A WAY TOO EARLY reunion tour setlist fantasy thread

[Ben_Jamin]

I'd love a full new album set for the bulk of the show, closing with a couple of classics following a corpous instrumental chunk - gotta let the vocals rest. It would mean the new release Is very worthy being represented live and written with James' comfort in mind.

Very random thought - it would be cool if they'd attempt something they never did before, a song which is instrumental for its entirety, and then has vocals just at the end. Say the instrumental has a main theme, as it winds down, just a couple of lines, a "chorus" if you will, is sung at the end over said main theme, just as an outro.

It doesn't work as an example, since the song has lyrics and was structured to have a "song with lyrics" structure, but imagine if Surrounded was entirely an instrumental - and with a structure more loose than the actual song actually has - and the only vocals in it would  be the outro at the end. "I know it's easier to walk away but look it in the eye...." until the end. If done right it could be cool and a novelty.

Sort of like how Day 18: Realization by Ayreon goes. It's entirely instrumental until the end where there's like one verse with a couple of the vocalists and ending with JLB doing a nice high style vocal part.

[Rob24]

I think the fact that they think they have to play Pull Me Under is the type of mindset that severely limits their creativity in several ways.

[hefdaddy42]

I think the fact that they think they have to play Pull Me Under is the type of mindset that severely limits their creativity in several ways.

Well, one MP = two PMUs, so hopefully the inclusion of him going forward means we can avoid PMU for a while.

[pg1067]

I dunno though. I just think a lot of the more obscure songs are good. Like okay there are only five people who, right now, are interested in hearing Eve live. I just can't imagine only five people would be happy to have heard it after it was over.

I heard Eve for the first time live in June 1993.  Obviously, I was unfamiliar with it.  I don't recall it making much of an impression.  I don't think I had gotten WDADU yet, so I might have thought it was a WDADU song.  Sometime over the next several months, I got a cassette copy of the 3/4/93 Limelight show, which featured Eve with the samples, which I don't recall being used when I saw it live.  It's notable because of the sample, and I've heard the song many times over the years, but it's not at all memorable to me.  If they busted it out live, I think it'd get even less of a reaction than DLPM - because it's so mellow and because there are no vocals, so you wouldn't have a frontman urging the crowd on.

They've already done that. And released the show. How many times do they need to replay it?

But *I* wasn't there live.

...

WDADU needs the love.  It all but gets ignored.

I wasn't there either, and I live in the metropolitan area where it happened.  I don't know how an album can "need" something, but this just ain't gonna happen.  Every year is a 5- or 10-year multiple anniversary for SOME album, and 2024 is particularly big in that regard.

2024:  WDADU (35), Awake (30), SFAM (25), BC&SL (15), DOT (5)
2025:  8VM (20)
2026:  ADTOE (15), TA (10), View (5)
2027:  I&W (35), FII (30), SDOIT (25), SC (20)
2028:  TOT (25), DT12 (15)

And the cycle continues.  Every album doesn't need a full play for the anniversary, and the first tour with MP back on drums really shouldn't focus on the anniversary of an album that is not generally well-regarded by the fanbase.

Based on the setlist predictions, it appears that most assume an "evening with" style 3 hour show even though the last two tours have had opening acts. So do we believe they are up to the longer show? Will James' voice be able to handle it? Perhaps a bunch of instrumentals to give him longer breaks.

I think there was enough negative commentary about the vocals that they make a real effort to re-write vocal melodies of older songs to make them more JLB friendly.  I don't think set length is an issue, though.  We'll see.  As for PMU, I'd be good never seeing it again, but I imagine there are a bunch of younger fans who have never seen the band with MP and might never have seen the band period, and I'll bet they'd be really disappointed if PMU isn't part of the set.  Whatever you think of the song, it always gets a great reaction live.

[bosk1]

Hi all

first post

Based on the setlist predictions, it appears that most assume an "evening with" style 3 hour show even though the last two tours have had opening acts. So do we believe they are up to the longer show? Will James' voice be able to handle it? Perhaps a bunch of instrumentals to give him longer breaks.

Not exactly.  The d/t tour was an "evening with" format.  I wouldn't necessarily assume one or the other.  I think recent history shows they can do either. 

