Top Of The World Tour 2023

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

love the new setlist and the only thing that could have made it materially better would have been to swap Bridges for Glass Prison. I hope I get a chance to see them again should they do another US leg.

The band is choosing songs that they feel JLB can sing. JP is not obsessing over these small details of the band and production and then neglecting to think about whether his vocalist can actually sing the song or not. He obviously thinks this is achievable. The vocal performances are shaky and have been for a long time. This is not anything new. The thing I don't get is why so many people are all of a sudden waking up to this reality. We have to live with it because if it were something he could fix, he would have done so already. For decades I have been in a place where I am honestly not even paying that much attention to the vocal. It is what it is and I enjoy the shows.

They probably have 4-5 albums left in them and are riding this lineup out until the end, health permitting. Ride it out baby!

[SeRoX]

ATC performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMGFWVTubts&ab_channel=Motodor777

So it is really mic issue. BITS sounds so bad because of it. It sounds like James struggles but obliviously James can't hear himself and follow the melodies. ATC is a proof.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

ATC performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMGFWVTubts&ab_channel=Motodor777

So it is really mic issue. BITS sounds so bad because of it. It sounds like James struggles but obliviously James can't hear himself and follow the melodies. ATC is a proof.

A mic issue is proof of a mic issue. Nothing else.

EDIT: I am not convinced there is 100% a mic issue after watching the entire thing and another song from the same show.
Double EDIT: the band sounds so f***ing rock hard here

[Dani Helios]

ATC performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMGFWVTubts&ab_channel=Motodor777

So it is really mic issue. BITS sounds so bad because of it. It sounds like James struggles but obliviously James can't hear himself and follow the melodies. ATC is a proof.

A mic issue is proof of a mic issue. Nothing else.

EDIT: I am not convinced there is 100% a mic issue after watching the entire thing and another song from the same show.
Double EDIT: the band sounds so f***ing rock hard here

I read through a post on FB that his mic was constantly disconnecting throughout the performance, and there were potentially some issues with his IEMs as well... doesn't completely excuse his performance but it certainly should mean he won't struggle this much on the remainder of the dates

[SeRoX]

I can understand the struggling of CIAW, 6:00 or Grand Finale but if you struggle to sing songs like ATC it's something serious and James should consider to carry on or not. Hopefully James is not there yet. I'm convinced by watching ATC performance  it's a technical issue. It just started going down in the first line of ATC and contiuned through the song to the end.

[Kyo]

Just wanted to mention that I'm very happy with the new setlist. Sleeping Giant finally getting played is awesome, Answering the Call replacing Invisible Monster is fine with me (I like both), getting to hear a longer sequence from Six Degrees is great and Endless Sacrifice and Ministry getting dropped is a serious improvement in my book. The only thing that I don't get us Caught in a Web getting added on top of 6:00 - they have so much stuff to choose from, a lot of which hasn't been played in a LONG time (and never with Mangini), so adding yet another Awake track is just plain weird. But overall, a very cool set with an excellent selection from the new album (which I love) and some great older stuff that I'll be happy to see live!

[wolfking]

  @ people thinking it's a mic issue in regards to his voice.  Surely we are not going to go through all of this again.  His voice was shot last year and we had countless discussions around it.  I haven't watched any clips yet but it seems like nothing has changed.  It's sad for James because it seems he really has fallen off a cliff with his vocals the last couple of years.  Must be tough.  But to blame issues on the microphone is laughable.

[bosk1]

Wow, MAJOR set list improvements to what was already a pretty solid set.  Really excited for the next U.S. leg now!

[Trav]

@ people thinking it's a mic issue in regards to his voice.  Surely we are not going to go through all of this again.  His voice was shot last year and we had countless discussions around it.  I haven't watched any clips yet but it seems like nothing has changed.  It's sad for James because it seems he really has fallen off a cliff with his vocals the last couple of years.  Must be tough.  But to blame issues on the microphone is laughable.

Yet, you haven't watched any clips yet. Ok.

[Madman Shepherd]

Wow, MAJOR set list improvements to what was already a pretty solid set.  Really excited for the next U.S. leg now!

This.

