DREAM THEATER - Europe leg of the 40th Anniversary Tour 2024-2025

[TAC]

Ten thousand fans from all over the world are not converging on London on 20 October to hear a Majesty demo.

Did Another Won sound like a demo when you listened to Score? No way!

[hefdaddy42]

How about right before the second set, a short video montage with some audio, then James comes on and says "Hey, we've been lucky enough to rekindle our relationship with the Mighty Mike Portnoy, and it's a blessing. We're not so lucky in that we can't do that with someone who was at ground zero of this forty year anniversary. Can you please acknowledge, as we acknowledge in our hearts, the late, great Charlie Dominici.    This next one is a song about loss, and it is "The Best Of Times"."

This is not bad, except for the part about playing The Best of Times.

[TAC]

This is not bad, except for the part about playing The Best of Times.

Yeah, save that for the encore. Good idea Hef!

[devieira73]

Ten thousand fans from all over the world are not converging on London on 20 October to hear a Majesty demo.

I don't know, but I think this material is exactly for that kind of fan!
And nowadays the Majesty demos are on Spotify, they aren't something obscure anymore.
OK, I also get that a lot of hardcore fans like us don't like it, so it's not a good sign. But DT did it on Score, isn't it?
Well, maybe I'm totally wrong on it, but it's still my bet for this tour: we'll listen to more than a few seconds from the Majesty demos in instrumental form. And to play it as an instrumental also would be a nice nod for DT beginnings.

[Kram]

This is not bad, except for the part about playing The Best of Times.

Yes, that song is about Mike's dad, and may be too personal to MP for that.  But I agree with the sentiment, some sort of tribute to Charlie.

[pg1067]

How about right before the second set, a short video montage with some audio, then James comes on and says "Hey, we've been lucky enough to rekindle our relationship with the Mighty Mike Portnoy, and it's a blessing. We're not so lucky in that we can't do that with someone who was at ground zero of this forty year anniversary. Can you please acknowledge, as we acknowledge in our hearts, the late, great Charlie Dominici.    This next one is a song about loss, and it is "The Best Of Times"."

Aside from the fact that TBOT is a bottom 10 DT song for me, it would seem odd to play that song, which is expressly about MP's father, in connection with mentioning Charlie's death.

[Stadler]

Aside from the fact that TBOT is a bottom 10 DT song for me, it would seem odd to play that song, which is expressly about MP's father, in connection with mentioning Charlie's death.

Well, for all of us that relate to it, we're not Mike's dad's son, so for us it's more generally about loss and how it impacts our lives.  If there's a better DT song about the loss of someone dear, they can play that instead.  It was a general point, not a specific request for that song.

[hefdaddy42]

Yeah, save that for the encore. Good idea Hef!

Not at all what I meant.

[pg1067]

Well, for all of us that relate to it, we're not Mike's dad's son, so for us it's more generally about loss and how it impacts our lives.  If there's a better DT song about the loss of someone dear, they can play that instead.  It was a general point, not a specific request for that song.

I still think it would be odd, but I get your point.  For my money, and regardless of whether they play TBOT, Afterlife would be the most appropriate song.

[Wim Kruithof]

Well, for all of us that relate to it, we're not Mike's dad's son, so for us it's more generally about loss and how it impacts our lives.  If there's a better DT song about the loss of someone dear, they can play that instead.  It was a general point, not a specific request for that song.

Agree. Not a son of Portnoy's dad, but of my own mother who passed away recently and I think it fits perfectly.

 

I still think it would be odd, but I get your point.  For my money, and regardless of whether they play TBOT, Afterlife would be the most appropriate song.

LaBrie would have a hard time with Afterlife, I guess...

edit; well, this LaBrie-part of me might be bullshit, on a second thought.

[geeeemo]

Agree. Not a son of Portnoy's dad, but of my own mother who passed away recently and I think it fits perfectly.

same for me

[SwedishGoose]

This is not bad, except for the part about playing The Best of Times.

Agreed.... TBOT is way down on my list of DT songs.

Change it to A Change of Seasons instead and I'm in.

[HOF]

They could also do Take Away My Pain, which is probably easier for James vocally anyway (and a better song that TBOT).

[hefdaddy42]

They could also do Take Away My Pain, which is probably easier for James vocally anyway (and a better song that TBOT).

Agreed with all of this.

[TheCountOfNYC]

I definitely want them to play The Best of Times, and it’s not because I love the song, but because, IMO, TBoT has the greatest guitar solo ever written and I want to see John play it in person.