I think the fact that they think they have to play Pull Me Under is the type of mindset that severely limits their creativity in several ways.

I don't think there is any indication that they think they "have to" play it.  But they enjoy playing it, and they know the majority of fans enjoy hearing it, so I have zero problem if they decide to include it on an upcoming tour.  I think it's even more interesting and more telling how many tours they haven't played it, given that it is easily their biggest hit and that they aren't a band that has really had any other major hits.  I don't see any lack of creativity.

[pg1067]

Hi all

first post

Based on the setlist predictions, it appears that most assume an "evening with" style 3 hour show even though the last two tours have had opening acts. So do we believe they are up to the longer show? Will James' voice be able to handle it? Perhaps a bunch of instrumentals to give him longer breaks.

Not exactly.  The d/t tour was an "evening with" format.  I wouldn't necessarily assume one or the other.  I think recent history shows they can do either. 

Depends on how you define "the last two tours."  Dreamsonic had DT as one of three bands, and the View tour had an opening band.

[bosk1]

Fair.  But that distinction aside, I think we can still safely observe that they have done evening with formats in recent history.

[pg1067]

Fair.  But that distinction aside, I think we can still safely observe that they have done evening with formats in recent history.

Yup...I mentioned above that I don't think set length is an issue.

[nikatapi]

I really hope they bring back Octavarium (my favorite song of all time).

Hopefully, they can bring older songs (at least) a semitone down to help James.
I'd love to see Voices coming back, as well as The Glass Prison

[Mr.Mister]

Thinking about it - I hope they open with 6:00. It's MPs classic drum intro song, and it's a banger, It also breaks from the classic start with the first release of the new album cycle we have seen lately.

[The Paddies]

Thinking about it - I hope they open with 6:00. It's MPs classic drum intro song, and it's a banger, It also breaks from the classic start with the first release of the new album cycle we have seen lately.

During the last EU and Asian tour 6:00 was already played, in EU both in 2022 and 2023 so I'd like to hear something else over here in EU next time.

[EPIC Outro]

How about A Fortune in Lies? That one has a memorable drum opening too.

[gzarruk]

I think Blind Faith needs to return at some point.

(Or a SDOIT/TA medley, Blind Faythe)

[Mosh]

Alright, I've been thinking about this and I want to make a setlist prediction for posterity. I am expecting a summer tour, possibly European DreamSonic run. It's going to be like the Summer 2011 tour leading up to ADTOE. DT is at a point now where they can't really do one song off each album in one 100 minute set like they did back then, so I'm guessing one song off of each of the MP era albums + a new song + one 'safe' Mangini era pick.

1. The Glass Prison
2. Under a Glass Moon
3. A Rite of Passage
4. The Mirror
5. On the Backs of Angels
6. The Dark Eternal Night
7. Peruvian Skies
8. *New Song*
9. Ytse Jam
10. Home
11. In the Name of God
Encore
12. Octavarium

The whole thing comes out to be a little under 2 hours not counting length of a hypothetical new song, so on the long side but not too dissimilar from what they were doing in 2010/2011. There are a couple of songs that are associated more directly with Portnoy but not so many that it becomes too much like the Portnoy show, which is probably something they are going to be sensitive to. I also think that there are quite a few songs that fans have been requesting to hear live again (Octavarium, The Glass Prison) and it's hard to fit them in when the focus is usually on a new album. This type of tour gives them a little bit more setlist time to pull out those older epics.

I still think The Best of Times is virtually guaranteed, but probably more of a 40th anniversary tour pick. It'll be a good opportunity for some rarities/never before played live material, and again I think including something like that in the first tour with Portnoy would risk making it seem too much like the Portnoy show.

[geeeemo]

Alright, I've been thinking about this and I want to make a setlist prediction for posterity. I am expecting a summer tour, possibly European DreamSonic run. It's going to be like the Summer 2011 tour leading up to ADTOE. DT is at a point now where they can't really do one song off each album in one 100 minute set like they did back then, so I'm guessing one song off of each of the MP era albums + a new song + one 'safe' Mangini era pick.

