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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: Setlist Scotty on December 04, 2021, 07:21:33 PM
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Hard to believe that 25 years ago today, DT premiered 5 tracks from their upcoming new album, as well as Caught in Alice’s Nine Inch Tool Garden, and extended versions of Metropolis, LtL and TKH. How many of you were fortunate enough to be at that show in Poughkeepsie or one of the other Fix for 96 shows? I didn’t - was before I started road-tripping to see them.
Still, these shows bring back many fond memories of that era, being on the Ytsejam Mailing List, receiving the Images and Words fanzines and getting a bootleg recording of the first show to hear what these new songs sounded like!
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I saw the show in Providence.
My Fix for '96 is my goto concert shirt for DT shows.
(https://i.imgur.com/4k5qT2A.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/l2JuJhs.jpg)
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I didn’t get to see them until the Metropolis 2 tour, but just peeking at Mike’s tourography, it feels like entire 96-98 period had some of the most interesting, fun setlists of their career and I’m disappointed I didn’t get to see them back then.
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Yeah, those must've been awesome times. DT being daring enough to play non-album material in a live setting (and not just FII material - they'd been playing lots of unreleased stuff on the previous tours, too). These days it's all so controlled and predictable.
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I did hear them play the Caught medley live during my first ever DT show aged 10 (although that was in 2000)
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I did hear them play the Caught medley live during my first ever DT show aged 10 (although that was in 2000)
That's actually different from Caught in Alice's Nine Inch Tool Garden. What you heard is Caught in a New Millennium, which is a mashup of Caught In Alice's Nine Inch Tool Garden and New Millennium. NM having been spawned from Caught in Alice's Nine Inch Tool Garden.
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Aah, that's why. (excuse my all too faint memories)
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Hard to believe that 25 years ago today, DT premiered 5 tracks from their upcoming new album...
I am too lazy to look up what those 5 songs were. Can someone share?
I have no idea how I would have reacted in 1996, with DT being my favorite band, and I&W and Awake being 2 of my favorite, most oft-listened to albums, but going to a show and hearing 5 songs from what would become FII could have been a massive letdown, depending on what they were.
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Burning My Soul
Just Let Me Breathe
Peruvian Skies
Lines In The Sand
Take Away My Pain
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Old Bridge, New Jersey show for me in '96! :metal
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I have no idea how I would have reacted in 1996, with DT being my favorite band, and I&W and Awake being 2 of my favorite, most oft-listened to albums, but going to a show and hearing 5 songs from what would become FII could have been a massive letdown, depending on what they were.
Even though FII was a massive letdown, I don't remember feeling this way about the '96 show at all. I just thought it was great getting new music. I didn't expect so many new songs, but they all sounded good. I don't remember any special memories about any of the songs. Peruvain Skies and Lines In The Sand would be my two favorite tracks on FII. Take Away My Pain was a bit heavier than the FII version. Just Let Me Breathe is actually great live, even thought the FII version feels a bit limiting.
I was so happy to hear The Killing Hand, which I hadn't seen since the '92 shows. Plus Learning To Live!!
This was also the first time The (future) Lovely Mrs TAC came with me to a DT show.
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Old Bridge, New Jersey show for me in '96! :metal
That's from the ytse jam official bootleg? At Birch Hill? I used to love that venue growing up. Sadly, I was not a DT fan for another 10 years after this tour. Would have been cool to see.
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This is the back of the shirt..
(https://i.imgur.com/HufjdPG.jpg)
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Hard to believe that 25 years ago today, DT premiered 5 tracks from their upcoming new album...
I am too lazy to look up what those 5 songs were. Can someone share?
I have no idea how I would have reacted in 1996, with DT being my favorite band, and I&W and Awake being 2 of my favorite, most oft-listened to albums, but going to a show and hearing 5 songs from what would become FII could have been a massive letdown, depending on what they were.
