The Dream Theater Tour Dates & Setlists Thread (UPDATED 04/23)

[Lucien]

That's if they play no instrumentals during a 2 hour set.

[MetalJens]

A bit disappointed they haven't included Surrender to Reason, The Bigger Picture and Behind The Veil, but otherwise a great setlist, especially the second part  and maybe if we are lucky they will introduce some of these songs later on the tour 

Would have loved it if they played the entire DT album as set I though, and then the Awake/SFAM songs as set II 

[Dream Team]

I still say it's a little much to ask James to sing 4 nights in a row at this point in his career.

With 3 instrumentals, and a long break in Illumination Theory, this shouldn't be as taxing as it might seem.  3 hour set; 20 minute break + about 30 minutes of music where he's not singing... it's really not much more for him than a non 'Evening With' format.

Yeah, but it's the 4 nights in a row several times that worries me.

[Dellers]

A bit disappointed they haven't included Surrender to Reason, The Bigger Picture and Behind The Veil.

This a lot. I'd rather have these than any of the other songs from the album with the exception of Illumination Theory. Kind of funny how their choice of songs is pretty much the opposite of what I personally want to hear. I thought all of the three songs you mentioned were among most people's favorites on the record, so I'm very surprised that they don't even play one of them.

[TAC]

In watching some of the videos for the tour so far, is it me, or does John Myung seem really into it?

[Vlasto]

In watching some of the videos for the tour so far, is it me, or does John Myung seem really into it?

i'm watching The Looking Glass + Trial of Tears and performance is simple like on albums, these guys are living dreaam

[MetalJens]

This a lot. I'd rather have these than any of the other songs from the album with the exception of Illumination Theory.

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Those three are my favorites too apart from IT :S

Anyway, this sounds absolutely amazing... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TlZsRDx6xs

[Grizz]

I refuse to view the video, but I approve of the lighting from what I can see in the thumbnail.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

The only thing I would change to the setlist would be removing On the Backs of Angels and putting Behind the Veil, Surrender to Reason or The Bigger Picture. Any of those 3 songs would work wonders, considering OTBOA was played in every single show from the ADTOE tour. I love the set the way it is, but I'm truly dying to listen those 3 songs live.

[King Postwhore]

The only thing I would change to the setlist would be removing On the Backs of Angels and putting Behind the Veil, Surrender to Reason or The Bigger Picture. Any of those 3 songs would work wonders, considering OTBOA was played in every single show from the ADTOE tour. I love the set the way it is, but I'm truly dying to listen those 3 songs live.

I completely agree.

[MustActFastToCoverUp]

I somehow counted on LNF to be in the setlist, cause it wasn't played in the european leg of the dramatic tour, contrary to OTBOA, which we have seen before. 

[The Curious Orange]

Europe is also owed TMOLS, which wasn't played over here either.

[cyberdrummer]

It was a few times. I remember it being played in Wolverhampton.

EDIT: 11 times in fact https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=39059.0

[The Curious Orange]

So it was - I stand corrected.

[cyberdrummer]

Trailer clip for the Along For The Ride World Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0e1vs8-xfM

Also includes a clip of the video for 'The Looking Glass, which will premiere February 3rd.

[Setlist Scotty]

So it was - I stand corrected.

If it makes you feel any better, it was only played a total of 28 times:
https://www.mikeportnoy.com/dates/tourography/searchresults.asp?criteria=The+Ministry+of+Lost+Souls&in=song

[Beowulf]

I just read the updated North American tour and setlist.  Phenomenal setlist, but I'm utterly disappointed at how few US dates there are.  It seems they almost always make a point to hit the Dallas, Texas area.  But nothing even remotely close.  DT was the very first real "rock" concert I brought my son to on the last tour.  I'm hoping to repeat that event.  Fingers crossed that more US dates will follow....

[dtrox08]

Where are you finding the North American setlist?