1. The Glass Prison
2. Under a Glass Moon
3. A Rite of Passage
4. The Mirror
5. On the Backs of Angels
6. The Dark Eternal Night
7. Peruvian Skies
8. *New Song*
9. Ytse Jam
10. Home
11. In the Name of God
Encore
12. Octavarium

The whole thing comes out to be a little under 2 hours not counting length of a hypothetical new song, so on the long side but not too dissimilar from what they were doing in 2010/2011. There are a couple of songs that are associated more directly with Portnoy but not so many that it becomes too much like the Portnoy show, which is probably something they are going to be sensitive to. I also think that there are quite a few songs that fans have been requesting to hear live again (Octavarium, The Glass Prison) and it's hard to fit them in when the focus is usually on a new album. This type of tour gives them a little bit more setlist time to pull out those older epics.

I still think The Best of Times is virtually guaranteed, but probably more of a 40th anniversary tour pick. It'll be a good opportunity for some rarities/never before played live material, and again I think including something like that in the first tour with Portnoy would risk making it seem too much like the Portnoy show.

This is a really nice set-list.

[TAC]

Alright, I've been thinking about this and I want to make a setlist prediction for posterity. I am expecting a summer tour, possibly European DreamSonic run. It's going to be like the Summer 2011 tour leading up to ADTOE. DT is at a point now where they can't really do one song off each album in one 100 minute set like they did back then, so I'm guessing one song off of each of the MP era albums + a new song + one 'safe' Mangini era pick.


I still think The Best of Times is virtually guaranteed, but probably more of a 40th anniversary tour pick. It'll be a good opportunity for some rarities/never before played live material, and again I think including something like that in the first tour with Portnoy would risk making it seem too much like the Portnoy show.

Both of these premises make sense.

[MirrorMask]

Good approach Mosh!

It was also a "trend" with MP to have summer tours or anyway pre-album tours with relatively "safe" and "easy" songs, saving the big stuff - the epics, the jams, the deep cuts - for the proper album tour. Now, Octavarium in the set is not one of the "songs they can play without even rehearsing them", but all in all it's a reasonable and realistic setlist.

[Dream Team]

Which songs from the Mangini era do you think MP would really enjoy playing? If I had to guess:

Bridges in the Sky
Breaking All Illusions
The Enemy Inside
Surrender to Reason?
Fall Into The Light
S2N

On a different note, I imagine that The Alien, BAI, OTBOA, TEI, etc would continue to be setlist staples more often than not.

[jjfumbly]

Which songs from the Mangini era do you think MP would really enjoy playing? If I had to guess:

Bridges in the Sky
Breaking All Illusions
The Enemy Inside
Surrender to Reason?
Fall Into The Light
S2N

On a different note, I imagine that The Alien, BAI, OTBOA, TEI, etc would continue to be setlist staples more often than not.

I think Surrender to Reason would sound great with MP's drumming. It seems like the perfect MM era song for him to play.

[hefdaddy42]

Which songs from the Mangini era do you think MP would really enjoy playing? If I had to guess:

Bridges in the Sky
Breaking All Illusions
The Enemy Inside
Surrender to Reason?
Fall Into The Light
S2N

On a different note, I imagine that The Alien, BAI, OTBOA, TEI, etc would continue to be setlist staples more often than not.

I think Surrender to Reason would sound great with MP's drumming. It seems like the perfect MM era song for him to play.

I actually agree.  It's not my favorite song or anything, but it suits MP.

[crystalstars17]

Which songs from the Mangini era do you think MP would really enjoy playing? If I had to guess:

Bridges in the Sky
Breaking All Illusions
The Enemy Inside
Surrender to Reason?
Fall Into The Light
S2N

On a different note, I imagine that The Alien, BAI, OTBOA, TEI, etc would continue to be setlist staples more often than not.

If these songs do stick around, then I can't complain.

[gzarruk]

What I'm curious about is whether they'll keep the "one song from each album" approach for their 40th anniversary. I just made a quick playlist with one from each and it's definitely doable. I'd like to see that a lot.

[MirrorMask]

It worked with Octavarium, since it was "just" the 8th album, but now there are too many albums. It takes too much time, with 8 albums and most of them well received you can get away with it, but with so many albums the structure of the show becomes predictable.

Also, post Octavarium there's no song that the entire crowd of a concert looks forward to, I like all the albums done with Mangini but once they reach his era, which song - out of the five in a row - will get a roar from the crowd like it would happen with songs from Scenes, Six Degrees and Train of Thought?

