You Not Me, live in concert.

[BlobVanDam]

If I was hand-picking an entire concert to my own tastes, I obviously wouldn't stick YNM in there, but they don't choose a setlist based on any individual's tastes. If the worst I ever had to hear from them was YNM, I'd be ok with that.

As much as I'd love a setlist of all pizza, the setlists are rarely going to be all pizza. There could be some haggis in there too, in which case a rice cracker wouldn't seem so bad.  IaW is considered one of the most delicious pizzas DT has ever cooked, and many people were fine with that being given a rest. People don't eat their favourite food every day of the week. They may even try something new.

While there are many songs I wouldn't mind hearing repeated endlessly, there are songs I like but have little interest in hearing multiple times, and would rather hear something different for a new experience, even if I like it a little less as a song. Variety is a good thing.

Just look at how many songs people didn't like or appreciate as much until DT played it live, and sometimes only like the live version. Just recently many people were saying how much more you can appreciate a song after hearing it live.
Not that I expect YNM would jump considerably in anyone's rankings if it was played, but it couldn't hurt! Take away the over-produced gloss of the song, and it would definitely be an improvement, and there are sections in there that would sound great live with JP's heavier tone, and a big keyboard sound.

If they never play it live, I really don't care in the slightest, but if they ever did slip it in there, it wouldn't be the worst reaction I've had to a song's inclusion on their setlist either.

[TheGreatPretender]

As much as I'd love a setlist of all pizza, the setlists are rarely going to be all pizza. There could be some haggis in there too, in which case a rice cracker wouldn't seem so bad.

Except when you're a guest in Dream Theater's house, refusing haggis is rude and unacceptable. 

[BlobVanDam]

As much as I'd love a setlist of all pizza, the setlists are rarely going to be all pizza. There could be some haggis in there too, in which case a rice cracker wouldn't seem so bad.

Except when you're a guest in Dream Theater's house, refusing haggis is rude and unacceptable. 

Then they're really going to be offended when I ask where the bathroom is when they serve the drum solo soup!

[TheGreatPretender]

Then they're really going to be offended when I ask where the bathroom is when they serve the drum solo soup!

Soup? I prefer my drumsticks deep fried.

[Onno]

Even though YNM is my least favourite DT song, I guess I would find it interesting to see it live. Why? Because it would be interesting to see if they'd change some things up, play some parts differently or just play the whole thing as it is on the album.

A Rite of Passage is on a lot of people's hate lists too. It's not on mine, but it's not very high in my DT song ranking either. It would be interesting to see that one played live again; the MP vocals in the first chorus would be gone I hope, and that's one of the parts I don't like about the song, so that's good. It would be interesting to see if JR would change up the bebot solo for something a lot cooler, cause that's the other part I don't like.

[Rodni Demental]

A Rite of Passage is on a lot of people's hate lists too. It's not on mine, but it's not very high in my DT song ranking either. It would be interesting to see that one played live again; the MP vocals in the first chorus would be gone I hope, and that's one of the parts I don't like about the song, so that's good. It would be interesting to see if JR would change up the bebot solo for something a lot cooler, cause that's the other part I don't like.

Oh no.. you're not hating on the bebot solo, cause that's waay cool just the way it is.   

Yeah, A Rite Of Passage would be great to see live. It's a top song. Don't get the hate.

[RodrigoAltaf]

 I was really surprised at how well A Rite of Passage worked live. Wouldn´t mind hearing it again either.

[Nefarius]

I'd be perfectly fine with You Not Me live. I like the song for what it is, a compact rock track with driving bass and a nice sing-along chorus. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Would fit very well between a longer heavy track and a mellow track.

Greetings...
Nef

[Sycsa]

JP when interviewed I think around the Black Clouds tour about working with Desmond Child, he said it was a cool experiment and he was all up for it and enjoyed it, but in the end it didn't worked out that well. But when he said that it didn't worked well I'm 99% sure it was about the song not achieveing what it was supposed to do: being a hit, not that it was a bad song.

