Watch John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy jam on the James Bond theme at Los Angeles gig
With the help of Dave LaRue on bass, the former Dream Theater bandmates injected some 007-esque mystique into a recent rendition of Damage Control
John Petrucci is currently in the midst of his first-ever headlining solo tour.
The trek marks the reunion of the electric guitar A-lister with his former Dream Theater bandmate, drummer Mike Portnoy, and also features longtime Steve Morse sideman Dave LaRue on bass guitar.
An overdue promotion of 'Trooch's 2020 solo album, Terminal Velocity, the tour has featured setlists comprised almost entirely of Terminal Velocity material, plus a few songs from the Dream Theater axeman's 2005 solo debut, Suspended Animation.
Granted, the trio have also thrown a few surprises into their show here and there, one of which you can check out below.
Filmed at the band's November 4 show at the The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, the video shows Petrucci – following a thunderous rendition of Suspended Animation's Damage Control – spontaneously leading his band into the theme from James Bond (right at around the 9:15 mark.)
Seasoned vets they are, Portnoy and LaRue pick up on Petrucci's change of direction as soon as he touches on the theme's iconic melody, and, while not missing a beat, clearly have a good time.
It's worth nothing, though, that the guitarist's foray into Her Majesty's Secret Service isn't the first time Petrucci's woven iconic movie themes into his solo shows.
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Rupert Gregson‐Williams' Wonder Woman theme, for instance, was a regular part of Petrucci's 2018 G3 tour sets (which also featured LaRue on bass).
By the way, if all this leaves you wanting to inject a bit of that 007 mystery and mystique into your own playing, fear not, for Guitar World has a comprehensive lesson on how to play the iconic James Bond guitar chord, and 007 ways you can solo over it.
To read Guitar World's full recent interview with Petrucci, meanwhile – in which he discusses why he reunited with Portnoy to take Terminal Velocity on the road, and reveals his top three tone tips – pick up the latest issue of the mag via Magazines Direct.
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Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
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