You can see the full setlist here:
https://mptour.mikeportnoy.com/dates/MPTourography/ShowInfo.aspx?showId=324
As for how you would feel, I'd imagine you would have been thrilled like all the Ytsejammers were back then. There was a lot of hype for the new album, and I can still remember being so excited to read the first reviews of the shows on the Ytsejam Mailing List right after they happened. And it didn't take long for bootlegs to circulate so that those of us not able to attend could also enjoy a taste of some new DT. When I heard the songs, I was thrilled with all of them - especially BMS and LitS. I know I listened to the recording I got repeatedly until those new songs (and the arrangements of the old songs) were etched deep into my memory.
To be honest with you, I think that was part of the reason why the final album was a bit of a letdown for many of us hardcore fans at the time: because the album didn't live up to those original live performances and there were other songs that were far more "meh" that weren't played at the show. Had Caveman not changed things around so much and had they chosen some of the other tracks instead of the ones that made the final cut, it probably would have been more favorably received than it was.
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I could definitely see how these shows could be such a big deal for the fans at the time. There is also the inclusion of Derek Sherinian and FII being his first (and only) Dream Theater album. The hype and tension of hearing the new songs and how they will sound with the new keyboardist was high. I could also definitely see how the fans were disappointed with the album after their first introduction to these songs were live and performed with arrangements that differed immensely from the versions that appeared on the album. I would've been even more disappointed with the album version of Take Away My Pain after hearing the song played with the live arrangement from the Old Bridge bootleg. Good thing I nabbed that before the closure of Ystejam Records website.
The set-list for these shows highlights Derek Sherinian being the new member as well. Caught In Alice's 9-Inch Tool Garden is the one song that does the job of showcasing Derek Sherinians keyboards to the audience.
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Hard to believe that 25 years ago today, DT premiered 5 tracks from their upcoming new album...
I am too lazy to look up what those 5 songs were. Can someone share?
I have no idea how I would have reacted in 1996, with DT being my favorite band, and I&W and Awake being 2 of my favorite, most oft-listened to albums, but going to a show and hearing 5 songs from what would become FII could have been a massive letdown, depending on what they were.
You can see the full setlist here:
https://mptour.mikeportnoy.com/dates/MPTourography/ShowInfo.aspx?showId=324
As for how you would feel, I'd imagine you would have been thrilled like all the Ytsejammers were back then. There was a lot of hype for the new album, and I can still remember being so excited to read the first reviews of the shows on the Ytsejam Mailing List right after they happened. And it didn't take long for bootlegs to circulate so that those of us not able to attend could also enjoy a taste of some new DT. When I heard the songs, I was thrilled with all of them - especially BMS and LitS. I know I listened to the recording I got repeatedly until those new songs (and the arrangements of the old songs) were etched deep into my memory.
I should have specified, I was not on board with all that at the time. I had no idea a Ytsejam Mailing List was a thing. I wasn't into music magazines/publications or any of that, never listened to bootlegs, and didn't even know anyone else who liked DT. So I would have gone in to one of those shows completely blind. I would have wondered what the hell happened with the keyboard player. :lol So my expectations would have been different, not sure if heightened or otherwise, just different.
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Hard to believe that 25 years ago today, DT premiered 5 tracks from their upcoming new album...
I am too lazy to look up what those 5 songs were. Can someone share?
I have no idea how I would have reacted in 1996, with DT being my favorite band, and I&W and Awake being 2 of my favorite, most oft-listened to albums, but going to a show and hearing 5 songs from what would become FII could have been a massive letdown, depending on what they were.
You can see the full setlist here:
https://mptour.mikeportnoy.com/dates/MPTourography/ShowInfo.aspx?showId=324
As for how you would feel, I'd imagine you would have been thrilled like all the Ytsejammers were back then. There was a lot of hype for the new album, and I can still remember being so excited to read the first reviews of the shows on the Ytsejam Mailing List right after they happened. And it didn't take long for bootlegs to circulate so that those of us not able to attend could also enjoy a taste of some new DT. When I heard the songs, I was thrilled with all of them - especially BMS and LitS. I know I listened to the recording I got repeatedly until those new songs (and the arrangements of the old songs) were etched deep into my memory.
