Is it time for Dream Theater to hang up Constant Motion?

[Perpetual Change]

After this tour, Dream Theater will have played Constant Motion live over 150 times. This makes Constant Motion not only the most played song from Systematic Chaos, but also launches it into the top 25 most played Dream Theater songs ever. Quite a feat for a song that is only 3 years old or so.

On the current tour supporting Black Clouds, Constant Motion has been played at least half as often as the album's main single, A Rite of Passage, and twice as often as Wither, the album's other single. It's also already been played more than any song from Train of Thought, Octavarium, or Six Degrees (Aside from Panic Attack and As I Am-- and those don't beat it by much).

Personally, I've had enough Constant Motion to last me a good, long while. I don't think Constant Motion is deserving of all the attention it's getting even after the Systematic Chaos tour, especially since it's not even the best single on that album, and, as far as I know, has always been considered to be a disappointing single to a generally disappointing album by a considerable amount of fans.  I also find it disheartening that Dream Theater have played Constant Motion at least half as often as time-tested DT classics like Voices and The Spirit Carries On, and, even more, just looking at this list and all the "classic" songs that have been played less that Constant Motion should be enough to make any long time Dream Theater fan cry. https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=7491.0

Personally, while I hate bashing DT, I'd be willing to bet a lot of fans would be happier if DT left Constant Motion alone for awhile. This is one of those rare circumstances where I think Dream Theater owe it to their fans to play something else, rather than the reverse (as I often think DT fans don't give their newer music enough time).

[hefdaddy42]

Is it time for Dream Theater to hang up Constant Motion?

Yes.

[Nick]

Yeah, they should hang it up for awhile after this tour for sure. However I'm not sure how this has any relevance to the other discussion we were having.

[KevShmev]

Considering I think it is one of their two or three worst songs ever, I would say yes. 

[Seventh Son]

Looking at that link, I'm disappointed that Disappear has only been played twice. It isn't even that long :/

[TL]

I think it gets in the mix a lot because it's fairly recent, and relatively short. If BC&SL had contained more short songs, we probably wouldn't be hearing Constant Motion as often. Considering that they'll probably have a new album out by the time they do their next big tour, we'll probably hear much less of CM.

[robwebster]

Constant Motion really does make the room throb live, though. They keep playing it because it gets a huge reaction. It's blisteringly speedy, heavy yet melodic, and very catchy, with a challenging solo section (which is probably tricky enough to still be interesting for the entire band to play).

How many times a tour do you see them, anywho? Some people may follow them from date to date (although I've never met any!), but the majority of people will only see the band a couple of times, max. Even if they have played it 50 times on a leg, any one person might've have seen it two or three times. For most people they'll either get it or they won't. And it's definitely one of those songs that's much stronger live than on the album.

I've seen Constant Motion twice. Across three gigs since SC was released.

I won't miss it if it disappears. I don't like getting repeat songs. I want to see as much DT as possible. Only time I've been happy to see a repeat song was In the Presence of Enemies pt. 1, for some reason. It was a really exciting opening track. But since my first gig (in October '05), I've seen Caught in a Web, Endless Sacrifice, Panic Attack, The Spirit Carries On, A Rite of Passage, Metropolis and Sacrificed Sons just as many times. As I Am once more. If anyone should be bothered, it's the band themselves. It'll only massively effect them and the bootleg collectors.

I'd like to see something else, sure. I don't think that they should have to keep it. But nor that there's any real need to get rid of it.

[Perpetual Change]

I think it gets in the mix a lot because it's fairly recent, and relatively short. If BC&SL had contained more short songs, we probably wouldn't be hearing Constant Motion as often. Considering that they'll probably have a new album out by the time they do their next big tour, we'll probably hear much less of CM.

But what about Wither? Or, the better single from SC, Forsaken? I understand that it's a fairly short and energetic song (partly due to it being a Metallica cover ), but it's not like they don't have other option.

Yeah, they should hang it up for awhile after this tour for sure. However I'm not sure how this has any relevance to the other discussion we were having.

I don't see how it's not relevant. Bosk said everyone but a few whiny fans enjoy it live. I'm sure he was being sarcastic, but I wanted to get an idea of how many fans actually enjoy it enough to want to continue seeing it live.

How many times a tour do you see them, anywho?

I've seen them three times, and I've only seen Constant Motion once. But as soon as they started playing it, I immediately thought "why are they bringing this up now?"

