2019 set list and tour discussion (**KEEP ALL SPOILERS HERE**)

[Lethean]

I was at the Canton show as well and the crowd was like night and day from the first set to the second.  No one even made a move to get up for the first set and the crowd seemed kinda dead.  Second set - the guy waving a shirt around is the one who got people to stand.  Otherwise I really don't think they were planning to.  People sat for Through My Words and much of Fatal Tragedy too - the shirt guy kept trying to get people back up but only got a few.  Finally during Beyond this Life, most seemed to get back up and stayed on their feet for the rest of the night.  (Except for the first two rows).  And I know there's a whole sit/stand debate but it was just so much more fun when the crowd was standing and you could feel the energy.

[Learning2Live]

I was center section a couple of rows in front of the sound board, and we were in the same boat. The group I came with stood up from the opening note of the night and NO ONE else around us stood up in the 1st set, so we inevitably sat down to not be complete dicks to the people behind us. But yea totally agree on the atmosphere/energy between the 2 sets. Thankfully others around us stood for the 2nd set. I know it was an indoor theater and there are individual seats for everyone, but it just doesn't feel right to sit through a concert like that. I'm sure the band feeds off of that energy and would like to see a more lively crowd.

Not trying to criticize or call out anyone that likes to sit during the show...that's just my $0.02/personal preference.

[cramx3]

Easily the worst part of going to a DT show, the boring crowd 

I may not bother going this time around, I just can't take the "no phones" and "no standing" approach to a metal concert. 

[Lethean]

Fwiw, at the Indianapolis show, everyone stood immediately and stayed that way all night.  Hopefully more of the crowds will be like that.

[hefdaddy42]

Easily the worst part of going to a DT show, the boring crowd 

I may not bother going this time around, I just can't take the "no phones" and "no standing" approach to a metal concert.

See, I don't think of it as a metal concert.  I think of it as a prog concert.

I stand up at times, when it's really rocking, but I like to sit down as well, because I want to be able to concentrate on what they are playing.  Also, I'm old lol.

That's just me.

[geeeemo]

I was at LA and Milwaukee last leg. Everyone stood the whole time.. I don't get it either.  Its a rock concert!! Time to rock! The crowd in LA was the best I have ever experienced. There was such a vibe - especially when Home was played. I will never forget it. 
I have front row in Reno - geeze I hope people don't want to sit.....I am 55 and can hack it, so ...

Personally I think they should not have seats in the the pit area. It is nice to have the seat if you are up front for your "space" and stuff, but it does kind of lend itself to sitting.. For me it is worth it to have to hold your spot.

[Madman Shepherd]

I finagled front row for tomorrows show (face value, three weeks after they went on sale because of whatever dumb price gouging algorithms Ticketmaster has. I'll save it for another discussion).

I plan on standing the entire show whether the rows behind me want a Barry manilow experience or not. I may sit for some of the slow parts.

Last time at the same venue, I was able to sell a second row ticket to a formumer and he actually recruited people around him to stand and stay standing. I'm not that outgoing.

[bosk1]

For most types of rock/metal, I think a mixed venue is the best, where you have seats farther back, and floor up front.  Then people who want to sit can take the seats, but you have that standing room/pit energy up front.  And if you want to get a closeup view of the band, you get there earlier and get to the front.

[zappafrank2112]

If you're the standing kind, please be mindful of those around you and read the room.  If no one else is standing but you are, and you're right in front of me, I WILL hound you to sit down and will get venue staff involved and make your experience just as uncomfortable as mine.

So don't be like the one person in the balcony I saw behind me who was standing with an entire section still behind her being obstructed b/c she insisted on being special.  Honestly, it's inexcusable to be that person in the fucking balcony.  Some of us choose it for the view as much as the lower ticket cost.

And honestly, if you *have* to stand to feel the music and get into it, you're doing it wrong.

[zappafrank2112]

NO ONE else around us stood up in the 1st set, so we inevitably sat down to not be complete dicks to the people behind us.