I should have specified, I was not on board with all that at the time. I had no idea a Ytsejam Mailing List was a thing. I wasn't into music magazines/publications or any of that, never listened to bootlegs, and didn't even know anyone else who liked DT. So I would have gone in to one of those shows completely blind. I would have wondered what the hell happened with the keyboard player. :lol So my expectations would have been different, not sure if heightened or otherwise, just different.
I wasn't aware of any of the mailing lists either, but I was trading bootlegs back in the day from '89-'96. However by the time of this tour, I had basically stopped, and wouldn't start again for another 8 years.
Anyway, I also wasn't aware of any Ytsejam Mailing list. But I did see DT every time they came through. They came the summer before on the ACOS tour. Technically, Derek had toured with them for a couple of years. I saw the first night of the Awake tour, and it was definitely a surprise to see some short haired dude and not KevMo.
This show was my fourth time seeing them with Derek, and eighth time seeing DT.
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I should have specified, I was not on board with all that at the time. I had no idea a Ytsejam Mailing List was a thing. I wasn't into music magazines/publications or any of that, never listened to bootlegs, and didn't even know anyone else who liked DT. So I would have gone in to one of those shows completely blind. I would have wondered what the hell happened with the keyboard player. :lol So my expectations would have been different, not sure if heightened or otherwise, just different.
I wasn't aware of any of the mailing lists either, but I was trading bootlegs back in the day from '89-'96. However by the time of this tour, I had basically stopped, and wouldn't start again for another 8 years.
Anyway, I also wasn't aware of any Ytsejam Mailing list. But I did see DT every time they came through. They came the summer before on the ACOS tour. Technically, Derek had toured with them for a couple of years. I saw the first night of the Awake tour, and it was definitely a surprise to see some short haired dude and not KevMo.
This show was my fourth time seeing them with Derek, and eighth time seeing DT.
So it sounds like you were pretty much in the same boat as Chris at that point, right? Did you know they were going to premiere new songs at that show? And whether you did or not, how did you feel about hearing those new songs? Did you leave the show looking forward to their new album or worrying that it wasn't going to be as good as IaW or Awake?
And Chris, what was the first DT show you saw? Didn't you see them on the Waking Up the World tour?
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So it sounds like you were pretty much in the same boat as Chris at that point, right? Did you know they were going to premiere new songs at that show? And whether you did or not, how did you feel about hearing those new songs? Did you leave the show looking forward to their new album or worrying that it wasn't going to be as good as IaW or Awake?
And Chris, what was the first DT show you saw? Didn't you see them on the Waking Up the World tour?
I cannot remember how the show was billed. I do know the shirt I bought states "An Evening Of New Music".I don't remember it being a long time between albums at this point, because we had ACOS and they did play here for that, so I looked at the '96 show as their yearly visit.
As far as the songs themselves, I'm having a hard time remembering how I felt. Lines In The Sand stuck out and I remember liking it, though within days after the show I couldn't tell you why.
I think I felt like the songs were a tad unfinished, if that makes any sense. So I had no extra anticipation or concern over their next album based on what I heard.
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I didn't go to the show, but I indeed hear the new songs, at the time, for the first time in a bootleg from that tour and it was really exciting!!
Those times will never go back, but it was incredible to be a fan then!! It was really a privilege.
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I just now went back and listened to Burning My Soul from the Old Bridge official boot.
Interesting that there is a very brief and mellow intro to the song that I don’t believe they played when they busted out the 96 version with Jordan on the SDOIT tour.
Overall, I really like the feel of this version. I hadn’t heard it in forever.
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Interesting that there is a very brief and mellow intro to the song that I don’t believe they played when they busted out the 96 version with Jordan on the SDOIT tour.
There were some shows on that tour - especially when co-headlining with Satch - where they skipped that mellow intro, but for the majority of the shows where it was in the set, they did the full song including the mellow intro.
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Old Bridge, New Jersey show for me in '96! :metal
That's from the ytse jam official bootleg? At Birch Hill?