It's a little bit of both. They say it in the Lifting Shadows book that Desmond wrote a cool chorus ("the guy knows what makes a hit"), but JLB simply couldn't sing it that way, so they had to compromise which took its toll on the end result.

[RodrigoAltaf]

 If they ever play You Not Me live, the one thing I´d like to be fixed is the vocal arrangement of the chorus - it did NOT work well on the live version I saw on youtube. You Or Me has James singing on the lower octave, which works a lot better IMO.

[ZirconBlue]

You Not Me = good

You Or Me = EXCELLENT!

This.  After the FII demos came out, it seemed like You Or Me was going to make a return to the setlist, but, alas, it was not to be.

[SeRoX]

I really want to see it live. Thing is, it's not the best song they've ever written but it's fun to listen and I don't think it would be bad live song. I mean, look at PoW. DT's fanbase (probably mostly here) doesn't like it but it was fun to see it live.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I'd imagine DT's fanbase as a whole likes Prophets Of War more than You Not Me.

[bosk1]

I'd imagine DT's fanbase as a whole likes Prophets Of War more than You Not Me.

Well, but YNM is shorter, so it would be over quicker.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

But Prophets Of War is better. Plus, they can have a guest rapper do Mike's part.

[robwebster]

As with You Not Me, the Prophets of War cult of hatred seems to mostly be localised to our living room. Heck, I'm not convinced it's much more than a vocal minority here!

[iamtheeviltwin]

As with You Not Me, the Prophets of War cult of hatred seems to mostly be localised to our living room. Heck, I'm not convinced it's much more than a vocal minority here!

I have been away from the forums quite a bit recently and I have to say after catching up on some threads today, I really appreciate your perspective and ability to communicate it eloquently and clearly Robwebster.  I wish there were more posters on other forums I visit like you who brought more sanity to the room.  /mancrush 

Back on Topic - I would love to see YNM live, but it is a top song for me (and had been since I first listened to Falling into Infinity).  I think the lack of a real "pop" song on DT12 is one of the reasons the album just has not grabbed me like previous works.  The band does "pop" well and with a few exceptions usually showcase at least one more mainstream sounding song on their albums.  When you look out into the wider circle of Dream Theater listeners (away from the magnifying glass of us die hard fans), their more mainstream and poppy work are often the songs that reach the heart of those listeners.  As much as PoW, NE, IWBY, Forsaken, YNM, BMUBMD might get "hate" around here, those are songs that really seem to connect to the "casual" fan.  (in my experience of living and interacting with people who could barely pick DT out of a radio line-up).

[Ambassador GKar]

I think the lack of a real "pop" song on DT12 is one of the reasons the album just has not grabbed me like previous works.  The band does "pop" well and with a few exceptions usually showcase at least one more mainstream sounding song on their albums.

The Looking Glass is one of my favorite DT "pop" songs!

[KevShmev]

Even though it would probably be near the bottom of my list of DT songs, I enjoy Prophets of War on occasion, and I'm guessing I enjoy it more than most here.  There are definitely major flaws with it, but parts of it I really like.

[McNugg]

Not a big fan of the song but it's alright.  Certainly not the worst DT song I can think of.  What I will say though is that when they did play it live, it sounded so much worse than the record.  The way JLB sung the chorus was just distressing and MP and JP doubling up backing vocals just overcrowded it.

edit - Though to be complimentary they transition into it really nicely from Voices

[Nefarius]

Prophets Of War is great, especially with the making of video and Mike layering more and more Roger Taylor overdubs (awesome and fun) and James doing the... let's call it alternate vocals version.

In fact I just realized I haven't heard it in quite a while, so I'm going to listen to it now.

Greetings...
Nef

[CrimsonSunrise]

Would absolutely LOVE to see it live!  Great song! 

