DreamSonic 2023

[Chino]

What do you guys think is the cause of low ticket sales? Price? It being labeled as a "Festival".

I think it's a healthy combination of the two. I might end up enjoying Devin, but based on what I've listened to from him, it's going to be heavily dependent on which album(s) he sources from. After giving them a really fair shot over the last few weeks, I think I'm going to skip AAL entirely. There's just no way I'm going to be able to take nearly an hour of metal shredding. It might not even be the "festival" label, but rather the choice in bands.

I'd happily pay $100 for a ticket to see a Dream Theater concert. $100 for a ticket where less than half the show is Dream Theater is a major drag. We're going to be in these venues for 4 hours and will only be getting 90 minutes with DT on stage. If it's a weeknight, that's not worth being out until midnight in a lot of peoples' eyes. 

[Nick]

What do you guys think is the cause of low ticket sales? Price? It being labeled as a "Festival".

I think it's a healthy combination of the two. I might end up enjoying Devin, but based on what I've listened to from him, it's going to be heavily dependent on which album(s) he sources from. After giving them a really fair shot over the last few weeks, I think I'm going to skip AAL entirely. There's just no way I'm going to be able to take nearly an hour of metal shredding. It might not even be the "festival" label, but rather the choice in bands.

I'd happily pay $100 for a ticket to see a Dream Theater concert. $100 for a ticket where less than half the show is Dream Theater is a major drag. We're going to be in these venues for 4 hours and will only be getting 90 minutes with DT on stage. If it's a weeknight, that's not worth being out until midnight in a lot of peoples' eyes. 

I think the festival labelling is extremely inaccurate and I'm certainly not a fan, but I'm not going to skip something because the marketing was off. What it comes down to for me is I won't mind AAL (although I'd prefer a shorter set), and I like a chunk of Devin's material, so I'm always happy to see him in a non-headline spot. So would I rather see just Dream Theater? Yeah. But it's still a nice evening of music for me.

[Chino]

For sure. "Festival" to me implies many bands across several stages, and the event usually spans the course of at least one whole day. This is just a standard concert with two openers. I'm not getting the "festival" aspect. Very strange choice of words.

[Awaken]

What do you guys think is the cause of low ticket sales? Price? It being labeled as a "Festival".

At least in CT, maybe the venue (size and proximity to NY)?  I think it's a ~6,000 capacity and they usually play Oakdale which is not only considerably less (~4,500) but a lot of the room is not even sold/open for those shows.  It's also about 30-40 minutes closer to NY.  I would have guessed this would be selling much better but $ is tight for a lot of people and with everyone touring now competition for concert/entertainment dollars is extremely high. 

It's a real bummer to see the number of unsold tix, I'm sure it is for the bands involved too

[Metro]

I think the solution would be smaller venues and at least one more band. Maybe Haken or something. As it is now, it's just Dream Theater with two opening bands.

[Setlist Scotty]

Regarding the setlist definitely take what he says with a grain of salt, but an interview with JL was just posted that gives some hope:

Revolver: Are there any songs or surprises you guys are planning to pull out during the DreamSonic tour?

James LaBrie: There will be. But I don't want to reveal ... There's going to be some cool stuff going on, for sure.

source: https://www.revolvermag.com/music/dream-theaters-james-labrie-were-much-more-progressive-metal

[bosk1]

When I raised the issue a little while back with DT management about fans not being willing to shell out that much money for a setlist similar to what was already played last tour leg, the response I got strongly implied that we shouldn't assume ANYTHING about what the set list will look like.  As far as what that actually means in practice, we'll have to wait and see.  But that's the info I have for right now.

[Chino]

When I raised the issue a little while back with DT management about fans not being willing to shell out that much money for a setlist similar to what was already played last tour leg, the response I got strongly implied that we shouldn't assume ANYTHING about what the set list will look like.  As far as what that actually means in practice, we'll have to wait and see.  But that's the info I have for right now.

That's good to hear.


DT spilled one of the songs that will be played on their FB page like an hour ago.