:tup
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I was born in '95, so I don't think my '96 self would've appreciated a DT concert too much :lol
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And Chris, what was the first DT show you saw? Didn't you see them on the Waking Up the World tour?
Ha, you and I have never conversed on my DT history I imagine. Despite being introduced to DT in 92/93, I only ever knew them through their albums through the end of the 90s. I didn't really get on the internet till the late 90s, and none of my internet activity involved music. I didn't know WDaDU existed; knew they had a new keyboard player on FII, and then again on Scenes. I had never heard of Jordan, and didn't even know what he looked like till I got 6 Degrees and saw him in the booklet. Then I got the Live Scenes DVD, watched that repeatedly, listened to the audio commentary and finally went from "I love this band's music" to "I love these guys." My first live show was the ToT tour. But concerts were never a big thing for me. My first real rock show was in 2000(?). Styx, Bad Company, Billy Squire. And I only ended up going because I won tickets.
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Went to their show in Milan (April 1997) for that tour...
Great memories. It was all very exciting... hearing new stuff, checking out what was cooking...The new songs that struck me the most from that live were Peruvian Skies, Lines in the Sand and Take Away My Pain. I remember being a little disappointed by the latter when I heard it on FII. Didn't feel quite as "powerful".
For some reason, I don't have much of a recollection of the live version of Burning My Soul - that must've been the extended cut with Hell's Kitchen included, correct?
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For some reason, I don't have much of a recollection of the live version of Burning My Soul - that must've been the extended cut with Hell's Kitchen included, correct?
Correct. It wasn't until they went into the studio a month and a half later that it was rearranged and the second half of HK was written.
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I was at the Providence '96 show. When they opened with A Change of Seasons I was kinda stunned, thinking, wow are they really gonna open the show with a 20+ minute song? Obviously, it was still cool how they interspersed the track throughout the night.
I remember walking in the venue and seeing the t-shirts that advertised an evening of new music. I think that's how I learned about it. My friend which I brought along to her first DT show was kinda bummed that they might not play much material she was familiar with. She was less bummed when she got Derek's phone number after the show, but I've shared that story elsewhere in this forum.
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Imagine going to a DT concert in 2022/2023 and James announcing from the microphone that they are going to play a new song from the next album.
Without us ever having been told that they wrote/recorder new material,and without any of us to really expect something like this.
I would definitely go crazy!!!
Maybe it's time for them to bring something new to the table,like these surprises.
And now,imagine they took the time to create an EP while waiting for the tour to begin in February.
Drooling.
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The spontaneity and unknown about what you might see at a DT concert is long missing. It essentially only exists on the first night of a tour. Granted, if they surprised with a new song, the live version would be on youtube right away so I can see why bands don't do that as often these days (although some still do).
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I saw the show in Providence.
My Fix for '96 is my goto concert shirt for DT shows.
I saw the Fix For '96 show at Mulcahy's on Long Island. Recorded it on a cassette! :lol Still have the "home For the Holidays" shirt.
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Wasn't Home For The Holidays in '98?
Unfortunately they didn't bring that to Providence or Boston.
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The spontaneity and unknown about what you might see at a DT concert is long missing.
:tup
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The spontaneity and unknown about what you might see at a DT concert is long missing.
:tup
It is? See, I think this is overrated. Other than a rotating setlist, the MP Era shows weren't that different. They may have had some improv spots, like Solitary Shell '09, but overall those shows were still pretty straightforward.
The 97-98 shows did seemed to have some spontaneity to them, but I chalk that up to MP being in WTF mode.
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Wasn't Home For The Holidays in '98?
Unfortunately they didn't bring that to Providence or Boston.
I made the trip to Hartford for Home for the Holidays in 1998. Totally worth the trip.
While it's not new material, DT did play Don't Look Past Me which came as a shock.
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Wasn't Home For The Holidays in '98?
Unfortunately they didn't bring that to Providence or Boston.