You pass the test of a good concert goer.  You may continue to attend shows.

[cramx3]

And honestly, if you *have* to stand to feel the music and get into it, you're doing it wrong.

No one "has" to stand, but this statement is fairly ignorant if you think people who stand are doing it wrong. 

[zappafrank2112]

And honestly, if you *have* to stand to feel the music and get into it, you're doing it wrong.

No one "has" to stand, but this statement is fairly ignorant if you think people who stand are doing it wrong.

Not when it's at the expense of everyone around you.

[DragonAttack]

^
ANTR was played every night on their last tour here six months ago........

No kidding?   

I understand that people wanted some changes in two different legs on the same tour, but still, I think it's worthy that such a great underrepresented epic has a stable spot in the set list for the entire tour. Hopefully they won't drop it next year once they hit Europe.

Sheesh...you were the one that had just posted that ANTR had not been played in ten years.......my apologies.......I didn't know that you knew that it had been played.  Didn't see any green font or sarcasm.

Moving on.....this is so similar to The Astonishing 're tour' so soon after the prior tour.  I only had to travel sixty miles this spring to DC for the SFAM anniversary tour on the heals of a hot new album release.  Less than six months later, only twenty miles away, I expected ANTR and ITPOE dropped, to add another new song, and a couple of different tracks in the set list.  Changes.  For  mood or to get people out of their seats.  'Misunderstood', 'Solitary Shell', 'The Enemy Inside', 'The Bigger Picture' (we all could name a dozen others) .....something, anything but the two prior listed songs. 

I also wish they'd let the crowd cheer for a minute after TSCO, instead of going right into the taped intro for 'Finally Free'....but that's me.  I'll stick around for all of that, just to see AWE performed.  And enjoy it.  Just think the whole night could be better.

[Shooters1221]

That Canton show was amazing! I was 2nd row near the center aisle on JM side, and the mix was not great to start but was much improved within a few songs.. Not a fan of Paralyzed but it worked well live. I remember asking myself why I can't hear the bass so much, then JM actually walked off stage during a break telling his tech something and came back, then BOOM... it was loud and he was actually pumped, as the rest of the show went on, he was.... Yes.... The most animate of all on stage... Reminded me of the old old days!  . As for AWE... they really did a fantastic ending for a live show... A perfect way to end, JP was brilliant... Great show!

[Fargo13]

I caught the Indy show Friday Night.   I was able to take a friend who had never seen DT live and is now just getting into them.   He came away very impressed.   I really liked ANTR.   Just my 2 cents.   PBD came off very nicely for the first set.   I thought the sound was muddy at times.   But the band's performance was really good as it always is.  Scenes for the second set came off very nicely and the encore was really good.   If I were to change anything it would be to change out ITPOE.   I would substitute it with 2 song of shorter length.  For me the show went by very quickly.   My friend hot me up the next day telling me how impressed he was and asking which DT DVDs he should begin collecting.  So it was a great evening.

[Fargo13]

One more thing  . . . sort of a PSA

If you decide to bring your girl to a Dream Theater concert, don't do it cold without any preparation.  You REALLY need to set her expectations.

The guy in front of me brought his girlfriend and you could plainly see just from her body language (slouching, not moving) that she was BORED out of her mind.  We all stood for the whole concert but she sat down early into the first set.  He kept reaching over and rubbing her back, like "sorry, babe, I know . . ." and he did that quite a bit.  On the other hand, he was one of the most "into it" people I saw.  Throwing his arms up, singing with passion, think he was doing the "James claw hand" thing.  So at least he had fun 

The guy who sat next to me brought his wife to the show.   She stood the entire show and sang every song word for word.   Lucky man there.

[Madman Shepherd]

If you're the standing kind, please be mindful of those around you and read the room.  If no one else is standing but you are, and you're right in front of me, I WILL hound you to sit down and will get venue staff involved and make your experience just as uncomfortable as mine.

