Do you like medleys (at concerts)?

[KevShmev]

I will go with option 4. 

They are good on rare occasions, but are usually nothing but a big tease.  You are just getting into a song and then they randomly go into another one, and by the time you figure out what the next song is and start to get into that, they move to something else again.  Pass.

[bosk1]

I went with the middle option.  But a more accurate statement of how I feel would just be:  it depends.  I'm fine with a good medley.  I'm also fine not having one and getting a full song.  It just depends on the medley.  I think it also largely depends on how familiar I am with the material, too.  For example, The Big Medley on the A Change of Seasons EP is awesome.  For the songs in that that I know well, they captured some of the best moments, and had some awesome transitions.  For the ones I was less familiar with, it was nice not having to sit through the entire song.  Another example of one I really liked was the Queen medley that JSS did on Sons of Apollo's last tour.  It was a well done and creative take on the songs he mashed up, and it just worked well.

[Crow]

I don't like covers or medleys in general, so

[Samsara]

I like them here and there, but not all the time. Overall, I prefer full performances of songs.

[Stadler]

I'm with Bosk, I think.   LOVE the Big Medley on ACOS.   I always liked the "The Lamb.../Musical Box" medley on Seconds Out.  LOVE the "In The Cage" Medley on 3SL (perhaps my favorite recorded moment).   I don't care for medleys that seem a sop to a certain fan base (both Rush and Genesis used to put medleys in that seemed only to serve as a "STFU" to a sector of a fanbase).   I was NOT a fan of the Instrumedley, which seemingly had four bars here, three bars there, four bars back to song I, two bars tere, back to song one for a bar and a half, then three bars of song two, etc.    Not true, I know, but it seemed it. 

Put a different way:  when used to throw a bone and cover an entire sector of the catalogue, no.  When a very creative, new way of presenting a song or two, yes.  When a creative way of having fun with a set of covers (like the old Genesis ending to "Turn It On Again", even if I didn't like the songs they chose), yes.   

Best medley ever (by a long shot): Suite Charlotte Pike/Abbey Road medley.

[Adami]

Yea, it really depends.

Metallica's Justice Medley back in the day was pretty cool. So it's neat if you're familiar with the material but the concert is just too long and can't hold much more.

[Lonk]

I rarely been to shows where they play medleys. But every time there is one it has been good.

[ProfessorPeart]

I am pretty much in total agreement with Kev.

[DTA]

Hate them. They always leave out the parts I like so they can get the "big" parts of the song in order to justify it being in a medley. The only medley I like is probably the Instrumedley because they hit pretty much every great moment of their instrumentals.

[The Walrus]

The only band that has ever done a medley that has kept my interest is Voyager. The Voyager Medley is one of the most fun parts of their shows.

I don't think I have ever sat through the Instrumedley on the DT Budokan DVD. Talk about way too much noodling boredom.

EDIT: Correction. The medleys on DT's ACOS EP are fantastic. But that's about the only other one I've been able to think of that I actually like.

[Setlist Scotty]

Option 2 for me. Unless a medley is poorly put together and doesn't flow well, I'm perfectly happy with a medley.
 
 

I was NOT a fan of the Instrumedley, which seemingly had four bars here, three bars there, four bars back to song I, two bars tere, back to song one for a bar and a half, then three bars of song two, etc.    Not true, I know, but it seemed it.

I'm on the complete opposite end of the spectrum on that one - I LOVE the Instrumedley and would love to see a sequel made up of a whole different batch of songs. I happened to see it performed for the first time, and it made my head swim just trying to keep up with all the changes and the way they jumped from one song to another. To me it was amazing and absolutely mind blowing, not having known anything about it before.

[bosk1]

^I felt that way about Instrumedley when I saw it live, and the first few times I saw it on DVD.  But it doesn't really have much long-term replayability for me.

[KevShmev]

The Instrumedley is impressive from a technical standpoint, but it's too random and over the place to enjoy.

It seems like some enjoy medleys they knew were coming, like if you saw the track listing of the Big Medley on the ACOS CD, but knowing a medley is coming and then being there live and not knowing a medley is coming are two very different things.

[Cool Chris]

Won't go so far as to say I hate them, but I generally dislike them.