Those 98 shows were known by that, but in an unofficial capacity. Officially, the shows were known as "An Intimate Evening With Dream Theater". The HftH shows were the ones that happened after Xmas in 95.
The spontaneity and unknown about what you might see at a DT concert is long missing.
:tup
It is? See, I think this is overrated. Other than a rotating setlist, the MP Era shows weren't that different. They may have had some improv spots, like Solitary Shell '09, but overall those shows were still pretty straightforward.
The 97-98 shows did seemed to have some spontaneity to them, but I chalk that up to MP being in WTF mode.
I disagree Tim. There was definitely more spontaneity than that. Maybe not so much with the 2005-2010 tours, but for World Tourbulence and the Train of Thought tour there was much more of a "anything can happen" feel of not knowing what's gonna happen next, and that's not just due to the rotating setlists.
Wasn't Home For The Holidays in '98?
Unfortunately they didn't bring that to Providence or Boston.
I made the trip to Hartford for Home for the Holidays in 1998. Totally worth the trip.
While it's not new material, DT did play Don't Look Past Me which came as a shock.
Actually they didn't. That wasn't premiered until the last leg of the IWaB tour in 2017. Maybe you're thinking of TLF, Eve, CME, WAYN or TWiUtB? And they didn't play Hartford, but did play New Haven on that brief run of shows.
https://mptour.mikeportnoy.com/dates/MPTourography/ShowList.aspx?tourId=33
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The spontaneity and unknown about what you might see at a DT concert is long missing.
:tup
It is? See, I think this is overrated. Other than a rotating setlist, the MP Era shows weren't that different. They may have had some improv spots, like Solitary Shell '09, but overall those shows were still pretty straightforward.
The 97-98 shows did seemed to have some spontaneity to them, but I chalk that up to MP being in WTF mode.
I disagree Tim. There was definitely more spontaneity than that. Maybe not so much with the 2005-2010 tours, but for World Tourbulence and the Train of Thought tour there was much more of a "anything can happen" feel of not knowing what's gonna happen next, and that's not just due to the rotating setlists.
I wasn't a fan early on, but even just going back and looking at setlists from before I became a fan, it was a feeling of "wow I wonder what they played every night of so and so tour" because it was intriguing. And for my own experiences, I think about the back to back NYC shows from the Prog Nation tour where they did two completely different sets with one night having Repentance with Mikael AKerfeldt and the other night having the drum solo with all the drummers. DT just doesn't do stuff like that anymore. Those nights truly felt like "anything can happen".
And there are still bands out there that give off those feelings from a live show. It makes me feel like DT could do it again, but it's probably such a large amount of work that the guys would rather perfect their show than take risks and put in much more effort.
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And there are still bands out there that give off those feelings from a live show. It makes me feel like DT could do it again, but it's probably such a large amount of work that the guys would rather perfect their show than take risks and put in much more effort.
They could, but unfortunately, with JP running the ship, the focus has become more on putting on a production than being a live show as he himself said in his recent appearance on Robb Flynn's podcast.
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And there are still bands out there that give off those feelings from a live show. It makes me feel like DT could do it again, but it's probably such a large amount of work that the guys would rather perfect their show than take risks and put in much more effort.
They could, but unfortunately, with JP running the ship, the focus has become more on putting on a production than being a live show as he himself said in his recent appearance on Robb Flynn's podcast.
Yup, without him admitting it, you could tell from over the years. I've been vocal for years here about how I wish they would be more of a "rock" band in the way they perform (no click, GA pit up front, no backing tracks, no ushers in the aisles, rotating sets), but have for a long time now, accepted that will not be the case and try to enjoy it the way they present it the best I can.
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The spontaneity and unknown about what you might see at a DT concert is long missing.
:tup
It is? See, I think this is overrated. Other than a rotating setlist, the MP Era shows weren't that different. They may have had some improv spots, like Solitary Shell '09, but overall those shows were still pretty straightforward.
The 97-98 shows did seemed to have some spontaneity to them, but I chalk that up to MP being in WTF mode.