So don't be like the one person in the balcony I saw behind me who was standing with an entire section still behind her being obstructed b/c she insisted on being special.  Honestly, it's inexcusable to be that person in the fucking balcony.  Some of us choose it for the view as much as the lower ticket cost.

And honestly, if you *have* to stand to feel the music and get into it, you're doing it wrong.

If you're the sitting kind, I would advise you to read the room also...specifically the people up at the front, on an elevated platform, that are playing passionate and energetic music. If you want to sit, sure, stay up in the balcony and it's reasonable expect other people to do the same.  If you're 5 feet from some guys playing amazing riffs, a vocalist that is singing his ass off, and about 10 feet from a dude beating the living hell out of some drums, and you want to sit there like you're watching Lion King on ice, honestly, in my humble opinion, you're doing it wrong.

[geeeemo]

If you're the standing kind, please be mindful of those around you and read the room.  If no one else is standing but you are, and you're right in front of me, I WILL hound you to sit down and will get venue staff involved and make your experience just as uncomfortable as mine.

So don't be like the one person in the balcony I saw behind me who was standing with an entire section still behind her being obstructed b/c she insisted on being special.  Honestly, it's inexcusable to be that person in the fucking balcony.  Some of us choose it for the view as much as the lower ticket cost.

And honestly, if you *have* to stand to feel the music and get into it, you're doing it wrong.

If you're the sitting kind, I would advise you to read the room also...specifically the people up at the front, on an elevated platform, that are playing passionate and energetic music. If you want to sit, sure, stay up in the balcony and it's reasonable expect other people to do the same.  If you're 5 feet from some guys playing amazing riffs, a vocalist that is singing his ass off, and about 10 feet from a dude beating the living hell out of some drums, and you want to sit there like you're watching Lion King on ice, honestly, in my humble opinion, you're doing it wrong.

In addition, I payed a good chunk of change to be up front at a rock concert - and now people want to sit!?   How freaking boring. I suppose if everyone is sitting I would probably sit, but I am not sure.. I am planning on standing, grooving, singing and all the rest at the upcoming show..

[Madman Shepherd]

Not to mention the band would prefer you to stand. They said during The Astonishing tour it was kind of odd that everyone was sitting and yeah, I admit, there are good arguments to make about sitting during that show.

There were some folks up front that would stand during the rocking parts and implored others to stand to not much avail. I was much further back during this one so I just sat...and was bored. Weirdest DT show ever.

[cramx3]

I was told by ushers to sit at both TA shows (actually second I didn't try, the people next to me did, in the first row mind you and were shut down by ushers).  I thought that was by DT's own design being the way they presented that show.

[Lethean]

I think sitting on the balcony and standing on the floor is a pretty good compromise here.

The Astonishing was kind of weird - DT's meet and greet coordinator for that tour said that people were absolutely not required to sit and they found out that some venues were doing it after the fact and told future venues not to do it.  I was at a couple standing shows and JL and JP always looked excited to see people on their feet.  I'm not sure how the others feel about it.  But like Madmen said, it did somewhat make sense for The Astonishing that some people would think they were supposed to sit.   For a regular DT show, it's a different story.

[zappafrank2112]

The most obnoxious are the people who spend more effort trying to get others to stand than paying attention to the band.  I've seen Steve Howe cuss out and mock guys before who were making asses of themselves standing up and obstructing everyone's view drawing all the attention to themselves.

[zappafrank2112]

If you're the standing kind, please be mindful of those around you and read the room.  If no one else is standing but you are, and you're right in front of me, I WILL hound you to sit down and will get venue staff involved and make your experience just as uncomfortable as mine.

So don't be like the one person in the balcony I saw behind me who was standing with an entire section still behind her being obstructed b/c she insisted on being special.  Honestly, it's inexcusable to be that person in the fucking balcony.  Some of us choose it for the view as much as the lower ticket cost.

And honestly, if you *have* to stand to feel the music and get into it, you're doing it wrong.

