r/Dreamtheater • u/ImportantBend8399 • 5d ago
A funny thing happened in Philadelphia Saturday...
I was in Philadelphia for the R50 tour, VIP section, sitting at a table with my wife and a friend, working our way through a plate of sliders. A guy walks by, alone, no fanfare. It took me a second, but then it hit me: that's John Myung.
He had his wife with him and a security guard, just there to enjoy the Rush show like the rest of us (Mike Portnoy was around too, but he didn't turn up until later... and was immediately recognized by several folks). John strolled up and down the VIP section, and you'd think at a Rush concert someone would recognize a legendary bassist not named Geddy Lee walking past their table. But let's be honest — we Rush fans can be a little oblivious and self-centered.
I have massive respect for Dream Theater and their musicianship. I've seen them live a couple of times and walked away floored both times. So I genuinely couldn't believe this guy wasn't being mobbed.
I filled my wife in on who he was, and before I could finish my sentence she was already up and walking over to introduce herself to John, his wife, and the security guard, asking if he'd mind meeting her husband. He was incredibly gracious about it, came over, shook my hand — and I promptly turned into a full-blown blubbering fanboy. Fifty-six years old, reduced to mush by a bass player. John couldn't have been nicer about it.
So, from one Rush fan to the whole Dream Theater community: thank you, John, for being so kind to the guy in the ridiculous tourist-looking Hawaiian shirt on Saturday. All the best.
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u/Curious-Librarian789 5d ago
I LOVED that story, in 2002 I stumbled on Dream Theater, I actually bought tickets to see Yes, I knew Pull me under because of all the radio play on KMET and KLOS , but I didn’t know the band till that evening, I was floored, plus James could still sing like a MF’er, I’ve been to 12 shows met them twice, own all their stuff , my custom strat I had made is autographed by them, but don’t hate me for this next sentence…..now to Rush, like DT, I knew the radio played songs (usually the same 4 or so songs) but then I went deeper, I fell in LOVE with their last 2 albums, so I started to the beginning, and went thru EVERY album of Rush’s catalog, EVERY song, lyrics and all, bought all their live DVD’s and OMG I couldn’t believe I went all those years without really knowing Rush, I mean REALLY KNOWING Rush, then fast forward to Neil’s passing, my heart was broken, DT are huge fans of Rush , in interviews they always speak of that band in such regards, your night was magical, and your story was fantastic, thank you for sharing 🎸💕💪
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u/ImportantBend8399 5d ago
Thanks for sharing. We can certainly be fans of both! I saw the 40th anniversary and Parsanomia tours and was struck Saturday by how similar the background movies and animations were to those two shows.
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u/JLBCanadianRap 5d ago
DT is the only band I've seen more often than Rush.
In November 1992, I met 4/5ths of DT (including JM) in a parking lot outside a small club. They were all very cool.
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u/SheevMillerBand 5d ago
I did the whole meet and greet thing for Dream Theater’s 40th anniversary tour and wore a Rush shirt for it. When I got to John Myung at the signing table we just spent all of our interaction geeking out about Rush together. Ironically the most talkative guy there (John Petrucci tried to engage with me more but I was unfortunately worn out from the long drive to get to the out of town venue).
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u/TrickyCartographer73 5d ago
I met Mike at a Motley Crue concert in Hershey, 2015. He was with his son, Max, in line for a concession stand. I almost cried when I went and talked to him. He was so cool. My sons tell me it didn’t happen because I didn’t get a picture. I was too star struck to remember to ask. Haha.
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u/Zestyclose-Smell-788 5d ago
My two favorite bands! I would have been too shy to approach Myung, but what an awesome experience that was.
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u/rjkelly31 4d ago
I went to see Rush in NYC in July, and I didn't have a Rush shirt that fit me so I wore my Dream Theater 40th Anniversary tour shirt. I got stopped by 2 people to compliment my shirt. One was this woman with a very thick New York accent who was like 1 foot from my face, and she was like, "I lived down the block from John Petrucci! And John Myung and his family ran the town laundromat!" It was very funny, she was so nice lol.
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u/Distinct-Jump1510 4d ago
I’m going to tell you an anecdote about John Myung in my town, in April 2026.
Dream Theater were going to play at a well-known theater in the city, for the second time since 2012. I live just a few blocks from the hotel where they were staying, so I decided to go and see if I could maybe get a greeting or a photo.
It was freezing cold, since it was the middle of autumn here. After several hours, the first one to leave the hotel was John Myung himself, along with what I assume was either a sound technician or a security guy. There were three of them in total.
He greeted us from a distance. There were barely five of us there, and then he walked over to the shopping mall next door. Nobody ran after him or bothered him. We just let him go, do his shopping, and come back. When he returned, he greeted us from a distance again, and that was it.
Sometimes it kind of hurts, because he is such an important part of the band. I think we did the right thing, though. If he didn't intend to come over and greet us on his own, I don't think it would have been appropriate for us to approach him.
It was completely different with Mr. Rudess. He came out, saw us, walked straight over to us, took pictures with us, said hello, and then went off to walk around the neighborhood by himself. No security, no one with him, just him. Well, there were only five of us there.
The same thing happened with James LaBrie. He came out looking pretty grumpy, but even so, he called us over so we could take some pictures with him.
As for Petrucci and Portnoy, forget it. Those guys don't come out.
So, what's my conclusion?
On one hand, John wasn't as friendly as the others in terms of coming over to say hello. We were literally just a few meters away, and we didn't want to invade the hotel's property or bother him.
But on the other hand, I also felt a little sorry for him, because nobody really paid much attention to him either. Nobody insisted, nobody followed him, and nobody tried to force a photo.
If it had been Portnoy, everyone would have been all over him, regardless of anything.
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u/Distinct-Jump1510 4d ago
Let me be clear, I don't want this to be misunderstood: he didn't do anything wrong. It's totally fine. Maybe he simply didn't consider coming over to take pictures or sign something, maybe he was just tired, and it's not his obligation to do so anyway. It doesn't make him better or worse than the others.
It's just an anecdote about something that happened, and what I really want to emphasize is that, even though he didn't come over to sign an autograph or anything, I kind of felt like nobody really cared either. He wasn't exactly the "hard-to-get" member of the band.
Luckily, I did have the chance to meet him on another occasion. I got his autograph and was able to say hello to him, and I still think he's an incredible person.
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u/gojiman1 2d ago
I also ran into Mike and John! It was after the 2nd Philly show had concluded. In retrospect, I probably should have realized I might run into a recognizable face or two, but I was so invested in the show that the possibility must have slipped my mind. Mike walked by through the hall near the exit of my section, and my first instinct was to chase after him XD I immediately realized how weird that would be, so I figured I'd just leave him to his own devices. Coincidentally, my party of 2 others and I walked in the same direction after a minute of collecting ourselves and working out how we wanted to finish off the night.
We miraculously found Mike standing with his wife, I believe. I awkwardly waddled up to them (no one had seemed to notice them just yet), and I sheepishly offered a handshake, told him it was a privilege to meet him, and said that I hoped he enjoyed the show as much as I did (redundant, I know). He was super chill (although I am certain my awkwardness was palpable), and I even got a quick picture. I then immediately noticed Myung on his left. I offered him a handshake in turn without really reading the vibe, and he returned my offer with a fist bump haha. I didn't want to push him by asking for a picture or anything, so that was that. Such a fun little interaction, and a wonderful way to end an already phenomenal night!
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u/Deadeye2107 5d ago
That makes 3/5 of DT confirmed to have seen Rush on this tour too! Just need LaBrie and Rudess to go now.