Are the 2015 European summer tour venues smaller than usual?

[ResultsMayVary]

I kind of wish they alternated between playing the Awake and Scenes spots between shows. Sort of like use the second set for Awake one night and for Scenes another night. That way they could of changed up the encores and maybe add a track or two to the master setlist. But for the DVD, I like that they played both and maybe could have did that just for the DVD while maintaining the swapping between the album spots.

[KevShmev]

I totally disagree.  For Awake, and especially Space Dye Vest, fans, that would have sucked to see them on the off night.  That is one thing I really like about DT nowadays.  If they pull out something rare or special, you are probably getting it every night, instead of just here and there.  While Portnoy did a good job with the set lists in the "old days," the tendency to bring back rarely played songs and then only play them at certain shows was often disappointing.  Imagine being a big fan of ACOS and seeing them on one of the off nights on the ToT tour.

[The Curious Orange]

Yeah, but imagine being at that show! I like "collecting" songs - I can listen to a DT album and think "oh, I've seen this song live 5 times" or "oh, I've only seen this song live once". Being at a DT gig and having them play an unexpected song is a real joy (like when they played Misunderstood at Leeds a few years ago). Missing that gig just makes you keener to catch that song next time. It's like trainspotting.

[cramx3]

There is some truth to that, I can proudly say I saw the only live performance of Repentance, but at the same time I get the argument that those songs should be played at all shows because it sucks for the fans.  I like A/B set lists.  With the rotating songs being more of the "classics" that get played more often.

[mikeyd23]

For the record, I saw DT on both the ADTOE tour and the DT12 tour and loved both shows. I get the Pros of the static setlist for sure. Overall tighter show and I'm all for it.

I agree the best of both worlds seems to be the ADTOE tour approach with the A and B sets, maybe even...C? You would then get people to travel to more than one show (possibly) if enough songs rotated in and out of the sets, and the shows would still be tight from a production standpoint.

[ResultsMayVary]

For the record, I saw DT on both the ADTOE tour and the DT12 tour and loved both shows. I get the Pros of the static setlist for sure. Overall tighter show and I'm all for it.

I agree the best of both worlds seems to be the ADTOE tour approach with the A and B sets, maybe even...C? You would then get people to travel to more than one show (possibly) if enough songs rotated in and out of the sets, and the shows would still be tight from a production standpoint.

I saw them on the second NA leg of the ADTOE tour in both Columbus and Cleveland. They played the same set each night. That frustrates me because it's only a 2 hour drive between the two cities in the same state and the shows were a few nights apart with Columbus being first and Cleveland two days later with an off-day in between. I really wish they did the A/B sets here so my friends and I who went to both shows could have seen some different songs in addition to the classics and new songs that were played.

[Laughingplace56]

IMO, I think the best plan of attack is a mostly static set, for the new material and some rarer, deeper cuts, and then pick 6 or 7 classic songs and swap those each night. For example, let's say they play 20 songs a night during a tour. The classic songs they tend to play the most are Pull Me Under, Metropolis, Spirit Carries On, Under A Glass Moon, Take the Time, Lie, Strange Deja Vu, Learning to Live, Another Day, and Surrounded, according to setlist.fm. So, for Setlist A, maybe they'll do PMU, UAGM, Another Day, Strange Deja Vu and Take the Time. Then Setlist B will fill those spots with Metropolis, Spirit, Lie, Learning to Live and Surrounded, and that way everyone will get to see the rarer songs, but not have to worry about seeing the same 8-10 songs every tour cycle, with a few new songs and 2 or 3 rarer ones.

[ResultsMayVary]

IMO, I think the best plan of attack is a mostly static set, for the new material and some rarer, deeper cuts, and then pick 6 or 7 classic songs and swap those each night. For example, let's say they play 20 songs a night during a tour. The classic songs they tend to play the most are Pull Me Under, Metropolis, Spirit Carries On, Under A Glass Moon, Take the Time, Lie, Strange Deja Vu, Learning to Live, Another Day, and Surrounded, according to setlist.fm. So, for Setlist A, maybe they'll do PMU, UAGM, Another Day, Strange Deja Vu and Take the Time. Then Setlist B will fill those spots with Metropolis, Spirit, Lie, Learning to Live and Surrounded, and that way everyone will get to see the rarer songs, but not have to worry about seeing the same 8-10 songs every tour cycle, with a few new songs and 2 or 3 rarer ones.