Since it is sort of a side-topic that has come up here, I don't like covers either. If you got more than a couple albums under your belt, play your own stuff. Exceptions allowed for taking a song and making it your own, like The Who did with Summertime Blues, for example. That was a staple of their shows in the early 70s, and a beastly one at that. Don't play other bands' music in their style. The cover bands at the local casino can take care of that.

[pg1067]

Put me in the "it depends" group.

I liked when Rush opened one of its tours a while back with snippets from one song from each album through...I don't remember how far they went, but it was at least through Hemispheres.

[jammindude]

I'm with Bosk, I think.   LOVE the Big Medley on ACOS.   I always liked the "The Lamb.../Musical Box" medley on Seconds Out.  LOVE the "In The Cage" Medley on 3SL (perhaps my favorite recorded moment).   I don't care for medleys that seem a sop to a certain fan base (both Rush and Genesis used to put medleys in that seemed only to serve as a "STFU" to a sector of a fanbase).   I was NOT a fan of the Instrumedley, which seemingly had four bars here, three bars there, four bars back to song I, two bars tere, back to song one for a bar and a half, then three bars of song two, etc.    Not true, I know, but it seemed it. 

Put a different way:  when used to throw a bone and cover an entire sector of the catalogue, no.  When a very creative, new way of presenting a song or two, yes.  When a creative way of having fun with a set of covers (like the old Genesis ending to "Turn It On Again", even if I didn't like the songs they chose), yes.   

Best medley ever (by a long shot): Suite Charlotte Pike/Abbey Road medley.

EVERY WORD OF THIS.   Especially the Suite Charlotte Pike/Abbey Road medley. 

There really isn't an option for what I would choose.   Because I *love* them when they are done well, and don't like them when they are not.

[Lethean]

It depends for me as well.  But I'm with Scotty on the instrumedley.  I thought it was awesome.

[Cool Chris]

Instrumedley was indeed awesome. Except for the LTE songs. I had no idea what the hell they were playing during those spots. I thought they were old Majesty demos or some other random DT material that never made it on an album.

[Zydar]

I usually don't, but Rush's R30 Overture was kind of neat. And Instrumedley too.

[MirrorMask]

One more vote for the "it depends" category. I'm generally in favor of complete songs but if done right, they can be cool.

[MoraWintersoul]

Had to pick the second option because of this Amorphis three song medley and this Children Of Bodom two song mashup.

I like it when bands play the first song up to the end of the chorus or longer and then switch up. If anyone knows any more live medleys like these throw them my way.

[Dave_Manchester]

If it's for a special 'event' where time is limited then I don't mind them, and sometimes they can even be great. Queen at Live Aid or The Who at Super Bowl 44 for example. But at a regular concert of the band I'm almost never a fan (if The Who played only snippets of Won't Get Fooled Again as part of a medley I'd be leading the riot).

The exception that springs to mind is DT's instrumedley. I love that. But Schmedley Wilcox? Nope. Trial of Tears, Octavarium and In The Name of God are 3 of my favourite DT tracks. Giving me bits and pieces of them is some serious musical blue-balling for me. I appreciate why they do it but personally I'd rather they gave the time over to 2 complete songs.

Roughly on this topic, a couple of weekends back I was thinking about if Dream Theater were invited to do the Super Bowl half-time show (I was tipsy, bear with me) and got to thinking how I would come up with a 15-minute medley that showcases the band to an audience of around 110 million people. It was really difficult to do, to make things connect and flow naturally. That's why I appreciate how they did Instrumedley. It has the occasional sharp turn but on the whole I find it a smooth ride.

[Mladen]

They're usually just a tease that leaves me wanting to hear the entire song. Sometimes they're extremely well done and can be exciting because of their unpredictability, but most of the time they're lackluster. I have to say, The Neal Morse Band made up a terrific medley on their current tour.

[ReaperKK]

It depends on whether or not a song I wanted to hear live is in the medley.

If I hear a medley and a song I want to see starts playing I always think "damn I wish they played the whole thing"

[KevShmev]

I have to say, The Neal Morse Band made up a terrific medley on their current tour.

I will be curious to hear how that comes off, but, again, I think that is a good example of many of us knowing it is coming, so we will be able to handle it and won't be as turned off by it had we not known it is coming.