[hefdaddy42]

Also, post Octavarium there's no song that the entire crowd of a concert looks forward to, I like all the albums done with Mangini but once they reach his era, which song - out of the five in a row - will get a roar from the crowd like it would happen with songs from Scenes, Six Degrees and Train of Thought?

I would think Breaking All Illusions for sure.  Probably The Alien, also. 

[gzarruk]

It worked with Octavarium, since it was "just" the 8th album, but now there are too many albums. It takes too much time, with 8 albums and most of them well received you can get away with it, but with so many albums the structure of the show becomes predictable.

Also, post Octavarium there's no song that the entire crowd of a concert looks forward to, I like all the albums done with Mangini but once they reach his era, which song - out of the five in a row - will get a roar from the crowd like it would happen with songs from Scenes, Six Degrees and Train of Thought?

I think it's perfectly doable without picking the longest songs from every album. They could do the Rush thing (IIRC) where they play everything in reverse chronological order, and end with the classics. Choosing 5 great short MM era songs shouldn't be too difficult anyway.

[crystalstars17]

5 great short MM era songs

The Alien, Invisible Monster, Out of Reach, Answering the Call, Moment of Betrayal.

[bosk1]

Just looking at past precedent, I fear Out of Reach never getting played.  But I think the others are solid choices.  Honestly, I'd love a set list that included those 5, and almost wouldn't even care what the rest of the set looked like.

[gzarruk]

5 great short MM era songs

The Alien, Invisible Monster, Out of Reach, Answering the Call, Moment of Betrayal.

Those 5 are great! However, I was saying it in the context of a hypothetical 40th anniversary setlist with one song per album in reverse chronological order.

I would pick: Transcending Time, S2N, Moment of Betrayal, This is the Life.

[bosk1]

5 great short MM era songs

The Alien, Invisible Monster, Out of Reach, Answering the Call, Moment of Betrayal.

Those 5 are great! However, I was saying it in the context of a hypothetical 40th anniversary setlist with one song per album in reverse chronological order.

I would pick: Transcending Time, S2N, Moment of Betrayal, This is the Life.

Don't get me wrong--that's a solid list as well (although you are missing DT12).  But IF they tried to do a 40th anniversary set list that encompassed every single album, I think it would be more "hits" centered.  And I use "hits" pretty loosely since they haven't had a lot of what would generally be considered "hits."  But I think a lot of the set would focus on songs that are more familiar and were either put out as singles or have a solid history of good crowd response.  3 of the 4 you chose are more deep cuts. 

I agree with those above that think it is unlikely that they will hit every album.  But it might be possible to do it and put together something good.  I'm going to give it a quick try...

[gzarruk]

5 great short MM era songs

The Alien, Invisible Monster, Out of Reach, Answering the Call, Moment of Betrayal.

Those 5 are great! However, I was saying it in the context of a hypothetical 40th anniversary setlist with one song per album in reverse chronological order.

I would pick: Transcending Time, S2N, Moment of Betrayal, This is the Life.

Don't get me wrong--that's a solid list as well (although you are missing DT12).  But IF they tried to do a 40th anniversary set list that encompassed every single album, I think it would be more "hits" centered.  And I use "hits" pretty loosely since they haven't had a lot of what would generally be considered "hits."  But I think a lot of the set would focus on songs that are more familiar and were either put out as singles or have a solid history of good crowd response.  3 of the 4 you chose are more deep cuts. 

I agree with those above that think it is unlikely that they will hit every album.  But it might be possible to do it and put together something good.  I'm going to give it a quick try...

Yeah, I forgot DT12

My pick from it was going to be Surrender to Reason, but I think you're spot on with the "hits". The thing is, I don't see Portnoy playing The Alien at all. But I guess time will tell.

[crystalstars17]

Honestly, I'd love a set list that included those 5, and almost wouldn't even care what the rest of the set looked like.

💯

[crystalstars17]

Yeah, I forgot DT12

Ah, so did I. But my choice there would be Behind the Veil.

My pick from it was going to be Surrender to Reason, but I think you're spot on with the "hits". The thing is, I don't see Portnoy playing The Alien at all. But I guess time will tell.