I think you will find that they majority of people here would agree with something like this.

Static sets are good because the show is usually tighter and better sounding, but everyone misses going to multiple shows and seeing a somewhat different show with each concert. It's not unreasonable to think a setlist A/B approach to a tour would be hard to get the best of both worlds. Especially since there would be certain songs (newer songs and some classics) that would be plated every show anyway.

[?]

Honestly, if you look at the ADTOE set lists, the static set list on the DT12 tour, and what they are playing this summer, they have done a really good job with the set lists in the Mangini era.  By my count, they have played nearly 60 original DT songs.  Just because they aren't rotating them from night to night like they used to, doesn't mean they aren't still doing a great job.  Most of the songs being played this summer hadn't been played in the Mangini era prior to this.

This summer tour setlist includes zero repeats from last year - I can think of very few bands that change up their setlists between tours to the same extent. As a person who only gets to attend one DT concert per tour I care a lot more about the variety between tours and the tightness of the show than the rotation of songs between shows over the course of one tour.

[gulranek]

Woodstock Poland - apparently 750,000 people were there, according to DT's facebook!

Wacken - around a hundred thousand people maybe?

So I guess the mean number of spectators has risen a little bit. 

[CharlesPL]

Woodstock Poland - apparently 750,000 people were there, according to DT's facebook!

I was there, 4th row (1st row to see all band, really high stage) along JP side of course , great show (expect James ,but i think better than a Wacken fest) this was my 5th show on this leg.Sadly we don't have a live stream.

Set :

False Awakening Suite (intro tape)

1.Afterlife
2.Metropolis pt.1
3.Burning My Soul
4.The Spirit Carries On
5.As I Am
6.Panic Attack
7.Bridges In The Sky
8.Behind The Veil

Videos :

https://www.cgm.pl/galeria_hq.php?gallery_ID=41371


AiA :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q6CFdbxfwg

BtV :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVb8kizelBs


Photos :

https://www.cgm.pl/galeria_hq.php?gallery_ID=41371

(+ review - very positive)
https://woodstockfestival.pl/pl//przystanek_woodstock/aktualnosci/muzyczny_spektakl

[|KirK|]

Honestly, if you look at the ADTOE set lists, the static set list on the DT12 tour, and what they are playing this summer, they have done a really good job with the set lists in the Mangini era.  By my count, they have played nearly 60 original DT songs.  Just because they aren't rotating them from night to night like they used to, doesn't mean they aren't still doing a great job.  Most of the songs being played this summer hadn't been played in the Mangini era prior to this.

This summer tour setlist includes zero repeats from last year - I can think of very few bands that change up their setlists between tours to the same extent. As a person who only gets to attend one DT concert per tour I care a lot more about the variety between tours and the tightness of the show than the rotation of songs between shows over the course of one tour.

I agree with you, but... Last year I went to 2 concerts, the first on January and the second some months later... I loved the setlist but I expected at least a few changes... Next tour probably I'll go only once!!

[gulranek]

I was there, 4th row (1st row to see all band, really high stage) along JP side of course , great show (expect James ,but i think better than a Wacken fest) this was my 5th show on this leg.Sadly we don't have a live stream.

I saw the festival schedule, they were on after Within Temptation, after midnight? Too bad they only had the time to do a shorter set... How did the crowd react? How the heck did 750,000 people get around the venue, how did they manage to listen to the show? I truly can't imagine a crowd of such size attending any festival! Just incredible!

Also, that was some nice exposure for the band, and a nice career milestone - not everyone can say that they played in front of such a crowd.

Although they might have dropped Afterlife and went in straight with Metropolis, leaving time for Constant Motion or Wither, which would be more crowd-friendly, and easier on James' voice.

How was he in relation to Wacken?