On March 4th, Mike Portnoy attended a Dream Theater in New York, and the event provided not only a reunion for the former bandmates but also a reconciliation between the two old friends.
Portnoy, who had left the band 11 years earlier due to disagreements with LaBrie, posted behind-the-scenes photos of the reunion at the time and wrote that it had been "a great pleasure to spend time with my old friends again."
In a recent interview , James LaBrie talked about how this highly anticipated reunion came about. According to the singer, his manager told him just two hours before the show that Mike Portnoy would be there and that he wanted to see him. Initially, LaBrie thought it was too much to handle, but he eventually changed his mind.
“I went for a walk, believe it or not. I walked down the street and started thinking about the possibility and I thought, 'You know what? Enough is enough. This world already has enough hate. If Mike wants to make peace, then I have to be receptive.' And that was it. We talked. We had a good, long discussion. We made peace, hugged, and took a picture together,” LaBrie recounts.
During the show in question, James LaBrie took the opportunity to greet Portnoy live, to which the drummer responded with a wave from the audience. "Welcome to the show, brother," LaBrie said at the time. Check it out:
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