Song: Answering the Call - And here's some extra words to throw off anyone who might have otherwise had the song spoiled based on the length of the track title

[Ben_Jamin]

What do you guys think is the cause of low ticket sales? Price? It being labeled as a "Festival".

The state of the entire music industry, not to mention inflation and the rise of costs to tour. Plus, the people not perceiving the shows are not worth the price.

[ReaperKK]

I think the solution would be smaller venues and at least one more band. Maybe Haken or something. As it is now, it's just Dream Theater with two opening bands.

woah woah, lets not go ruining the tour

[ReaperKK]

I think for me personally it's the pricing. I paid ~$160 for 6th row seats, by comparison I paid the same for 7th row Tool seats. The production values on the Tool show are going to far exceed what DT has to offer. That said though I'll always see DT if they are coming through.

[cramx3]

What do you guys think is the cause of low ticket sales? Price? It being labeled as a "Festival".

I think it's a healthy combination of the two. I might end up enjoying Devin, but based on what I've listened to from him, it's going to be heavily dependent on which album(s) he sources from. After giving them a really fair shot over the last few weeks, I think I'm going to skip AAL entirely. There's just no way I'm going to be able to take nearly an hour of metal shredding. It might not even be the "festival" label, but rather the choice in bands.

I'd happily pay $100 for a ticket to see a Dream Theater concert. $100 for a ticket where less than half the show is Dream Theater is a major drag. We're going to be in these venues for 4 hours and will only be getting 90 minutes with DT on stage. If it's a weeknight, that's not worth being out until midnight in a lot of peoples' eyes. 

I think the festival labelling is extremely inaccurate and I'm certainly not a fan, but I'm not going to skip something because the marketing was off. What it comes down to for me is I won't mind AAL (although I'd prefer a shorter set), and I like a chunk of Devin's material, so I'm always happy to see him in a non-headline spot. So would I rather see just Dream Theater? Yeah. But it's still a nice evening of music for me.

I'm with you, it's a really nice evening of music for my tastes.  I think I've seen DT around 20 times now, I don't really need to see the evening with format unless they are doing unique stuff which they've strayed away from so a "normal" headlining set with interesting openers is actually more interesting to me.  I get it though, it's DTF and people generally are going to want more DT.

The only thing I can think of that makes this "festival" different than a standard 3 band tour is that the openers are getting more than typical time. 

[gzarruk]

Regarding the setlist definitely take what he says with a grain of salt, but an interview with JL was just posted that gives some hope:

Revolver: Are there any songs or surprises you guys are planning to pull out during the DreamSonic tour?

James LaBrie: There will be. But I don't want to reveal ... There's going to be some cool stuff going on, for sure.

source: https://www.revolvermag.com/music/dream-theaters-james-labrie-were-much-more-progressive-metal

When I raised the issue a little while back with DT management about fans not being willing to shell out that much money for a setlist similar to what was already played last tour leg, the response I got strongly implied that we shouldn't assume ANYTHING about what the set list will look like.  As far as what that actually means in practice, we'll have to wait and see.  But that's the info I have for right now.

This is very interesting, and nice to read! Hopefully they made more of a set redesign instead of just changing a couple songs from their European setlist and call it something new.

I guess tomorrow can't come soon enough...

[vtgrad]

I think for me personally it's the pricing. I paid ~$160 for 6th row seats, by comparison I paid the same for 7th row Tool seats. The production values on the Tool show are going to far exceed what DT has to offer. That said though I'll always see DT if they are coming through.

It's pricing for me as well (and timing too I guess).  For us, the closest show is 5-hours away, which leaves us staying overnight (KY show would be the choice), so $75 x 2 for tickets + "Additional Fees" + overnight stay of at least $150 gets me up to above $300 for a Sunday show... wouldn't mind this for DT Evening With, but not so much for this run through.

I can go to Winston Salem (no overnight as it's about 2.5 hours for me) and see BTBAM for $35 x 2 and it's Parallax in full.  That's an easy monetary decision; especially when I'm purchasing a building lot and a new car this year (that's the timing part).

