More variance in set lists?

[CrimsonE]

Perhaps this has been discussed elsewhere, but I was wondering if DT would return to having setlists with a great deal of variance between shows?  Or will they continue with the current formula of having A setlists and B setlists, which have a few minor differences from night to night--and major shakeups-ups taking place between legs of the tour?   

[hefdaddy42]

I don't think setlists will ever go back to their volatility of the glory tours (6DOIT - 8VM).

[Unlegit]

I highly doubt they will ever vary the setlist as much as they did before, simply because Mike Portnoy was the main one to control the setlist. Hopefully they will do something like what Rush is doing, because that's much better than a simple static setlist.

[robwebster]

I could see them rotating Systematic Chaos style, with a lot of tentpoles throughout (Constant Motion, NADS-into-Surrounded, In the Presence of Enemies at the end with the medley as an encore) - but I'm with Hef, can't see them going down the turbulent, exciting, songs-out-of-a-hat route again. Which is a shame in some ways, but cool in others. Nice to see songs like These Walls played for half a tour.

[Progmetty]

I hope they keep up with the "Taking the show on the road" method of constant set lists played to perfection and an air tight performance like the Tour of Events.

[ResultsMayVary]

They will probably continue the same amount of rotation that they did on this past tour.

[slycordinator]

I recall them saying that part of the reason they didn't do as much setlist changes is due to the amount of difficult songs in the back catalogue for MM to quickly learn and that some more variance could come about over time as he becomes "comfortable" with more of the catalogue...

[Scorpion]

But the setlists had been far less varied since the SC tours. I agree with the others that they might return to that level, because even that would be a step up from the ADTOE shows, but I doubt that they ever do the whole switching out thing again - which I'm fine with, to be honest! The songs that are being played will then be played very well and the band will have time to grow accustomed to them. Also, imagine that the next city gets, I dunno, ACOS and you don't, I'd flip.

[jcmistat]

Some reason I'm going to doubt it but I hope they reach for stuff that they haven't played in a while. My biggest wish is Evening With.

[hefdaddy42]

Some reason I'm going to doubt it but I hope they reach for stuff that they haven't played in a while. My biggest wish is Evening With.

I think "Evening With" is a lot more likely than more variation in the setlists.

[TheGreatPretender]

I don't think setlists will ever go back to their volatility of the glory tours (6DOIT - 8VM).

I kinda prefer it this way. I mean, not only do they get to refine their act a lot more, but at the same time, you're (or I'm) not gonna go see their show and say I wanted them to perform Metropolis, but they didn't, then hearing that they performed Metropolis a few days later in another city, I'd be kinda disappointed.

[BlobVanDam]

I don't think they'll vary the setlists much more than they did on the ADTOE tour, for reasons already mentioned. They might do slightly more rotation now that MM knows the material better, but I don't get the feeling it's a priority for them anymore.

[YtseJamittaja]

They could do a mini tour for ultimate DT fans and play only B-sides and less played material.

Just a wish...

[?]

If they return to the "evening with" format, I think the chance of continuing rotation is even smaller. But they'd have a lot of material to rehearse and play anyway, and the amount of people going to multiple shows per tour is probably just a minority.

[hefdaddy42]

I don't think setlists will ever go back to their volatility of the glory tours (6DOIT - 8VM).

I kinda prefer it this way. I mean, not only do they get to refine their act a lot more, but at the same time, you're (or I'm) not gonna go see their show and say I wanted them to perform Metropolis, but they didn't, then hearing that they performed Metropolis a few days later in another city, I'd be kinda disappointed.

No, that could still happen, if they keep it to the rotation they used on this tour.

[TheGreatPretender]

No, that could still happen, if they keep it to the rotation they used on this tour.

Well, yes, but if they keep it at a consistent rotation, then it's possible to at least find that out, at setlist.fm. Now, you can at least see the past few setlists they did and do the math and say, "Well, if they perform at my city in so many days, then this is the setlist that they'll be performing." So even if you don't get the song you want, at least you'll know what you're getting and not gonna be hanging onto false hopes. Whereas, if the setlist is completely unpredictable, then there's always a chance they'll play the song you want, which is all the more disappointing when they don't end up playing it.