[wolfking]

@ people thinking it's a mic issue in regards to his voice.  Surely we are not going to go through all of this again.  His voice was shot last year and we had countless discussions around it.  I haven't watched any clips yet but it seems like nothing has changed.  It's sad for James because it seems he really has fallen off a cliff with his vocals the last couple of years.  Must be tough.  But to blame issues on the microphone is laughable.

Yet, you haven't watched any clips yet. Ok.

I'm just going by the discussions about it that I was heavily involved with last year.  However, I'll say nothing more until I check out some more footage, so fair call to you.

[ytserush]

Hope they don't change the set for the US. Even better than the last one.

[NoFred]

Hope they don't change the set for the US. Even better than the last one.

I'm liking the new set, but if they return to US I hope one (or both) of the last two get swapped out... that's 40m they could work with. But if they keep AVFTTOTW that's cool. At least give us a new encore.

Re: JLB... I go to shows for a good time, and the band delivers. Backing tracks and "mic issues" tbh I don't care anymore. But whatever he was doing on last leg during BitS that was distracting. Was like he was hiding from Mangini or something. Fake it, but just don't try to hide it.

[Deadeye21]

The mic issues clearly didn't pertain just to the mic lol. They've got the Distance Over Time skull mic out instead of the Top of the World viewfinder.

Have to agree with the last comment from NoFred though. I go for a good time and as long as on the night they deliver, which they more than often do, it's fine by me. He always sounds shot on the YouTube videos anyway and we just dismiss it in the live room. I will disagree with saying swap out the encore though, coz I definitely want to see Tuscany!

[wolfking]

Here's the now controversial BITS from last night's show: https://youtu.be/E-UuM2hZ2L0

They removed all pre-recorded backing vocals and actually turned up JP's mic volume for the first time in many years. It definitely sounds better, more organic and "live", but it also exposes James' struggles a lot more.

Hmmm.....sad to see,  not sure what the answer is here for James.  There's some parts that are actually fine but then other sections are just awful.  I like hearing JP here though.

[Wim Kruithof]

and James should consider to carry on or not.

What would you suggest?

Wow, MAJOR set list improvements to what was already a pretty solid set.

Answering the Call and Sleeping Giant are improvements but it's a tremendous shame they play the two least tracks, of their very best album. If they swapped those for any other from Awake, I would be over the moon.

And Pull Me Under is interchangable by any of their entire catalog these day's, as long as it aint You Not Me or New Millennium.

[nikatapi]

Good to see Answering The Call and Sleeping Giant in the set.
Unfortunately from the videos I've seen James sounds very bad, I hope he improves in later dates. He seems to be struggling a lot, even on the latest tracks.

At least they seem to have cut back on the pre recorded vocals and JPs voice is audible again.

[Azyiu]

Like most here, I am liking the setlist too. I just hope JLB's voice stays sharp when I see them in London in about a month.

[IdoSC]

I attended the show in Tel Aviv and was about 2nd in line right in front of the mid stage, next to LaBrie. I could hear him fine from there (as much as you can, the whole balancing in the stadium was pretty bad). At some point there was a production guy who pushed between us to get to the front of the crowd and yell at LaBrie that he should sing with his mouth dead on the mic. There seemed to have been some technical issue there and for some reason they couldn't pass that message to LaBrie backstage while he was off there during instrumental sections.

Listening back on my and other people's recorded footage it does look like a mix between a mic issue and a rough night for him personally, but yeah there was definitely something technical going on there besides just him having a rough night.

[Mladen]

I'll never criticize the band for playing Pull me under every now and then. There are always people who attend a DT show for the first time and would enjoy their greatest hit. I would also argue that certain casual fans will be drawn just to see Pull me under. After all, more dedicated fans might skip the second leg if they've seen the band on the first one, so casual fans coming to see Pull me under would fill that gap.

[Ben_Jamin]

I'll never criticize the band for playing Pull me under every now and then. There are always people who attend a DT show for the first time and would enjoy their greatest hit. I would also argue that certain casual fans will be drawn just to see Pull me under. After all, more dedicated fans might skip the second leg if they've seen the band on the first one, so casual fans coming to see Pull me under would fill that gap.

Especially at places they hardly play.

[Setlist Scotty]

Glad to see the setlist get the overhaul even though the previous setlist was good. Needless to say, I would have picked different songs to change and add, but I'm glad they didn't just change a couple of them.