This will be my first DT miss since 2004... is what it is I guess.  Hope the tix sell better and everyone enjoys the show!

[bosk1]

I think the solution would be smaller venues and at least one more band. Maybe Haken or something. As it is now, it's just Dream Theater with two opening bands.

woah woah, lets not go ruining the tour

Exactly.  This would be an automatic skip for me if Haken were on the tour.

[zappafrank2112]

I'm finding it increasingly fascinating that there seems to be less and less crossover appeal among the 3 bands on the tour.  So many people talking about how they don't care much for Hevy Devy and especially how AAL is almost a non-starter

All I know about AAL is that they're tied to the djent genre, which... I might be at my limits after a full set.

As for Hevy Devy, I honestly find him to be overrated somewhat.  All his stuff has the same wall of sound - layered and overproduced, and honestly, a lot of his stuff is same-sounding to me.  Plus his voice isn't always the best fit for his own music I feel (if such a thing is possible).

[zappafrank2112]

I can go to Winston Salem (no overnight as it's about 2.5 hours for me) and see BTBAM for $35 x 2 and it's Parallax in full.  That's an easy monetary decision; especially when I'm purchasing a building lot and a new car this year (that's the timing part).

Ha, my one friend is skipping out on our show (Johntown, outside of Pittsburgh) b/c it turns out he already had tickets for BTBAM the same night in Pittsburgh proper.

[zappafrank2112]

On the festival moniker:

I have nothing to add except to say that a few years ago, Yes did "Yestival" which also was only 3 artists (Yes, Todd Rundgren, Carl Palmer's ELP deal), and no one seemed confused by the name of the tour.  Maybe they just realized it was a clever pun and didn't take it at face value/implications.

[Metro]

I too wonder about the overlap. Bands like AAL (and Dev to an extent) seem to appeal more to the younger generation of prog metal fans, and I wonder how many of those fans actually care about an older band like Dream Theater.

[Ben_Jamin]

Regarding the setlist definitely take what he says with a grain of salt, but an interview with JL was just posted that gives some hope:

Revolver: Are there any songs or surprises you guys are planning to pull out during the DreamSonic tour?

James LaBrie: There will be. But I don't want to reveal ... There's going to be some cool stuff going on, for sure.

source: https://www.revolvermag.com/music/dream-theaters-james-labrie-were-much-more-progressive-metal

When I raised the issue a little while back with DT management about fans not being willing to shell out that much money for a setlist similar to what was already played last tour leg, the response I got strongly implied that we shouldn't assume ANYTHING about what the set list will look like.  As far as what that actually means in practice, we'll have to wait and see.  But that's the info I have for right now.

This is very interesting, and nice to read! Hopefully they made more of a set redesign instead of just changing a couple songs from their European setlist and call it something new.

I guess tomorrow can't come soon enough...

This sounds like the right moment for them to bust out Only A Matter of Time.

[RaiseTheKnife]

Fingers still crossed for Solitary Shell in the setlist.  It's my wife's favorite song and we have front row tickets for Dream Sonic.  She'd go crazy if it gets in the set.

[Ben_Jamin]

Fingers still crossed for Solitary Shell in the setlist.  It's my wife's favorite song and we have front row tickets for Dream Sonic.  She'd go crazy if it gets in the set.

Out of all the songs from the European set, I hope those three parts of 6DOIT stay in the setlist. I'd also go crazy if it stays in the set.

[MirrorMask]

When I raised the issue a little while back with DT management about fans not being willing to shell out that much money for a setlist similar to what was already played last tour leg, the response I got strongly implied that we shouldn't assume ANYTHING about what the set list will look like.  As far as what that actually means in practice, we'll have to wait and see.  But that's the info I have for right now.

That's good to hear.


DT spilled one of the songs that will be played on their FB page like an hour ago.

Song: Answering the Call - And here's some extra words to throw off anyone who might have otherwise had the song spoiled based on the length of the track title

Well played 

[Mladen]

Yeah, I thought for a second it was The Ones who help to set the sun. 