If you're the sitting kind, I would advise you to read the room also...specifically the people up at the front, on an elevated platform, that are playing passionate and energetic music. If you want to sit, sure, stay up in the balcony and it's reasonable expect other people to do the same.  If you're 5 feet from some guys playing amazing riffs, a vocalist that is singing his ass off, and about 10 feet from a dude beating the living hell out of some drums, and you want to sit there like you're watching Lion King on ice, honestly, in my humble opinion, you're doing it wrong.

Yeah, me grooving in my seat, slapping my legs in time, and punching the air and bobbing head works just as well for them. No one's telling me I'm not appreciative enough just because I'm mindful of those behind me.

[Ben_Jamin]

I always ask if its ok I stand, if the person behind me is fine with it. They usually are ok because I'm not tall and pretty thin.

I also ask the people next to me to let me know if I rock out to hard or am being an annoyance.

Overall never had a problem with standing. Dont mind sitting, but it's a rock show and you stand at a rock show, there is a vibe different from sitting shows. I've been to both and it's usually the older bands where people sit.

[nobloodyname]

If you're the standing kind, please be mindful of those around you and read the room.  If no one else is standing but you are, and you're right in front of me, I WILL hound you to sit down and will get venue staff involved and make your experience just as uncomfortable as mine.

So don't be like the one person in the balcony I saw behind me who was standing with an entire section still behind her being obstructed b/c she insisted on being special.  Honestly, it's inexcusable to be that person in the fucking balcony.  Some of us choose it for the view as much as the lower ticket cost.

And honestly, if you *have* to stand to feel the music and get into it, you're doing it wrong.

If you're the sitting kind, I would advise you to read the room also...specifically the people up at the front, on an elevated platform, that are playing passionate and energetic music. If you want to sit, sure, stay up in the balcony and it's reasonable expect other people to do the same.  If you're 5 feet from some guys playing amazing riffs, a vocalist that is singing his ass off, and about 10 feet from a dude beating the living hell out of some drums, and you want to sit there like you're watching Lion King on ice, honestly, in my humble opinion, you're doing it wrong.

Yeah, me grooving in my seat, slapping my legs in time, and punching the air and bobbing head works just as well for them. No one's telling me I'm not appreciative enough just because I'm mindful of those behind me.

Yup. And it's a massive benefit for shorter people, too.

[Madman Shepherd]

Show last night was amazing and the entire band sounded great. How do I know? Well, I was front row and right in front of one of those foot long speakers they put at the front if the stage so people could hear. Of all nights to forget my ear plugs in my car. Thankfully, an usher had a spare pair and gave me his.

James was awesome but had a few problems with the high notes here and there.

Two hilarious moments of the night:

James was at the front if the stage and noticed a guy plugging his ears about 5 feet to my right. He pointed at him and gave him a look like, "What gives?" The guy pointed to the speaker in front of him and James made a face. Next song comes and james come out from backstage, right before he starts singing, and hands the guy a package of earplugs.

One upping that hilarious (and nice) moment was during Fatal Tragedy (i think). During one of the trippier and emotive parts of the song, he closed his eyes, grabbed the mic, and noticed it was a little askew. He turned it around to sing, not knowing he had it the wrong way. At first I thought he was going to have us sing, which would have been a weird part to have audience participation, but then he opened his eyes when he couldnt hear his voice amplified. Of course, it turned into a very LaBrie moment where he made a face like, "how the fuck did that happen?" He started singing and cracking up for about 10-15 seconds.

He later told us we had witnessed history by watching him trying to sing into the wrong end of the mic for the first time in his life

[cramx3]

I do love JLB fuck ups because he always makes them funny, definitely love how he just jokes them off

[zappafrank2112]

If you're the standing kind, please be mindful of those around you and read the room.  If no one else is standing but you are, and you're right in front of me, I WILL hound you to sit down and will get venue staff involved and make your experience just as uncomfortable as mine.

So don't be like the one person in the balcony I saw behind me who was standing with an entire section still behind her being obstructed b/c she insisted on being special.  Honestly, it's inexcusable to be that person in the fucking balcony.  Some of us choose it for the view as much as the lower ticket cost.