I disagree Tim. There was definitely more spontaneity than that. Maybe not so much with the 2005-2010 tours, but for World Tourbulence and the Train of Thought tour there was much more of a "anything can happen" feel of not knowing what's gonna happen next, and that's not just due to the rotating setlists.
The two tours I missed. ;D
Scott, you were there for multiple shows on those tours, so I'll take your word for it. Unfortunately all I have is a bunch of boots from those tours that I have seen and heard.
Sure, you had Rush covers in Toronto and cover albums, but those were planned. I think the internet was less developed than it is now. I'm sure there was a certain amount of mystery going to those shows, but to me, the boots tell me they were fairly straightforward. It's been a while since I did a boot run through those tours though.
I also consider the ToT as the single greatest tour by any band. They had so much better material than the SD's tour and the shows felt more epic.
I'm not saying there was NO spontaneity, or disagreeing that there was more then than there is now. I'm just saying that that aspect of their show was a tad overrated. I didn't see those tours, but I had seen them 10 times up to that point. I never felt..gee anything can happen.
I would motion that those tours you mentioned were the outliers, actually. Not discounting the '97-'98 shows where MP was in Fuck It mode.
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The spontaneity and unknown about what you might see at a DT concert is long missing.
:tup
It is? See, I think this is overrated. Other than a rotating setlist, the MP Era shows weren't that different. They may have had some improv spots, like Solitary Shell '09, but overall those shows were still pretty straightforward.
The 97-98 shows did seemed to have some spontaneity to them, but I chalk that up to MP being in WTF mode.
Yup, and the rotating set lists didn't work out well for me more often than not.
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All setlists were certainly not created equal, I'll give you that.
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Yup, and the rotating set lists didn't work out well for me more often than not.
Aren't you in LA?
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Yup, and the rotating set lists didn't work out well for me more often than not.
Aren't you in LA?
Socal.
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Actually they didn't. That wasn't premiered until the last leg of the IWaB tour in 2017. Maybe you're thinking of TLF, Eve, CME, WAYN or TWiUtB? And they didn't play Hartford, but did play New Haven on that brief run of shows.
https://mptour.mikeportnoy.com/dates/MPTourography/ShowList.aspx?tourId=33
Oops, I didn't mean to suggest that they played Don't Look Past in 1998, but rather I was making a separate comment to TAC's post above mine on spontaneity. Should have double-quoted, but that formatting attempt would probably take me over my skis.
EDIT: But I can certainly see how my statement was confusing.
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Yeah, those are some mad skis! :lol
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Yup, and the rotating set lists didn't work out well for me more often than not.
Aren't you in LA?
Socal.
I used to live in Sandy Eggo, so I probably hit all the same shows as you, but I thought all the setlists - especially for the LA shows - were always top notch. Then again, looking at the current DT survivor threads, we seem to be almost diametrically opposed on our favorites from each album, so I guess that would explain it. :P
Yeah, those are some mad skis! :lol
Downhill or cross country? :lol
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All setlists were certainly not created equal, I'll give you that.
True that. It was always fun to follow the tour online to see what the set lists were for every show, but there were definitely ones where it was like, "Jeez, I am glad I wasn't at that one." :lol :lol
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All setlists were certainly not created equal, I'll give you that.
True that. It was always fun to follow the tour online to see what the set lists were for every show, but there were definitely ones where it was like, "Jeez, I am glad I wasn't at that one." :lol :lol
That might be true, but then there could be someone who's favorite tracks are the complete opposite of yours that thought it was the best setlist ever. Hard to please all the fans all the time. But even if they weren't always to everyone's liking, MP deserves major props for investing all the time and energy that he did to make sure that each setlist was not only significantly different from other shows within the vicinity (relatively speaking), but also from when they performed in the same city on previous tours.
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All setlists were certainly not created equal, I'll give you that.