[jimgolf]

What do you guys think is the cause of low ticket sales? Price? It being labeled as a "Festival".

Just speculation, but most of the people going to this type of "festival" at this stage is mostly going to be DT fans. Maybe a few Townsend fans, maybe a few AAL fans, but mostly DT fans. I think most DT fans expect DT to play pretty much the same set they've been playing this whole tour with maybe 1 or 2 songs swapped out. If some DT fans aren't into Townsend or AAL, I can see why they wouldn't want to spend a pretty penny to sit through over half of a show they aren't overly thrilled to see.

A good example would be the last North American leg of the Astonishing Tour. Most people had already seen it live, and they basically just played The Astonishing again(some shows got a couple extra tracks). Ultimately, that tour did not sell well. I think DT sometimes underrate the importance of switching up the setlist. Not every night, but at least switch it up a bit more from tour to tour or swap 2-3 songs out if playing the same city twice. I think for this festival they really should've pulled something out and advertised it. An example would be playing Six Degrees (the song) in its entirety and advertise it as some anniversary or celebration of Six Degrees. They've already played most of Six Degrees live recently and have done War inside my head and Test That Stumped Them All in the past so Mangini should be familiar with playing them.

As for myself, I really like Townsend and AAL and have not see them live so I am probably more excited to see them than I am to see DT(especially if DT plays the same set. That being said, I will always enjoy seeing a DT show - even if I was unwillingly thrust back in time and forced to sit through "SCREAM FOR ME LONG BEACH!"

[Stadler]

For me, "festival" has nothing to do with it.  It's all about dollars versus what I'm getting.   If this was Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, and DT, two bands I dislike and one I love, at $100+ a seat for something that's not really that close to the stage, in a venue that's an hour drive, I'm staying home and playing PlayStation.  As it happens, I want to see Devin, I'm always thrilled to see Dream Theater, and I'm hopefully going to meet some friends - from here - before the show.  That to me is well worth $100.   

[zappafrank2112]

A good example would be the last North American leg of the Astonishing Tour. Most people had already seen it live, and they basically just played The Astonishing again(some shows got a couple extra tracks). Ultimately, that tour did not sell well.

LOL, any problems with that tour's performance was 100% because it was for that album. 

They had to replace some of the album's songs with more standard and better received DT fare in order to keep people interested and to give them an incentive to show up.

I'm glad I saw the full album live just to say I did, but they poorly judged the market for people sitting through that entire slogfest.

Any issues with the tour for The Astonishing are 100% related to The Astonishing and only The Astonishing.

[zappafrank2112]

Will this thread be used for setlist spoilers?  Asking so I know whether or not I need to avoid it after this evening

[Schurftkut]

better be safe than sorry 

[KevShmev]

Will this thread be used for setlist spoilers?  Asking so I know whether or not I need to avoid it after this evening

I will spoil it now: they plan to spend their entire set playing songs from The Astonishing.

[pg1067]

Will this thread be used for setlist spoilers?  Asking so I know whether or not I need to avoid it after this evening

I will spoil it now: they plan to spend their entire set playing songs from The Astonishing.

With a 15-minute version of Gnos Drawkcab as the encore.

[Nick]

Will this thread be used for setlist spoilers?  Asking so I know whether or not I need to avoid it after this evening

I will spoil it now: they plan to spend their entire set playing songs from The Astonishing.

Never thought I'd be more looking forward to Devin's set than Dream Theater's.

[KevShmev]

Will this thread be used for setlist spoilers?  Asking so I know whether or not I need to avoid it after this evening

I will spoil it now: they plan to spend their entire set playing songs from The Astonishing.

Never thought I'd be more looking forward to Devin's set than Dream Theater's.

Devin's set will reportedly consist of nothing but The Mighty Masturbator, the 50-minute plus version! (yes, he actually has a song called that, for those unaware)

[EPIC Outro]

The last two DT tours I went in totally blind to the setlist... I am seeing them in just a couple of weeks and the temptation to peak the setlist is soooo extreme.

[Joshgirouard]

Can someone take a picture of the Merch table ? Hoping they have signed vinyl