[gzarruk]

I definitely want them to play The Best of Times, and it’s not because I love the song, but because, IMO, TBoT has the greatest guitar solo ever written and I want to see John play it in person.

Yes.

[Awaken]

I definitely want them to play The Best of Times, and it’s not because I love the song, but because, IMO, TBoT has the greatest guitar solo ever written and I want to see John play it in person.

I get why people don't like the song (though I'm not in that camp), but never hearing that solo live would really suck.  I'm hoping it makes the setlist this time around.  And if it doesn't, I hope it appears at some point when MP feels he can present it live every night.

[HOF]

I don't know, that solo didn't do a lot for me when I heard it. I think it's more that musical section overall seems a bit too over the top.

[hefdaddy42]

It's a good solo, no doubt.

[Dream Team]

I don't know, that solo didn't do a lot for me when I heard it. I think it's more that musical section overall seems a bit too over the top.

In all fairness, it’s really not in your lane. But yeah one of his best solos ever.

[cramx3]

Haven't listened to that song in so long to remember the solo.  I don't hate the song though, I'd welcome it due to it not being played.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

it's a good solo

[HOF]

It's a fine solo, just don't know that it is an especially interesting or memorable solo.

[evilasiojr]

It's indeed a beautiful solo, with nice melodical playing but also great shredding. I'm not a big fan of the song overall though, but my bet is that they are playing it because Portnoy is finally back to the band, so they can't miss the chance of doing it AND because of the solo. Kinda like a too long of a song for such an important set this will be, but I think it's happening!

[crystalstars17]

Agreed.... TBOT is way down on my list of DT songs.

Change it to A Change of Seasons instead and I'm in.

All of this.

[Zydar]

I must be one of the few who actually loves TBOT.

[Mladen]

I love The Best of times, but come on, there's no way Mike is putting himself through the torture of having to play such an emotional song every night. He can barely listen to it.

[TAC]

I must be one of the few who actually loves TBOT.

Same here. Top 15 DT song.

[hefdaddy42]

I must be one of the few who actually loves TBOT.

There are probably a lot of DT fans who like or love the song.

However, I am not included in that group.

Which is fine, because I'm sure I like songs that lots of other people don't care for.

[gzarruk]

It's indeed a beautiful solo, with nice melodical playing but also great shredding. I'm not a big fan of the song overall though, but my bet is that they are playing it because Portnoy is finally back to the band, so they can't miss the chance of doing it AND because of the solo. Kinda like a too long of a song for such an important set this will be, but I think it's happening!

I love The Best of times, but come on, there's no way Mike is putting himself through the torture of having to play such an emotional song every night. He can barely listen to it.

Because of this (the bolded), the best idea is to just segue form another song into the solo section of TBOT (the best part of the song) and problem solved!

[cramx3]

I love The Best of times, but come on, there's no way Mike is putting himself through the torture of having to play such an emotional song every night. He can barely listen to it.

Really no reason to play it every night. Do it once for a special occasion, maybe for a DVD filming so everyone can experience it.

[pg1067]

It's a fine solo, just don't know that it is an especially interesting or memorable solo.

Every time I mention how meh that song is, someone responds with, "but the solo!!!!!"  So I go and re-listen to the song, and...it's just a solo.  Nothing at all special.

[gborland]

You still have to endure 10 minutes of tedium before you get to the solo.

[pg1067]

You still have to endure 10 minutes of tedium before you get to the solo.

Yup...I feel the same way about guitar solos as I do about lyrics:  great lyrics or a great guitar solo can't turn an otherwise crappy song into a great song.  The corollary only really works with lyrics:  crappy lyrics can ruin an otherwise great song.

[Ben_Jamin]

I would like to see TBOT live someday. It's a song that goes on a structural journey. It's a song I can put on, close my eyes, and imagine an accompanying scenario.

In the intro, I see a person sitting down at home reminiscing on childhood memories. It's in a sort of slow motion, black and white style. This person knows that their loved one's time is short. When the full band comes in, all those happy memories rush into their memory, which is represented by the uplifting music. I enjoy that MP made this personal by including the happy memories he had with his father. The mood shifts when the call comes, the call that the person has passed on. The music then sets that background for the emotional final moments with the loved one. This is where MP says his heartfelt thanks to his father. Even though I think he overuses the word 'day' in the lyrics here, I feel the mourning in the way JLB delivers those lines and the accompanying music behind it.

The way the songs on BC&SL take you on a journey through their structure is a reason why I like the album, and that title is really fitting for the structures of the songs going from a moment of something dark to a moment of brightness and clarity.