True that. It was always fun to follow the tour online to see what the set lists were for every show, but there were definitely ones where it was like, "Jeez, I am glad I wasn't at that one." :lol :lol
That might be true, but then there could be someone who's favorite tracks are the complete opposite of yours that thought it was the best setlist ever. Hard to please all the fans all the time. But even if they weren't always to everyone's liking, MP deserves major props for investing all the time and energy that he did to make sure that each setlist was not only significantly different from other shows within the vicinity (relatively speaking), but also from when they performed in the same city on previous tours.
Well, let's be serious, making up different set lists isn't that difficult or time-consuming, but it was always cool when random stuff got unexpectedly played out of nowhere. I think Petrucci has mostly done a great job with them in the last 10 years, but it would be cool to see a slot or two a night left open to where anything could be played instead of the exact same set list every night. The way Rush did it on their last few tours where most of the set list stayed the same, but a handful of spots were rotated each night, is the way to go.
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That might be true, but then there could be someone who's favorite tracks are the complete opposite of yours that thought it was the best setlist ever.
Yes, this is true. Can't argue there. ;D
But even if they weren't always to everyone's liking, MP deserves major props for investing all the time and energy that he did to make sure that each setlist was not only significantly different from other shows within the vicinity (relatively speaking), but also from when they performed in the same city on previous tours.
Oh hell yes, I agree.
And as Kev says, the setlists over the last decade have been pretty damn good with lots of variety from tour to tour.
I do think the rotating setlists was one of the coolest things they did though.
Still, it'd be cool to see them do something different every now and then, like the obligatory Rush cover in Toronto.
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I'd say it's impressive that they've played a little over half of the MP era catalog live with MM, while still managing to include most of their new material with Mangini for each tour.
My only real complaint about their current setlists is that they've been playing AIA, PMU and TSCO A LOT during this era, and I'd bet that's mostly JP's call.
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But even if they weren't always to everyone's liking, MP deserves major props for investing all the time and energy that he did to make sure that each setlist was not only significantly different from other shows within the vicinity (relatively speaking), but also from when they performed in the same city on previous tours.
I mean...yes and no. I give him credit for thinking of the fans, but I think a lot of the things he did were designed to benefit a small minority of fans, often to the detriment of the majority. For example, who finds it valuable if the set list for a show in Los Angeles is "significantly different" than the set list for a show in San Diego two days later? The answer, of course, is that someone who attends both shows might find that valuable. However, let's say that both venues have a capacity of 5,000. How many folks are attending both shows? Maybe 50-100? Now let's say that there are 2,500 fans who see Song X in the San Diego set list and get excited about that. However, because of the rotating set list, they get Song B instead. Sucks to be the 2,500, but at least the 50-100 are happy. Of course, there may also be folks who are more excited about Song B than Song A, but you get the point.
As far as having a set list that is "significantly different . . . from when they performed in the same city on previous tours," that's a mixed bag too, because it's completely possible to swap out a song that I really want to hear for one I don't. PG: "They didn't play Metropolis. That sucks." SS: "Yeah, but they played The Great Debate." PG: "Well, at least that gave me an opportunity to duck out and use the restroom."
Well, let's be serious, making up different set lists isn't that difficult or time-consuming, but it was always cool when random stuff got unexpectedly played out of nowhere. I think Petrucci has mostly done a great job with them in the last 10 years, but it would be cool to see a slot or two a night left open to where anything could be played instead of the exact same set list every night. The way Rush did it on their last few tours where most of the set list stayed the same, but a handful of spots were rotated each night, is the way to go.
It's not the making of the set lists that is time consuming. Rather, it's the maintaining of the records to allow you to know what was played on prior tours. That's the thing for me...MP spent so much time on this stuff, but I think it had very little tangible payoff.
My only real complaint about their current setlists is that they've been playing AIA, PMU and TSCO A LOT during this era, and I'd bet that's mostly JP's call.
Of the five MM-era shows I've seen (none of which were on the TA tour), they've done AIA once, PMU thrice and TSCO only at the SFAM anniversary show. While I'm not the biggest PMU fan (simply because they have so much else that I like better), it's their Tom Sawyer, and it always goes over well live.