[El Barto]

I just read the updated North American tour and setlist.  Phenomenal setlist, but I'm utterly disappointed at how few US dates there are.  It seems they almost always make a point to hit the Dallas, Texas area.  But nothing even remotely close.  DT was the very first real "rock" concert I brought my son to on the last tour.  I'm hoping to repeat that event.  Fingers crossed that more US dates will follow....

They'll do a second leg with a support act and hit the Texas cities. They just never come down here doing the evening with format. I'm surprised AZ got a date; they normally get skipped as well.

[Setlist Scotty]

I just read the updated North American tour and setlist.  Phenomenal setlist, but I'm utterly disappointed at how few US dates there are.  It seems they almost always make a point to hit the Dallas, Texas area.  But nothing even remotely close.  DT was the very first real "rock" concert I brought my son to on the last tour.  I'm hoping to repeat that event.  Fingers crossed that more US dates will follow....

They'll do a second leg with a support act and hit the Texas cities. They just never come down here doing the evening with format.

I'll be curious to see what they'll do if they decide to do a second round of touring in Europe and North America on this tour. In Europe, they generally stuck with the Evening With format for both legs, but in North America, they did a package tour, but I get the sense that was more MP's doing than anything (keeping in line with his wanting to always change things up). For those cities that don't get hit on this leg of the tour, I hope that they'll consider another Evening With leg later in the year.

I'm surprised AZ got a date; they normally get skipped as well.

I agree with you regarding Texas, but what do you mean AZ gets skipped? Here's all the AZ dates thus far:
11/24/1992  Phoenix, AZ - Library Cafe
2/10/1993  Tempe, AZ - Club Rio
5/31/1993  Tempe, AZ - Club Rio
12/4/1994  Tucson, AZ - Buena Vista Theater
12/5/1994  Tempe, AZ - Club Rio
5/20/1998  Tempe, AZ - Club Rio
1/31/2000  Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theater
8/19/2000  Phoenix, AZ - Web Theater
3/7/2002  Phoenix, AZ - Web Theater
8/8/2002  Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theater
3/8/2004  Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theater
9/14/2004  Mesa, AZ - Mesa Amphitheatre
7/23/2005  Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Amphitheater
7/29/2005  Tucson, AZ - Casino Anselmo
3/6/2006  Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theater
7/25/2007  Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theater
6/17/2010  Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Wireless Pavilion
12/4/2011  Mesa, AZ - Ikeda Theater

[jonnybaxy]

IMPORTANT!

*no longer important*

[El Barto]

I agree with you regarding Texas, but what do you mean AZ gets skipped? Here's all the AZ dates thus far:
11/24/1992  Phoenix, AZ - Library Cafe
2/10/1993  Tempe, AZ - Club Rio
5/31/1993  Tempe, AZ - Club Rio
12/4/1994  Tucson, AZ - Buena Vista Theater
12/5/1994  Tempe, AZ - Club Rio
5/20/1998  Tempe, AZ - Club Rio
1/31/2000  Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theater
8/19/2000  Phoenix, AZ - Web Theater
3/7/2002  Phoenix, AZ - Web Theater
8/8/2002  Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theater
3/8/2004  Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theater
9/14/2004  Mesa, AZ - Mesa Amphitheatre
7/23/2005  Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Amphitheater
7/29/2005  Tucson, AZ - Casino Anselmo
3/6/2006  Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theater
7/25/2007  Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theater
6/17/2010  Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Wireless Pavilion
12/4/2011  Mesa, AZ - Ikeda Theater

I stand corrected. I though they were subject to the same evening with passover. Seems they get all of the shows we do, plus the evening withs that we don't.

I suspect that part of the problem is that they only want to play Nextstage, witch is far too big a venue for them to sell alone. Even with their package tours they only sell about a third of it. HOB is a perfectly nice venue with the best sound in Dallas. It's perfect for them, but it never happens.