And honestly, if you *have* to stand to feel the music and get into it, you're doing it wrong.

If you're the sitting kind, I would advise you to read the room also...specifically the people up at the front, on an elevated platform, that are playing passionate and energetic music. If you want to sit, sure, stay up in the balcony and it's reasonable expect other people to do the same.  If you're 5 feet from some guys playing amazing riffs, a vocalist that is singing his ass off, and about 10 feet from a dude beating the living hell out of some drums, and you want to sit there like you're watching Lion King on ice, honestly, in my humble opinion, you're doing it wrong.

Yeah, me grooving in my seat, slapping my legs in time, and punching the air and bobbing head works just as well for them. No one's telling me I'm not appreciative enough just because I'm mindful of those behind me.

Yup. And it's a massive benefit for shorter people, too.

I'm 5 ft tall, soooooo...... maybe my almost militant stance might make more sense to some people, hah

[jadiggerdt]

how is the visit to the US tour now. Are the shows sold out? how many per show? 1000-1500?

[cramx3]

how is the visit to the US tour now. Are the shows sold out? how many per show? 1000-1500?

I can't speak for others, but last round they sold out in central NJ to about ~1500, and it looks like their return to central Jersey (about 30 minutes away from the venue from earlier this year) isn't selling as well.  Maybe 1/2 sold, all the best and worst seats, none of the mid tier.  I checked yesterday because I've been on the fence about going for a 3rd time.  I'm leaning towards not going.

[pg1067]

James was at the front if the stage and noticed a guy plugging his ears about 5 feet to my right. He pointed at him and gave him a look like, "What gives?" The guy pointed to the speaker in front of him and James made a face. Next song comes and james come out from backstage, right before he starts singing, and hands the guy a package of earplugs.

That's completely awesome!

During one of the trippier and emotive parts of the song, he closed his eyes, grabbed the mic, and noticed it was a little askew. He turned it around to sing, not knowing he had it the wrong way. At first I thought he was going to have us sing, which would have been a weird part to have audience participation, but then he opened his eyes when he couldnt hear his voice amplified. Of course, it turned into a very LaBrie moment where he made a face like, "how the fuck did that happen?" He started singing and cracking up for about 10-15 seconds.

He later told us we had witnessed history by watching him trying to sing into the wrong end of the mic for the first time in his life

Dustin Brown can relate.

[Learning2Live]

how is the visit to the US tour now. Are the shows sold out? how many per show? 1000-1500?

The venue at the Canton OH show holds just under 1,500 people. I was in the main floor section so I can't verify how full the balcony was (about 650 seats there), but the main floor looked to be near (if not complete) full.

[KevShmev]

Great show last night in St. Louis.

As much as I like the new album, Scenes is just a whole other level.  I know I said a while back that I wish they were playing more new songs and not all of Scenes, but I take it back.   You can never go wrong playing all of Scenes. 

As for the new songs, Untethered Angel (a solid tune, but my least favorite from D/T) is a pretty underwhelming concert opener; thank goodness it is short (by their standards ).   The rest of the new songs all came off well, although At Wit's End in the encore is a bit weird.  Felt like the song didn't get its proper due from the live crowd because it came after Scenes, which is a tough act to follow.  We got Paralyzed instead of Fall into the Light, which was a bummer, but oh well.  The band absolutely crushed Pale Blue Dot and In the Presence Part 1.

And all of Scenes (again)...yeah.  Amazing.

[TAC]

Great show last night in St. Louis.

As much as I like the new album, Scenes is just a whole other level.  I know I said a while back that I wish they were playing more new songs and not all of Scenes, but I take it back.   You can never go wrong playing all of Scenes. 

Yeah, I know exactly what you are saying. I was a very vocal critic about them playing Scenes, but holy shit, it was awesome!!

[KevShmev]

Yeah, I know exactly what you are saying. I was a very vocal critic about them playing Scenes, but holy shit, it was awesome!!

Now we just need a tour in three years where they play all of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence...