A message from the band regarding recent European dates

[bosk1]

Directly from the band:

The band understands that some of the shows on this recent leg were mistakenly billed as "SFAM 20th Anniversary" shows (for a very short time, which has since been corrected).  Please understand that that information did not come from the band, but was apparently a miscommunication issue somewhere farther down the chain.  As most of you know, SFAM alone will take up an entire set, which means it can only be played in an "evening with" format, and not at festival shows or shows with opening bands.  We are sorry if anyone was misled, but we hope you enjoyed these very special shows nonetheless.  We know we sure enjoyed playing them!  We hope to see you all again soon!

I can also say that I spoke directly to JP, and he is really sorry for any misunderstanding.  He truly wants fans to always leave DT shows happy every single time.

[gzarruk]

Glad to see the band address this, as we've seen many complaints from European fans in the last couple days. I think they could/should share this statement in social media, most of these fans don't read DTF.

[nikatapi]

Good they acknowledge the misunderstanding, unfortunately some damage has been done and i've seen people sell their tickets already.
I would understand someone who hasn't seen the band for almost a decade who would expect at least a longer set.

[Fritzinger]

Not amused by this at all. The show they are playing in Dresden is not a festival show and I see no reason for such a short set. I paid 90€ for good seats. I have my final year-exam that day and won't be with my friends that night, but drive 6 hours home immediately after the exam to make the concert. For 90 minutes of DT. Nobody wants to see Vola instead of another hour of DT at those ticket prices (sorry Vola). I am seriously pissed.

[Lifeamongtheruins]

Not amused by this at all. The show they are playing in Dresden is not a festival show and I see no reason for such a short set. I paid 90€ for good seats. I have my final year-exam that day and won't be with my friends that night, but drive 6 hours home immediately after the exam to make the concert. For 90 minutes of DT. Nobody wants to see Vola instead of another hour of DT at those ticket prices (sorry Vola). I am seriously pissed.

I feel you. The concert I'm supposed to go to is much more comfortable to me, but nobody has announced a support act. There wasn't even the usual "+special guests" thing they usually put when they don't know who the other band(s) will be. So I don't see how it counts as a festival appearance, and they don't seem to have to cut their set because they have a ton of supporting bands.

edit: I went to their Facebook page (I don't have an account) and saw that there should be Jason Richardson and Luke Holland. However, I still think it should have been handled better, because this whole thing wasn't clear at all. The announcement came a month and a half after the tickets went on sale, and I had to buy my ticket as soon as possible because the venue always sells out in a few days. Plus, I still think they could play a couple more songs.

[TAC]

Certainly feel bad for all of you guys...


But...I thought the band was pretty clear from the jump that the summer shows were not going to be Scenes shows. They did say they would return to Europe with the full show after the summer.

Don't these countries have fan clubs and stuff that are in contact with the band? Maybe contact is too strong.

Are there contracts with promoters on how they will be promoted? Does the band have to approve all promo materials?

My first thought is the usual..Does this kind of thing happen with MP in the band? I'm only half joking.

[Ben_Jamin]

That sucks for you all, and i feel for you.

But, The band did say they are not playing SFAM this summer run. Also, the band did not say they were doing an evening with show on their non-festival headlining dates. Which, from my experience at shows here, means there will be supporting acts.

 I check what time the shows start and then work my way to see how long the set will be (as we have curfew so the shows always end around the same time). Usually, promoters will put the headlining band on the ads (at first), then sometimes after the tickets go on sale, they'll add who'll be the supporting act or opening local band.

Honestly, I can see why you guys are upset yet dont get why people are that upset that they won't even see the band play.

[Evermind]

Honestly, I can see why you guys are upset yet dont get why people are that upset that they won't even see the band play.

One issue could be the ticket prices. I bought my ticket when it was on 30% discount, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered with the gig—because I knew it would be a shorter one in advance, mostly thanks to this forum. It was like 1,5 times more expensive (without discount) than most of the gigs I admitted this year, including a 3-hours Avantasia show with multiple singers.

[Pettor]

To be fair I found it confusing when tickets was released and only thanks to this community understood what the plan was. I still haven't understood that they will be coming back with full set in Europe. Is this confirmed?

Hehe actually found my initial question and saw that I first thought it was 3 hours set until noxon and others pointed out the festival part 

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=53021.msg2498057#msg2498057

[Lethean]

I think it's been mentioned in interviews that that's the plan.

I totally understand why people are upset and don't have any caveats to add.  I've read some interviews that lead me to believe SFAM wasn't going to be presented this summer, but not everyone reads/listens to interviews.  Also, I'm pretty sure I became aware of this after tickets for some of the European shows went on sale, not before.  I think it's completely understandable that fans would be confused.