I'll never criticize the band for playing Pull me under every now and then. There are always people who attend a DT show for the first time and would enjoy their greatest hit. I would also argue that certain casual fans will be drawn just to see Pull me under. After all, more dedicated fans might skip the second leg if they've seen the band on the first one, so casual fans coming to see Pull me under would fill that gap.

Good point! And as much as I'm tired of seeing PMU, TSCO, Metropolis and AIA, I don't mind if those songs make *periodic* returns to the setlist. Just so long as DT doesn't pull an "Iron Maiden" and play them at every show on every tour. But rotating them in and out of the setlist from tour to tour (since show to show ain't gonna happen) is perfectly fine, IMO, even if I'd prefer something more obscure.

[bosk1]

but it's a tremendous shame they play the two least tracks, of their very best album.

  I didn't even know Blind Faith and Disappear were on the table, but it'd be pretty awesome to get those.

[Setlist Scotty]

but it's a tremendous shame they play the two least tracks, of their very best album.

  I didn't even know Blind Faith and Disappear were on the table, but it'd be pretty awesome to get those.

[jjfumbly]

1. The Alien
2. Caught in a Web

3. Answering the Call
4. Outcry

5. Sleeping Giant

6. Transcending Time
7. About to Crash (Reprise)
8. Surrender to Reason

9. Stream of Consciousness
10. A View from the Top of the World

11. The Count of Tuscany


Dream Theater dream setlist 2023

The aim was for it to closely resemble the real setlist, with a few tweaks for variety.

[devieira73]

I don't know if it was already mentioned, but I wonder if DT will keep PMU for the European tour. They rarely play in Israel, right? (maybe it was their first time there?) So, maybe that's the reason they played PMU in Israel or in Rock in Rio, in this case, being a broader public in a big festival.

[Setlist Scotty]

I don't know if it was already mentioned, but I wonder if DT will keep PMU for the European tour. They rarely play in Israel, right? (maybe it was their first time there?) So, maybe that's the reason they played PMU in Israel or in Rock in Rio, in this case, being a broader public in a big festival.

Hard to say, but given that this was their gig and not a festival gig with a bunch of other bands (and so therefore, there would be people in the audience who were not DT fans), I'd guess PMU will be a part of the European setlist. They played 4 other shows in Israel, and half of them had PMU and half did not. So make of that what you will...

[devieira73]

5th show in Israel? So, this must be the setlist for the rest of the tour.

About PMU... obviously it really pleases the crowd in a festival context - including us hardcore fans, as I surprisingly felt in the last Rock in Rio (and I'm in the "I would rather listen to a lot of other songs live off DT catalog" camp). But what really impressed me was how the overall crowd was moved by the last half of TCOT (from the atmospheric part until the end), really amazing!! Great closer for ANY kind of DT show!!

[gzarruk]

The three SDOIT tracks from the show in Tel Aviv: https://youtu.be/hbMPLKvFCh4

[cramx3]

AtC in the set is a big win for me.  But honestly, I think I like the last leg's set better....  Endless Sacrifice > BitS, About to Crash > the reprise, Awaken the Master > Sleeping Giant.  Add in I'm generally not the biggest fan of the ending of Six Degrees.  I'd say Solitary Shell is an awesome addition though.  I also mostly enjoy TMoLS.  I'm glad they removed it to make room for more songs, but given the options, I think I might like TMOLS more than the final three tracks of Six Degrees.  If this show made it's way to the US, I'd probably go though because there's enough changes to warrant seeing them again.

[SeRoX]

Not adding Transceding Time is a huge let down.

[pg1067]

it's a tremendous shame they play the two least tracks, of their very best album. If they swapped those for any other from Awake, I would be over the moon.

But they're not playing The Mirror and Lie.  That would make this a much worse set list.

5th show in Israel? So, this must be the setlist for the rest of the tour.

5th DT show ever in Israel.  We won't really be able to draw firm conclusions until they go through the first few shows in Europe.

[gzarruk]

Don't think they'll end up doing this, but what are the odds of them rotating Sleeping Giant/Awaken The Master and Answering The Call/Invisible Monster from night to night?

[Wim Kruithof]

But they're not playing The Mirror and Lie.  That would make this a much worse set list.

I cannot believe you actually mean this.

[geeeemo]

But they're not playing The Mirror and Lie.  That would make this a much worse set list.

I cannot believe you actually mean this.

agree! I love those 2