That would be really sad 😭 There's just something about that song live, when the guitar comes in, that just hits all the right emotions. And usually this is a unanimous thing, because the crowd goes wild.

It also IS their (only) Grammy-winning song, so just like their (only) radio hit, I don't see them ditching it entirely.

[bosk1]

5 great short MM era songs

The Alien, Invisible Monster, Out of Reach, Answering the Call, Moment of Betrayal.

Those 5 are great! However, I was saying it in the context of a hypothetical 40th anniversary setlist with one song per album in reverse chronological order.

I would pick: Transcending Time, S2N, Moment of Betrayal, This is the Life.

Don't get me wrong--that's a solid list as well (although you are missing DT12).  But IF they tried to do a 40th anniversary set list that encompassed every single album, I think it would be more "hits" centered.  And I use "hits" pretty loosely since they haven't had a lot of what would generally be considered "hits."  But I think a lot of the set would focus on songs that are more familiar and were either put out as singles or have a solid history of good crowd response.  3 of the 4 you chose are more deep cuts. 

I agree with those above that think it is unlikely that they will hit every album.  But it might be possible to do it and put together something good.  I'm going to give it a quick try...

Yeah, I forgot DT12

My pick from it was going to be Surrender to Reason, but I think you're spot on with the "hits". The thing is, I don't see Portnoy playing The Alien at all. But I guess time will tell.

I'm torn on The Alien.  It's tough to imagine anyone but Mangini playing that insanity.  But as mentioned in a few places, even though Portnoy is, by his own admission, a "less technical" player than Mangini, let's not forget that he is incredibly talented and capable.  I doubt he would try to play it as written.  But I think he could probably easily handle coming up with a drum part that suits his style and preserves the feeling of the song, and would sound great in a live setting.  I think anyone selling him short on being able to play it is not being realistic about how good a drummer he has demonstrated himself to be over that past several decades. 

Anyway, I took a shot at creating a hypothetical set list that abides by the following guidelines:  (1) Hits every studio album; (2) is focused more on "hits"/popular songs; and (3) is focused on shorter songs, whenever possible.  Here is what I came up with:

A Fortune in Lies
Pull Me Under
Lie (aside from the fact that I just like it, it hasn't been played much in awhile and fits the above criteria nicely)
Just Let Me Breathe
One Last Time (I struggled with which song to pull from this album.  I think they would go with the tried and true TSCO, but I thought I would try a different direction)
VI Solitary Shell
As I Am
Panic Attack
Forsaken
Wither (even though I don't care for it, it's perfect for a set that needs "ballads" and needs something short from an album full of long songs)
Beneath the Surface (unlikely, but I was going for "short" and "ballad," and having 2 ballady songs back to back is a pretty DT thing to do, so I think it works)
Looking Glass
Our New World
S2N  (OK, yeah, I went with a deeper cut here rather than one of the songs they did a video for and gave the "single" treatment.  I think that's fine here since I don't think any of those four songs really were even a blip on the music industry's radar.  But I wouldn't be surprised by any of them, and they are about the same length.)
The Alien

Encore:  Learning To Live

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was surprised to see that that is short of 2 hours, and would probably be right at about 2 hours with a typical length intro tape.  If we factor in a 15-20 minute intermission, there's still space to change some of those with slightly longer songs and add in some from a new album, depending on length.  Something like the above is pretty doable.  And given the three criteria I layed out above, combined with how doable that would likely be for James in a 3-hour set, and my guesses about the band members' willingness to play them, I think that's just about as likely a set as any for this type of format.

[TAC]

Just looking at past precedent, I fear Out of Reach never getting played.

Oh please let this be true.

[Mosh]

The problem is that if they restrict themselves for time purposes to represent each album, they're going to have to forgo a lot of the big fan favorite epics just to make sure each album gets a song. I would personally rather hear something like Lost Not Forgotten and Surrender to Reason instead of the shorter tracks even if it means nothing else from the Mangini era. I hope the focus of the 40th anniversary tour is less trying to get every album in there and more on trying to bring out a once in a lifetime type of setlist.

Just looking at past precedent, I fear Out of Reach never getting played.  But I think the others are solid choices.  Honestly, I'd love a set list that included those 5, and almost wouldn't even care what the rest of the set looked like.

What precedent?