[Setlist Scotty]

I suspect that part of the problem is that they only want to play Nextstage, witch is far too big a venue for them to sell alone. Even with their package tours they only sell about a third of it. HOB is a perfectly nice venue with the best sound in Dallas. It's perfect for them, but it never happens.

I'm not sure it's merely them wanting to play a specific venue. I'd imagine it has more to do with the promoters not being willing to front the money that the band commands in other markets. After all, Dallas isn't the only city in Texas that's big enough to warrant a DT concert. I know they've played Austin, and certainly San Antonio and Houston are huge cities too. The fact that they are in the same relative area makes it a better bet in terms of mapping out a touring route (especially if you were to include New Orleans and maybe Oklahoma City). So I think it has to do with what kind of offers they are getting from promoters there, the amount of time the band wants to be on the road for a given leg (generally no more than 5 weeks) and them going to some other cities they haven't played recently (you can't cover all the major cities effectively within that short a time period). I'm sure this is the same reason why Florida and the south in general don't get as many dates as the southwest, midwest and northeast.

[El Barto]

I suspect that part of the problem is that they only want to play Nextstage, witch is far too big a venue for them to sell alone. Even with their package tours they only sell about a third of it. HOB is a perfectly nice venue with the best sound in Dallas. It's perfect for them, but it never happens.

I'm not sure it's merely them wanting to play a specific venue. I'd imagine it has more to do with the promoters not being willing to front the money that the band commands in other markets. After all, Dallas isn't the only city in Texas that's big enough to warrant a DT concert. I know they've played Austin, and certainly San Antonio and Houston are huge cities too. The fact that they are in the same relative area makes it a better bet in terms of mapping out a touring route (especially if you were to include New Orleans and maybe Oklahoma City). So I think it has to do with what kind of offers they are getting from promoters there, the amount of time the band wants to be on the road for a given leg (generally no more than 5 weeks) and them going to some other cities they haven't played recently (you can't cover all the major cities effectively within that short a time period). I'm sure this is the same reason why Florida and the south in general don't get as many dates as the southwest, midwest and northeast.

Gotta be honest here, that explanation doesn't exactly endear me to them any. Plenty of bands do just fine playing down here, and the notion that we get skipped time and time again because we won't generate their asking price doesn't really sit all that well. I don't expect them to tour at a loss by any means but it's certainly possible to play down here and make money. I'd happily hit Houston or San Antonio, and plenty of people in either of those cities would come up here. Would it really be a problem to play one gig for less money to appeasea fairly enormous geographical market?And I don't really buy your geographical aspect, either. They're saturating the NE playing comparatively small venues. If they only wanted 4 weeks in the US, spending 2 of them in the NE doesn't seem all that cool. There comes a point where you have to try and balance greed with loyalty to your fans.

And to be fair, I don't know the economics of this situation. I'm basing this on the suggestion you made. What I do know is that bands of all shapes and sizes play down here profitably, and if they can't make enough money playing Texas, either they're doing something very wrong, or they're thinking a bit too highly of themselves.

[Setlist Scotty]

Gotta be honest here, that explanation doesn't exactly endear me to them any. Plenty of bands do just fine playing down here, and the notion that we get skipped time and time again because we won't generate their asking price doesn't really sit all that well. I don't expect them to tour at a loss by any means but it's certainly possible to play down here and make money. I'd happily hit Houston or San Antonio, and plenty of people in either of those cities would come up here. Would it really be a problem to play one gig for less money to appeasea fairly enormous geographical market?And I don't really buy your geographical aspect, either. They're saturating the NE playing comparatively small venues. If they only wanted 4 weeks in the US, spending 2 of them in the NE doesn't seem all that cool. There comes a point where you have to try and balance greed with loyalty to your fans.

And to be fair, I don't know the economics of this situation. I'm basing this on the suggestion you made. What I do know is that bands of all shapes and sizes play down here profitably, and if they can't make enough money playing Texas, either they're doing something very wrong, or they're thinking a bit too highly of themselves.

To be honest, I don't know all the details either. My post is simply the best idea I can imagine coming up with to explain the situation. Again, it makes no sense for them to skip a specific city and/or region just because they want to/don't want to play at certain venues, which is what you suggested in your previous post.

As for them "saturating the NE", it is true that they play many shows there. But I think there's a couple of reasons why it makes more sense there than anywhere else - not only is it closer to their home (there could be some bias involved because of this), but there are many more cities in that area that are closer together, requiring less expense in transporting everything. And I don't think that they're playing comparatively small venues, if you're comparing to a House of Blues, which I imagine holds roughly 1500 people or less. I don't know the specifics of all the venues that DT's played around the NE region in recent years, but from my own personal experiences at the shows I attended in the NE, almost every one was larger than that.

As for them playing "one gig for less money to appease a fairly enormous geographical market", it may sounds like a reasonable request on paper, but it's a matter of making it all fit. Not just within the self-imposed 5 week window, but also so that it is cost effective in terms of transporting everything from city to city. If they were to play only one show in Texas as opposed to 3 or 4, I think it would actually be less cost effective. And let's remember that DT is a business, not a charity, so they gotta do what makes sense business-wise.

Again, I don't know all the details of why they skipped Texas so often when it came to headlining gigs, so there could be other things we haven't thought of. Hopefully they'll lengthen that self-imposed time limit on touring in a few years, now that most of their kids are in high school and will soon be in college (and no longer at home).

At least you can be happy that they're starting to do headlining shows in Texas again - by my count, 3 in 2007, 3 in 2011 and 4 in 2012. Whether there will be a second North American leg on this tour remains to be seen, but if there is, I'd guess that some Texas dates would be included.

[cramx3]

Just admit it, DT hates Texas 

[Lucien]

Just admit it, DT hates Texas 

[Grizz]

Just admit it, DT hates Texas 

can't blame them

[El Barto]

Gotta be honest here, that explanation doesn't exactly endear me to them any. Plenty of bands do just fine playing down here, and the notion that we get skipped time and time again because we won't generate their asking price doesn't really sit all that well. I don't expect them to tour at a loss by any means but it's certainly possible to play down here and make money. I'd happily hit Houston or San Antonio, and plenty of people in either of those cities would come up here. Would it really be a problem to play one gig for less money to appeasea fairly enormous geographical market?And I don't really buy your geographical aspect, either. They're saturating the NE playing comparatively small venues. If they only wanted 4 weeks in the US, spending 2 of them in the NE doesn't seem all that cool. There comes a point where you have to try and balance greed with loyalty to your fans.

And to be fair, I don't know the economics of this situation. I'm basing this on the suggestion you made. What I do know is that bands of all shapes and sizes play down here profitably, and if they can't make enough money playing Texas, either they're doing something very wrong, or they're thinking a bit too highly of themselves.

To be honest, I don't know all the details either. My post is simply the best idea I can imagine coming up with to explain the situation. Again, it makes no sense for them to skip a specific city and/or region just because they want to/don't want to play at certain venues, which is what you suggested in your previous post.

As for them "saturating the NE", it is true that they play many shows there. But I think there's a couple of reasons why it makes more sense there than anywhere else - not only is it closer to their home (there could be some bias involved because of this), but there are many more cities in that area that are closer together, requiring less expense in transporting everything. And I don't think that they're playing comparatively small venues, if you're comparing to a House of Blues, which I imagine holds roughly 1500 people or less. I don't know the specifics of all the venues that DT's played around the NE region in recent years, but from my own personal experiences at the shows I attended in the NE, almost every one was larger than that.

As for them playing "one gig for less money to appease a fairly enormous geographical market", it may sounds like a reasonable request on paper, but it's a matter of making it all fit. Not just within the self-imposed 5 week window, but also so that it is cost effective in terms of transporting everything from city to city. If they were to play only one show in Texas as opposed to 3 or 4, I think it would actually be less cost effective. And let's remember that DT is a business, not a charity, so they gotta do what makes sense business-wise.

Again, I don't know all the details of why they skipped Texas so often when it came to headlining gigs, so there could be other things we haven't thought of. Hopefully they'll lengthen that self-imposed time limit on touring in a few years, now that most of their kids are in high school and will soon be in college (and no longer at home).

At least you can be happy that they're starting to do headlining shows in Texas again - by my count, 3 in 2007, 3 in 2011 and 4 in 2012. Whether there will be a second North American leg on this tour remains to be seen, but if there is, I'd guess that some Texas dates would be included.

These are good points, and as we've both pointed out we're mainly just talking out of our asses about this. Hell, it might be as simple as Cramx's scenario. 

As for the smaller venues part, the only place they play in Dallas has a capacity of 6350. I didn't see anything close to that size in the NE. Problem is they only sell about 20% of the place, so it's not surprising that it isn't cost effective. As seen below, only the middle 3 sections of the 1 and 2 hundred level (the pit is actually 3 sections of seats when they play) are even offered for sale:



The thing is, Dallas has tons of venues in their capacity range. Same sorts of places that they play in Houston and SA/Austin. Nice, 1.5-3.5k seat places. Don't see why they're so affixed to Nextstage. Then you've got Ft Worth, which probably has more suitable venues. My guess is that they favor venues with fixed seating, which narrows their options a bit, but they still have plenty to choose from. Hell, I'd bet if they played Denton's very nice performance hall they'd sell quite a few more tickets than they do in Dallas. It might also be that they favor Nextstage for being between Ft Worth and Dallas, but it doesn't really work that way. We're all used to driving from one to the other all the time for bands we really want to see, and Grand Prairie kind of sucks for everybody.

[cramx3]

From Wikipedia:

The PNC Bank Arts Center is a modern amphitheatre located in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, USA. About 17,500 people can occupy the amphitheater; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people.

We've had some discussion about this in the Red Bank concert thread, but when DT plays this venue, it also only sells like 20-30% of the capacity.  In 2012 when I saw them there, I bought lawn seats the day of the show, but they moved me up to like the 20th row for free.

[El Barto]

I've seen them do that with our shed down here. Usually they'll actually curtain off the shed from the lawn seating to "encourage" people to move forward. I suspect that it's considerably cheaper to book the place when they only need half the security, half the parking lots, half the concessions, etc. Still, it certainly seems like it'd be better to just play an appropriately sized venue.

Also, all of our shed concerts are in the Summer, and if you curtain off all of the covered seating so that no breeze can get under there it's downright insufferable.

[Setlist Scotty]

Just admit it, DT hates Texas 

LOL! One could assume so, if it weren't for the fact that they still do play shows there! Granted, they've been package shows, with some headlining and opening shows mixed in, but it's better than nothing.

That said, there have been occasions where they've "blacklisted" certain locations due to the terrible problems that they had - their bad experience in mainland China made them swear off playing there again. And while that is extreme, I'm sure that there are some venues that have been blacklisted - one I would imagine is the Palace Theater in Los Angeles, site of the infamous fire marshal show.

As for the smaller venues part, the only place they play in Dallas has a capacity of 6350. I didn't see anything close to that size in the NE. Problem is they only sell about 20% of the place, so it's not surprising that it isn't cost effective. As seen below, only the middle 3 sections of the 1 and 2 hundred level (the pit is actually 3 sections of seats when they play) are even offered for sale:



The thing is, Dallas has tons of venues in their capacity range. Same sorts of places that they play in Houston and SA/Austin. Nice, 1.5-3.5k seat places. Don't see why they're so affixed to Nextstage. Then you've got Ft Worth, which probably has more suitable venues. My guess is that they favor venues with fixed seating, which narrows their options a bit, but they still have plenty to choose from. Hell, I'd bet if they played Denton's very nice performance hall they'd sell quite a few more tickets than they do in Dallas. It might also be that they favor Nextstage for being between Ft Worth and Dallas, but it doesn't really work that way. We're all used to driving from one to the other all the time for bands we really want to see, and Grand Prairie kind of sucks for everybody.

In reading over your response, another thing came to mind - they have booking agents that book their shows, so it could be a matter of the booking agents having some bias. I dunno. The point that you make about different size venues is a valid one. Perhaps it's a matter of them (or even the booking agents) not being fully aware of all the venues available? I know I mentioned to MP about the Open Air Theater on the campus of SDSU around 2002 after I had seen a pair of concerts there. I don't think he ever mentioned it to their manager or booking agent, but I found it very interesting that they played that venue on Gigantour (which would've been booked by Megadeth's booking manager), and they ended up playing the same venue the next time they played in San Diego.

One other thing that I just thought of might have to do with the political behind the scenes crap that probably goes on with booking shows. It's been a few years and I'm too tired to try to dig up the article now, but I remember reading somewhere that Clear Channel and/or Live Nation had been purchasing numerous venues, including some, if not all of the HOB's. The article said that since they had so much control over the US concert market, they could cause hassles for bands that tried to book some of their shows at venues they didn't own, in cities where they did have a presence. So that could be another reason why shows are booked the way they are.

And it could be that the promoters they deal with aren't comfortable booking them without an opening act or two. After all, DT doesn't command the audience of Rush, so there may be concerns that way.

Regarding the seating thing - it is an established fact (MP said so several years ago) that they are choosing to play in venues with seats, especially for the longer (Evening With) shows, so that the fans can sit down when they need to.

From Wikipedia:

The PNC Bank Arts Center is a modern amphitheatre located in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, USA. About 17,500 people can occupy the amphitheater; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people.

We've had some discussion about this in the Red Bank concert thread, but when DT plays this venue, it also only sells like 20-30% of the capacity.  In 2012 when I saw them there, I bought lawn seats the day of the show, but they moved me up to like the 20th row for free.

This is one of the venues I've been to and seen DT at (altho I personally don't like the venue). Even then, consider let's say 25% of the capacity of this venue - that's still 4,375 tickets. Never mind the fact that both Philadelphia and New York City are each only about 2 hours driving distance, and typically they play in good sized venues for both cities too. So you can see why there's a big focus playing in the NE.

[KevShmev]

Sadly, I'll bet they have blacklisted the Pageant here in St. Louis, which is why they haven't been here since that show here in '04 where that idiot fell out of the balcony going for one of the drumsticks Portnoy tossed into the crowd.  If so, that is completely unfair to blacklist an entire city basically because of one idiot, but there really is no other rational reason for them not having come here since (we went to their shows here in '94, '00 and '04, and all of them were packed to the max with energetic crowds) 

[El Barto]

It would seem pretty strange that booking agencies wouldn't be familiar with the various options here. I know that Nextstage pretty much inherited the entire Bronco Bowl market by default when BB got bulldozed, which is how I suspect that DT wound up playing there. Most bands that played the Bronco Bowl now play out there, which is probably why Nextstage accommodates them with the half/quarter size configurations. Seems odd, though. As for HOB/CC, that's an interesting notion. I know that Nextstage is AEG, so there's no affiliation with HOB there, and if they're not obligated to them then there shouldn't be any problem. After thinking about it, most of the sorts of places that would work for them are city owned, so no hassles there, either. You've got a couple of colleges that host rock concerts (UTA just built a new concert hall just for that sort of thing; saw Kansas there recently).

Something that always puzzled me was why promoters would think that the sorts of bands that open for DT would actually boost attendance. Do they think that people who would normally blow off DT would drive all the way to Grand Prairie because Periphery is opening? Of course no sooner than I type that I remember that I drove to Austin largely because Crimson Projekt was opening. 

[Prog Snob]

Just admit it, DT hates Texas 

LOL! One could assume so, if it weren't for the fact that they still do play shows there! Granted, they've been package shows, with some headlining and opening shows mixed in, but it's better than nothing.

That said, there have been occasions where they've "blacklisted" certain locations due to the terrible problems that they had - their bad experience in mainland China made them swear off playing there again. And while that is extreme, I'm sure that there are some venues that have been blacklisted - one I would imagine is the Palace Theater in Los Angeles, site of the infamous fire marshal show.

As for the smaller venues part, the only place they play in Dallas has a capacity of 6350. I didn't see anything close to that size in the NE. Problem is they only sell about 20% of the place, so it's not surprising that it isn't cost effective. As seen below, only the middle 3 sections of the 1 and 2 hundred level (the pit is actually 3 sections of seats when they play) are even offered for sale:



The thing is, Dallas has tons of venues in their capacity range. Same sorts of places that they play in Houston and SA/Austin. Nice, 1.5-3.5k seat places. Don't see why they're so affixed to Nextstage. Then you've got Ft Worth, which probably has more suitable venues. My guess is that they favor venues with fixed seating, which narrows their options a bit, but they still have plenty to choose from. Hell, I'd bet if they played Denton's very nice performance hall they'd sell quite a few more tickets than they do in Dallas. It might also be that they favor Nextstage for being between Ft Worth and Dallas, but it doesn't really work that way. We're all used to driving from one to the other all the time for bands we really want to see, and Grand Prairie kind of sucks for everybody.

In reading over your response, another thing came to mind - they have booking agents that book their shows, so it could be a matter of the booking agents having some bias. I dunno. The point that you make about different size venues is a valid one. Perhaps it's a matter of them (or even the booking agents) not being fully aware of all the venues available? I know I mentioned to MP about the Open Air Theater on the campus of SDSU around 2002 after I had seen a pair of concerts there. I don't think he ever mentioned it to their manager or booking agent, but I found it very interesting that they played that venue on Gigantour (which would've been booked by Megadeth's booking manager), and they ended up playing the same venue the next time they played in San Diego.

One other thing that I just thought of might have to do with the political behind the scenes crap that probably goes on with booking shows. It's been a few years and I'm too tired to try to dig up the article now, but I remember reading somewhere that Clear Channel and/or Live Nation had been purchasing numerous venues, including some, if not all of the HOB's. The article said that since they had so much control over the US concert market, they could cause hassles for bands that tried to book some of their shows at venues they didn't own, in cities where they did have a presence. So that could be another reason why shows are booked the way they are.

And it could be that the promoters they deal with aren't comfortable booking them without an opening act or two. After all, DT doesn't command the audience of Rush, so there may be concerns that way.

Regarding the seating thing - it is an established fact (MP said so several years ago) that they are choosing to play in venues with seats, especially for the longer (Evening With) shows, so that the fans can sit down when they need to.

From Wikipedia:

The PNC Bank Arts Center is a modern amphitheatre located in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, USA. About 17,500 people can occupy the amphitheater; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people.

We've had some discussion about this in the Red Bank concert thread, but when DT plays this venue, it also only sells like 20-30% of the capacity.  In 2012 when I saw them there, I bought lawn seats the day of the show, but they moved me up to like the 20th row for free.

This is one of the venues I've been to and seen DT at (altho I personally don't like the venue). Even then, consider let's say 25% of the capacity of this venue - that's still 4,375 tickets. Never mind the fact that both Philadelphia and New York City are each only about 2 hours driving distance, and typically they play in good sized venues for both cities too. So you can see why there's a big focus playing in the NE.

Maybe Mike Portnoy peed on The Alamo and no one told us.