Back in the day, pre-internet, it seems like most friends who were older than me who went to a lot of concerts in the 80's didn't care for medleys. These were Rush fans who were always cringing at the medleys they'd end up doing (Xanadu into Superconductor on the Roll the Bones was the biggest WTF ever), although I do think the R30 Overture was well done, especially since most of the songs included in that were ones they would never play live in full anymore, so it was cool to at least get parts of those songs.  And the "medley" on the Hold Your Fire tour was awesome, although calling it a medley might be overstating it since they played all of the first 2 parts of 2112 (which they did live quite a bit), most of La Villa Strangiato and then about half of In the Mood before playing that extended outro.

[MirrorMask]

If I hear a medley and a song I want to see starts playing I always think "damn I wish they played the whole thing"

Not a proper medley, but when back in the day DT opened with ACOS' Innocence, and then went into The Mirror only to switch to Just Let Me Breathe after the Puppies on Acid part, that was brutal.

[nattmorker]

I've really liked the medleys I've heard: The Justice Medley (Metallica), The Aquarius Medley (Haken), The Instrumedley/The Big Medley/Schmedley Wilcox (Dream Theater). So, my answer is #1.

[Stadler]

Let's answer Dave's hypothetical:

I'd start with Metropolis (the intro), I'd do a bit of Fatal Tragedy (or something with a little power, but a singable, hummable chorus), I'd do a bit of Dance Of Eternity (let's flex our musical muscles a little bit), then I'd do a bit of either To Live Forever or I Walk Beside You (or anything with a singable, hummable chorus but maybe a little more 4/4 than DoE), and finish up with Pull Me Under (something with some pump but has broad appeal).

[TAC]

I hate medleys. Play me the songs proper.

[KevShmev]

Not a proper medley, but when back in the day DT opened with ACOS' Innocence, and then went into The Mirror only to switch to Just Let Me Breathe after the Puppies on Acid part, that was brutal.

I remember getting Once in a LiveTime (way back when I actually would buy a live album) and A Change of Seasons being broken up the way it was over the course of the whole show was a major WTF.  That has to be one of the most bizarre and curious set list decisions ever.

I hate medleys. Play me the songs proper.

Ultimately, this is where I land.  Why spend all of that time in the studio crafting the song and getting it just right, only to break it into pieces and chop it up live? 

[Anxiety35]

It depends on who the band is and what the medley is like. Some bands do a good job with medleys and others don't. Sometimes a song is too good to shorten it and include it in a medley, but bands do that. Sometimes a band will play too much of a song in a medley.

Medleys are basically for giving the audience a taste of an album or songs. It's usually fan-favorite parts of songs or albums. Due to set length times or curfew they can't play all the songs.

In the early 90's (black album tour) Metallica did a medley for And Justice For All that I thought was really good.
https://youtu.be/ZFqDt2Xq0aY

Metallica's medley for Kill 'Em All & Ride The Lightning is good also.
https://youtu.be/l0mHJmUddzo?t=93

Dream Theater's "Instrumedley" is pretty awesome.

[nattmorker]

I remember getting Once in a LiveTime (way back when I actually would buy a live album) and A Change of Seasons being broken up the way it was over the course of the whole show was a major WTF.  That has to be one of the most bizarre and curious set list decisions ever.

For me it was interesting and I liked it, it was interesting to listen and appreciate every part of ACOS separately and hear how they stand on their own.

[TAC]

Dream Theater's "Instrumedley" is pretty awesome.

I do like that because it's king of unique.

What I don't like is playing the first verse and chorus on four different songs.

I like songs. Don't treat me like a cheap whore!

[Dedalus]

I was NOT a fan of the Instrumedley, which seemingly had four bars here, three bars there, four bars back to song I, two bars tere, back to song one for a bar and a half, then three bars of song two, etc.    Not true, I know, but it seemed it. 
   

The 20-year-old version of me used to love Instrumedley. Recently, while watching the MP/JP playing it, I asked myself "Why?"

[Progmetty]

No, but I absolutely love DT's Instrumedley. I think it flows outstandingly perfect up to the LTE stuff, the rest is not bad but doesn't hit the right feels.