[As I Am]

The funny thing is that for "ME", I ONLY care about seeing songs I've not seen performed before. I loved seeing "The Shattered Fortress" & "SDV" for the first times on this tour, even though neither one is anywhere near a favorite of mine. As of now, there are still 13 DT songs (2 of which I no doubt will NEVER see performed live) I have not seen performed live (I did see OAMOT in a medley, but not the full song). If they did a show of JUST these 13 songs, I'd be ecstatic even though I'd probably be the only one Anything else DT plays is fine with me (although there are a good number of songs I could care less if I ever saw them perform again). So, basically for ME, DT playing "YOU NOT ME" would be a BIG WIN for me and I'd love it!

Still waiting to see performed live:
Status Seeker
Light Fuse And Get Away
Only A Matter Of Time
You Not Me
Take Away My Pain
Don't Look Past Me
Where Are You Now
Wither
The Best of Times
Raw Dog
The Bigger Picture
Surrender To Reason
Behind The Veil

[Ravenfoul]

As with You Not Me, the Prophets of War cult of hatred seems to mostly be localised to our living room. Heck, I'm not convinced it's much more than a vocal minority here!

I have been away from the forums quite a bit recently and I have to say after catching up on some threads today, I really appreciate your perspective and ability to communicate it eloquently and clearly Robwebster.  I wish there were more posters on other forums I visit like you who brought more sanity to the room.  /mancrush 

He does have a way with words, no?

[Rodni Demental]

Still waiting to see performed live:
Status Seeker
Light Fuse And Get Away
Only A Matter Of Time
You Not Me
Take Away My Pain
Don't Look Past Me
Where Are You Now
Wither
The Best of Times
Raw Dog
The Bigger Picture
Surrender To Reason
Behind The Veil

Wow, that's quite amazing that it's easier for you to list the songs you haven't seen. xD So lets say you're easily gonna see the rest of DT12, some of WDADU is always up in the air so completely possible, and at this point The Best of Times is waiting to have it's day.

I'll be a pessimist and say you might never see Raw Dog/You Not Me/Where Are You Now/Don't Look Past Me. But hopefully you'll never believe it's not possible. 

But I'm curious, during any of the FII/TOT(or others)/BL&SL tours were you ever close to catching Take Away my Pain/WDADU stuff/Wither? You must have seen quite a variety of shows with different setlists. I suppose the When Dream and Day ReUnite show would have been just, The Ultimate Show for you at this point. 

[RaiseTheKnife]

Here's my current list of songs I'm waiting to see performed live:

Don't Look Past Me
Cover My Eyes
You Not Me
Anna Lee
Disappear
Vacant
Wither
Repentence
The Best of Times
Raw Dog
The Bigger Picture
Surrender To Reason
Behind The Veil

[kirksnosehair]

Meh.  This would be among the last tracks I'd ever want to hear live. 

[Rodni Demental]

Cover My Eyes
Anna Lee
Disappear
Vacant
Wither
Repentence

That's awesome.  But this lot could be tricky as they mostly only got played around their initial tour, then that was it (not that you don't know that haha). But at least you've managed to see WDADU. Was is spaced out or did you catch the reunion show? You ever close to catching any of the other songs you're missing also?

[ytserush]

I'd like to hear You Not Me and Prophets of War live.

[CrimsonSunrise]

I'd like to hear You Not Me and Prophets of War live.

]

[Tis BOOLsheet]

I'd be pissed as hell if I spent at least 60 bucks on DT and they played that song.

[ZirconBlue]

I'd be pissed as hell if I spent at least 60 bucks on DT and they played that song.

Yes, having the band take up a fraction of a percent of the show on a song you don't like would be the worst thing ever. 

[hefdaddy42]

Well, it's not a song that HE doesn't like.  It's a song that the vast majority of DT fans doesn't like.

[TheGreatPretender]

Well, it's not a song that HE doesn't like.  It's a song that the vast majority of DT fans doesn't like.

And yet this thread has proven that quite a few people would enjoy seeing it live. Even on this forum which sometimes seems like it hates the song almost unanimously.

[KevShmev]

Quite a few people does not equal "vast majority" of DT fans.