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I will +1 to what others have been saying, that even though the tour setlists are mostly static now, JP has done a great job of mixing them up each tour so we do get a crazy amount of variety over the years since MM joined. I also very much applaud the effort of sneaking in those rare songs on the US leg of the I&W&B tour. Sucks the audiences non reaction nixed Don't Look Past Me by the time I caught the tour but at least getting To Live Forever was awesome (even if it's not a favorite track of mine).
On that note, I should add that IMO, it was a wrong choice to cut some TA songs from the set to make room for a couple of the "classics". The right move was always to tack those onto an encore at the end of TA. That wouldn't of even pushed those concerts to 3 hours and would have made everyone happy. I really didn't understand that decision. I'd be so pissed if I went to a TA show and they almost played the whole thing. It would just feel off to me. But then again, I was a relatively big TA fan.
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IIRC, the reason they shelved some songs from TA and played the three classics I listed on my previous post was because the 2nd US leg of the tour got booked wrong and they ended up playing almost the same areas than the 1st, but with the same exact set/show, so audiences weren't as big as they expected.
But, yeah, it would've sucked to get almost all of TA, but not TA in full, only to get some of their most played songs ever.
My only real complaint about their current setlists is that they've been playing AIA, PMU and TSCO A LOT during this era, and I'd bet that's mostly JP's call.
Of the five MM-era shows I've seen (none of which were on the TA tour), they've done AIA once, PMU thrice and TSCO only at the SFAM anniversary show. While I'm not the biggest PMU fan (simply because they have so much else that I like better), it's their Tom Sawyer, and it always goes over well live.
I'd say you just got lucky :P
If we list all their tours since 2011, we have:
1. ADTOE Tour: PMU, TSCO, AIA - depending on the tour leg
2. AFTR Tour: PMU (festivals only)
3. 30th Anniversary Tour: TSCO, AIA
4. TA Tour: PMU, TSCO, AIA - 2nd US leg
5. IW&B Tour: PMU, AIA, TSCO (first couple shows and then it replaced TLF)
6. D/T SFAM tour: PMU (first US leg), TSCO, AIA (festivals only)
But these are just nitpicks, really. Like I said before I did the math a while ago and since 2011 they've played live a little bit over 50% of the back catalog, and that is counting all the b-sides/non album tracks. They've played most of the MM era catalog too. That's quite impressive for a band with as much material as they have.
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I was at the show at Toad's Place in New Haven. It was my second show after seeing them at their second date in New London for the Home for the Holidays show the previous year.
Scotty, my name is Mark and we've met a number of times at shows in LA. I think you even complimented me on my Home for the Holidays or Fix for 96 long sleave that I wore to an SFAM date at the HOB in LA in 2000.
I really loved the Fix for 96 shows. I think I was aware they were gonna play new songs. I may have been surprised they didn't play Raise the Knife as that was a title floating around since 95. I remember being really into the new arrangements of the older songs. I loved that they didn't play all of ACOS straight through as I didn't really love that song at that time. Though revisiting it throughout the show was an inspired idea. And I actually would have thought it was even cooler if they actually revisited it a few more times and played the whole song. It was also the first time I'd heard "Another Hand" and I loved that. Burning My Soul and LITS were early favorites. I also preferred the more power ballad of TAMP to what ended up on FII. I remember all the arrangements so well as I had a bootleg copy of the New Haven show, but I think I lost it in 98. Scotty, do you have a copy of that show?
A few years later when they did the more stripped down shows around the holidays I remember there were disappointed fans who didn't know the shows were going to be special ones, and I was surprised that people weren't more aware. But then not everyone at those shows were on the YtseJam mailing list.
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Old Bridge, New Jersey show for me in '96! :metal
December 14, 1996 Birch Hell
December 15, 1996 Rush Meadowlands Arena.
It was quite the weekend.
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Old Bridge, New Jersey show for me in '96! :metal
December 14, 1996 Birch Hell
December 15, 1996 Rush Meadowlands Arena.
It was quite the weekend.
Now that is quite the 1-2 punch right there! :tup