Of course, last year, I got the best case scenario, since they introduced playlist C in my city and got rid of the songs I didn't even want, while putting in ALL the songs that I wanted to hear from A and B combined. So I was one happy camper!

[robwebster]

No, that could still happen, if they keep it to the rotation they used on this tour.

Well, yes, but if they keep it at a consistent rotation, then it's possible to at least find that out, at setlist.fm. Now, you can at least see the past few setlists they did and do the math and say, "Well, if they perform at my city in so many days, then this is the setlist that they'll be performing." So even if you don't get the song you want, at least you'll know what you're getting and not gonna be hanging onto false hopes. Whereas, if the setlist is completely unpredictable, then there's always a chance they'll play the song you want, which is all the more disappointing when they don't end up playing it.

On the flip side, though, it is so electrifying to get that one song you never thought you'd see them play.

I was stunned to get Misunderstood on the Black Clouds tour. That was one of my favourite moments of any DT gig. You never quite get that with the new system. I'd say, under Mike Portnoy's stewardship, I had two amazing setlists and two okay setlists - and while the okay ones were a little disheartening scattered among the rest of their tour dates, the amazing ones felt all the more special for it. One method's not better nor worse, they're just both different.

[wasteland]

Indeed rob, indeed. As long as the setlist are consistent and the performances stronger, I might do without a heavy rotation (except for the second US leg a few swaps in the set actually took place in this tour) for quite some time. Of course, the one thing that needs not to be the same every night is the encore! Keeping a fixed encore is a crime to me!

[TheGreatPretender]

One method's not better nor worse, they're just both different.

Well, except for one aspect. And they said this time and again, the way they're doing it now, their act is a lot more polished and refined. It's definitely good to know that when we go to see them, they'll be on top of their game.

[chaotic_ripper]

I like it the way it is now, especially if the band as a whole prefer it this way, and not just one of them.  I also like knowing the setlist ahead of time . Some of those BC&SL shows were pretty weak.  Like, only seven songs and they included Sacrificed Sons, Prophets of War, and a twenty-minute version of Solitary Shell. There's a waste of a night!  Don't get me wrong, I love Solitary Shell, just not stretched out with no direction.

[VioletS16]

I like the way their setlists are now. I like to know the setlist before hand, which not many people agree with, but I do. And besides some bands don't change setlists at all.

[perfey]

I like the setlist as they are now too. If the band like the way they are done, I approve of it too.

[IdoSC]

I personally don't want that to happen. It's not like they rotated the songs in the entire tour as a whole so much more than they do now, because back then, they simply had a gigantic master setlist and rotated it between each show. In this case, they have the same gigantic master setlist, which they use to make smaller master setlists for each leg, and then they rotate those between each show.

My point is, I don't mind it if they keep every leg different from the other, while making the shows of each leg much of the same compared to one another, because that way they keep the variety of songs represented throughout the entire tour intact, and every fan will know what he's coming into by looking at other shows from the same leg. I was extremely happy to know that the last show in Israel would either have Metropolis or Learning to Live as an encore, when in the old rotation format, it could've also been As I Am or Pull Me Under.

[Octavaripolis]

This tour, I saw them once in CPH, and once in Stockholm. Those dates had one gig in between them and therefore I got to hear the almost the exact same setlist twice with the exception of the Pull Me Under-encore being switched for As I Am in Copenhagen.. My suggestion is that they instead varying between two setlists, they play four setlists. Two of the setlists have one group of songs that always will be played and the other two has another group of songs that always will be played in those setlists. Then you alternate a couple of songs of the setlist each night just like they did this tour except they've got double the amount setlists. This way you'll never hear the same setlist if you go to four or less shows.

[Cedar redaC]

I think that if I was playing shows every night, I would want a semi-loose skeleton of a setlist that had a few songs that were played every night, but basically had a lot of leeway as to what would be played. Structurally, it would stay the same, but songs would change.

[wasteland]

Needs σ²≫σ₀² in set lists.

[GasparXR]

Needs σ²≫σ₀² in set lists.

[wasteland]

Needs σ²≫σ₀² in set lists.

Thank god at least one understood. 

[Jaffa]

Honestly don't care.  But then, I've only seen Dream Theater live once, so my main priority is that next time they come here, they play songs I haven't heard yet.  If every other city is getting the exact same songs, doesn't really matter to me.