[TL]

Well for the current tour, they're probably trying to play songs that they feel will appeal to IM fans. Constant Motion fits that bill better than Wither and Forsaken.

[Nick]

The reason it's not relevant is because the setlist for this tour was based on Maiden fans, and that was it. How many times a song was played previously, and what they had just played in America was 100% irrelevant.

The set, including Constant Motion went over really well with Maiden fans, as was its intention, and while I agree it should not be played  much in the future I will definitely say they were right in playing it this past tour.

[Dublagent66]

Well, if I'm not mistaken, aren't Constant Motion and Panic Attack both Rockband songs?  Those two have been played the most live from the last 3 albums.  Maybe there's a connection.  I figure if they've played it that many times, there must be a good reason for it.  But, I also agree that it's probably been over-exposed in the process.  Sure, they can play something else if they want.

[robwebster]

How many times a tour do you see them, anywho?

I've seen them three times, and I've only seen Constant Motion once. But as soon as they started playing it, I immediately thought "why are they bringing this up now?"

There we go then! Same reason as they'd bring up The Dance of Eternity now. Or As I Am. 'Cause it's a good song that they're pleased with. They're the ones who spend over a thousand minutes playing it, all we have to do is sit through it. Sure, it might not be your favourite, but then no matter what they play someone's gonna be grumpy. But the vast majority of an arena chanting the chorus says that most of the fans are probably happy to see it - CM doesn't really have this problem. It's an instant energy injection. From their perspective, it can probably turn a relatively lukewarm audience into an explosive crowd. Why would they turn their nose up at that?

A song like Scarred, however good it may or may not be, it leaves the crowd a little cold. They're on record as saying that it got a muted response, so they ditched it. Constant Motion has the opposite effect, so they keep it. Good on 'em.

[hefdaddy42]

Look, the bottom line is that for the people who like it, it's good, and for the people who don't, it's not.  Probably most of the people who vote "Yes" in this poll never liked the song in the first place (count me in), and so for them it doesn't matter whether it goes over well live or not.  And, like Nick said, the numbers are a little skewed on this song anyway because of the kind of set that DT formulated for the IM tour (not to mention the fact that they played the same set each tour stop).

[BRGM]

For me, Constant motion is the only downside on SC

[toro]

Yes

[Seventh Son]

Never liked it, but who knows maybe its a good live number.

[Perpetual Change]

Look, the bottom line is that for the people who like it, it's good, and for the people who don't, it's not.  Probably most of the people who vote "Yes" in this poll never liked the song in the first place (count me in), and so for them it doesn't matter whether it goes over well live or not.  And, like Nick said, the numbers are a little skewed on this song anyway because of the kind of set that DT formulated for the IM tour (not to mention the fact that they played the same set each tour stop).

For me, it doesn't have as much to do with it being a song good for Maiden fans as DT or MP thinking it's a good song to get people into DT. They've been playing it pretty much any time they have a chance to introduce new people to the band, including those festivals. And I'll bet we see it at those upcoming festivals, too. For me, it's about the farthest thing from what DT are all about, so I'm unhappy with it having that status.

[ariich]

It's a rocking live song, so no.

[Adami]

I seriously don't care. I want DT to stop adding key/guitar solos into songs. The one exception (hollow years) need not be mentioned.

[Volk9]

Yes

[Plasmastrike]

CM was the only song in Columbus where I was like "...seriously?"

Please get rid of it. It's not the SC tour anymore. (nor is it that good of a song)

[ariich]

I seriously don't care. I want DT to stop adding key/guitar solos into songs. The one exception (hollow years) need not be mentioned.

I enjoyed the Solitary Shell one as well. But yeah, the rest are unnecessary, especially considering how many solos they have already in their live repertoire.

[Adami]

I seriously don't care. I want DT to stop adding key/guitar solos into songs. The one exception (hollow years) need not be mentioned.

I enjoyed the Solitary Shell one as well. But yeah, the rest are unnecessary, especially considering how many solos they have already in their live repertoire.

I'm not familiar with the Solitary Shell one, aside from those few moments where Petrucci has to switch guitars.

But seriously, almost every DT song has a solo, they don't need to improvise more. If they want to jam out solos for a while, get LTE to tour.

[Plasmastrike]

I seriously don't care. I want DT to stop adding key/guitar solos into songs. The one exception (hollow years) need not be mentioned.

I enjoyed the Solitary Shell one as well. But yeah, the rest are unnecessary, especially considering how many solos they have already in their live repertoire.

