came tonight. Thank you for listening to our music," said LaBrie. "May you be blessed throughout this year. We'll see you again on the next round."
The audience who never gets bored comes to the Dream Theater concert.
For many of the audience who were there that night, Dream Theater's performance was never boring. The complexity of their music is a beautiful treat for many fans in Indonesia - who at one point were not only listeners, but also musicians.
Wahyu, one of the fans who watched from the front row, even flew directly from Banjarmasin, in the midst of his busy schedule, to see Dream Theater for the fourth time.
"I've watched it four times. The first time was in 2017 during the JogjaROCKarta Festival event. The second, Dream Theater concert in Solo, 2022. Then in 2023 during the concert at Ecopark Ancol. And now at the Beach City International Stadium. And all of them, the promoter is Rajawali Indonesia," said Wahyu, met after watching the concert.
Wahyu admitted that he had his own inner satisfaction when he saw Dream Theater's performance. The reason is, since he started learning music when he was a teenager, the songs from the band from Boston inspired him. Therefore, he is willing to fly far to see his idol band again.
As a "militant fan", Wahyu even had a ticket since the first day of sale. Then, he came to BCIS when the door opened at 12.00 WIB, and waited for about eight hours in front of the stage, until the show finally started.
Even though he has seen his idol band live four times, Wahyu admits that there are differences that Mike Portnoy brings to Dream Theater. This time, he felt the same energy as he heard on the record. "The color of Dream Theater is back like it used to be, especially the power," he said.
Wahyu also testified how Dream Theater music enthusiasts cover many areas in Indonesia. During the concert, he talked to many spectators from outside Jakarta, most of whom have been and even still play music.
"I also met a lot of new friends from various regions. Everything is mixed up there. Some are from Belitung, some are from Cilacap, and indeed the average seems to be from outside the city," he said.
Even though he admitted that he was satisfied watching Dream Theater with his best formation. Wahyu confirmed that he would come back if the progressive rock music giant visited Indonesia again in the future.
"If Dream Theater comes to Indonesia again, God willing, I will definitely come again," he concluded.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
