Here's a controversial opinion for ya'll;
I absolutely cannot STAND what DT is doing to the ending of Space Dye Vest for this tour.
The outro to the album version is one of my favorite DT moments ever with that nice low chord progression by Petrucci that shakes my speakers and gives me goosebumps, and that tasty synth melody by Moore. Great great ending to Awake.
...and they've already done that, and done that perfectly, and committed it to CD!
Everyone always feared that Space Dye Vest wouldn't transfer to a live environment. I think those fears proved largely unfounded, and they've generally done an excellent job, but I can imagine that ending, which sounds huge and climactic on the album, wouldn't sound so magical in the context of three hours' keyboard wizardry. There's a
way that it sounds, which isn't necessarily down to the notes played - Blind Faith has the same thing, where there's a sort of aura about it that's in its mix and its warmth as much as any of the notes played, and they've never quite been able to reproduce it live.
To put it another way - why make an inferior copy when you might be able to achieve something that's incredible in its own right? When the live album comes out, for some people that's going to be the definitive version of SDV. It's going to miss its mark for others - yourself included, regrettably! - but I don't think there's much point in slavishly replicating a song like Space Dye note for note, and I think they've made it sound more Dream Theater and more a part of the album without betraying the soul of the original.
I gotta be perfectly honest, I think the song is a bit lost on them anyway.
Cripes, really? You think it takes a level of musical intelligence beyond John Petrucci to appreciate a song as
deep and sophisticated as Space-Dye Vest, and you think you are that musical intelligence? They don't sit about listening to music that sounds like Dream Theater all day long - they've got range, and breadth of taste! SDV is well within that remit. If they didn't understand it, I'm not sure why you think they'd have put it on Awake ahead of Eve.