I'm not familiar with the Solitary Shell one, aside from those few moments where Petrucci has to switch guitars.

But seriously, almost every DT song has a solo, they don't need to improvise more. If they want to jam out solos for a while, get LTE to tour.

I'm surprised you think that.

Hollow Years extended is awesome
Intro to Spirit Carries On on Score
Bombay Vindaloo
To Live Forever Live In Tokyo solo
John and Theresa solo spot
PMU/Metropolis - I thought this would be generic, but they made it really fun

Those are just off the top of my head.. I love when they do that shit.

Obviously everything is better in moderation, so too much of it would indeed suck

[Perpetual Change]

While I don't mind Dream Theater's soloing, I wish they'd throw some actual instrumental sections in there, where they play stuff that's impressive without necessarily being flashy. It seems like lately the only Instrumental stuff DT do is soloing over riffage for extended periods of time.

[robwebster]

Surrounded '07 is really neat, too. I really love the BTL Zappa Jam, too, on that note. And I liked the Tool Jam in Lie. And the Metropolis jam on this most recent tour has been unhealthily nifty. Like wrapping a donut in bacon.

When they do those solo sections, that's almost a "special moment" in the night. It's the wayward, unpredictable bit. Uncharted territory. Some of them don't turn out quite as well as others, but I tend to enjoy finding out. It's always exciting when you're blind. I like the jams and the live flourishes in the same way that I like not knowing what the setlist is going to be night after night, and in the same way that I like the bits at comedy gigs where they start to talk to members of the audience. I love that they veer off the beaten track.

[Adami]

First off, I already mentioned the one cool exception of Hollow Years. The score version of TSCO is the reason I skip it constantly, just takes forever to get anywhere.

And don't bring up Bombay Vindaloo, they haven't done ANYTHING remotely like that in years. That wasn't an added solo spot, that was an awesome improv song that was all about atmosphere. Not what I'm talking about.

There's also the extended Octavarium intro which bores me to tears, the extended solo spot in Surrounded and so forth.

Once in a while is fine, but they were doing these things every time they played it.

[ariich]

While I don't mind Dream Theater's soloing, I wish they'd throw some actual instrumental sections in there, where they play stuff that's impressive without necessarily being flashy. It seems like lately the only Instrumental stuff DT do is soloing over riffage for extended periods of time.

Considering all their recent albums have at least 2 instrumental sections that don't involve any soloing, I couldn't disagree more.

[Darkes7]

  So, basically the thread is an extended version of "Systematic Chaos sucks and Constant Motion sucks the most from the whole album", meaning that you don't like it so the band should stop playing it live? Nice.

robwebster and ariich basically said everything I'd like to say. It's an amazing live song and shouldn't be left out just for the sake of leaving it (e.g. As I Am isn't played as much as it used to be, but it appears now and then - and that probably will, and should, be the case with CM).

[Adami]

The first half of your statement is wrong, the second half is right.

[Perpetual Change]

So, basically the thread is an extended version of "Systematic Chaos sucks and Constant Motion sucks the most from the whole album", meaning that you don't like it so the band should stop playing it live? Nice.

No, but for someone who apparently dislikes those kind of conversations so much, you sure do a lot by way of putting words in people's mouths to get them started.

I've defended the merits of Systematic Chaos plenty of times on these very boards. I don't need no n00bs telling me I think things that I've never thought. 

[Adami]

DT can keep playing Constant Motion if they stop playing Panick Attack.

[Plasmastrike]

So, basically the thread is an extended version of "Systematic Chaos sucks and Constant Motion sucks the most from the whole album", meaning that you don't like it so the band should stop playing it live? Nice.

Dude, shut up or chill. It's just music, not a big deal

[toro]

So, basically the thread is an extended version of "Systematic Chaos sucks and Constant Motion sucks the most from the whole album", meaning that you don't like it so the band should stop playing it live? Nice.

robwebster and ariich basically said everything I'd like to say. It's an amazing live song and shouldn't be left out just for the sake of leaving it (e.g. As I Am isn't played as much as it used to be, but it appears now and then - and that probably will, and should, be the case with CM).

dude chill the fuck up your obsesion with SC is getting really boring.

2nd yes it is and awesome live song , but they have been playing it a lot, its time to give it a rest.


btw- the worst on the album is obviously TDEN

DT can keep playing Constant Motion if they stop playing Panick Attack.

Also this.

[skydivingninja]

Yes, they should stop playing it for a bit.  However, I will concede while the studio version is very "meh," its a lot of fun live.