Clearly, this wasn't something the band did intentionally and they of course don't want fans to be upset.  If it were me and I'd already spent money on nonrefundable things like airfare, then I'd go and make the best of it.  If it was just a concert ticket and I'd have to travel 6 hours... maybe I'd try to sell my ticket and save myself the trouble.  The band apologized, and that's a good first step.  But I think they should soon also address making sure this doesn't happen in the future.  Someone working for the band should be tasked with communicating what the show will be to local promoters and providing promotional material that they can use - or at least approved promotional wording.  Promoters might not know what bands are going to open the show, but the promotion could say Dream Theater 90 minute set + special guests TBD, or something along those lines.  Someone dropped the ball here and it wasn't the band... but the band and their team should have an interest in making sure they stay on top of this from here on out.

[Evermind]

To be fair I found it confusing when tickets was released and only thanks to this community understood what the plan was. I still haven't understood that they will be coming back with full set in Europe. Is this confirmed?

I'm going to actually rant about this a bit, and just so you guys know, I have an immense respect for the band and this post has absolutely no intention to slight the band and the management in any way.

I knew from the get-go that the summer run of the shows will be the festivals. Now, DT management says they'll come back to Europe with the second leg with the "Evening with" format, and this'll probably come to fruition too. But I had, and to this very moment, have no idea if they'll actually come to my country with this second leg. Because hey—and I know it's on promoters, not on the band—we didn't get the Astonishing tour at all, we didn't get the I&W and Beyond tour, in fact the last time they played here was a similar fest in 2015 (at least that one had Moonspell as one of the opening bands) and the last time we had An Evening With show was in 2014. The "we'll come back to Europe on the second leg" is fine for our fine folks in Germany (I used Germany for example because I visited it a few months ago, and I still understand it's a big fucking difference if the band plays in Koln or in Hamburg or in Berlin) which DT will certainly visit, but for me it's just the words thrown on the wind because there's no way to tell if DT is coming back on their second leg here. Hell, with all the political situation I'm not even sure if Russia even counts as a part of Europe nowadays.

That being said, I grabbed the tickets when they were on discount exactly because I'm not sure if DT is even coming back on the next leg. If they do, hell, I'll go see them, if not, hell, at least I saw them for those 85 minutes playing some of the old and new stuff. If DT sticks to that kind of gigs in the future, I guess this was my last time seeing the band—I really don't care about seeing two noname bands before I can witness DT performing ten songs. If I knew for certain they would come back with An Evening With show, I would've saved my money for that. I just wish it was a bit more transparent, and at the same time, I understand it's as transparent as it gets.

DT at the festivals with 1,5 hours of showtime is just not the same as standalone DT gig with, hell, at least 2 hours of music. We fans are sure spoiled, but hell, their gig for AFTR tour was one of the best gigs I've seen. I saw Amorphis lately and they played like 75 minutes of music before calling it a day, with an encore too. Well, I'm sure I won't ever go see them again live.

I have no quarrel with how this was communicated and how this played out, but overall, the whole "we're going to play the Evening With shows in US, then festivals in EU, then get back for the second leg in EU" is useless to me because there's no confirmation if the second leg will even include your city or your country. So yeah, if you want to see DT, apparently you just buy the tickets now for the first leg, and then we'll see.

[tristl]

I do not care if they play Scenes or not,
But if i pay 86€ for a DT Concert in Dresden(not a Festival) i expect DT to play a whole set,
If not i will be very disappointed 😔, let’s hope for the best 

[Fritzinger]

I do not care if they play Scenes or not,
But if i pay 86€ for a DT Concert in Dresden(not a Festival) i expect DT to play a whole set,
If not i will be very disappointed 😔, let’s hope for the best 

Guess we'll see each other in the front row section! I'm block B, first row.


I totally get that they play a short set on festivals. But tickets were 86 fucking euros and a band the size like DT can't afford to set prices like this for a 90 minute show.
What makes me very sad too is: the Junge Garde in Dresden is a beautiful open air location, an amphitheatre where Scenes would fit into perfectly - way better than in some stinky indoor arena in western Germany where I'll have to drive to for 7 hours - which is where they're probably going to play in the fall.

[noxon]

The band doesn't set the ticket prices. The band sets a price for THEIR performance, based on the type of show they're doing. The promoters do the pricing, and they chose to market it as a DT gig, even though they knew full well that DT were doing a shorter set (that's one of the things they negotiate during contract phase - the length of the set) - as well as whether they rely on DT to bring their own guests (of which Animals as Leaders, Andy McKee and Jason Richardson has been chosen for some of the dates) - or book their own opening acts as well.

I'm sorry you feel cheated due to the show just being 1.5 hour of DT for what you think is an unfair price, but take it with the promoter.

[Lifeamongtheruins]

Guess we'll see each other in the front row section! I'm block B, first row.


I totally get that they play a short set on festivals. But tickets were 86 fucking euros and a band the size like DT can't afford to set prices like this for a 90 minute show.
What makes me very sad too is: the Junge Garde in Dresden is a beautiful open air location, an amphitheatre where Scenes would fit into perfectly - way better than in some stinky indoor arena in western Germany where I'll have to drive to for 7 hours - which is where they're probably going to play in the fall.

The place where I'll see them is this one:
You've just made me think that it would be the PERFECT place to play SFAM... but I'll try and enjoy the concert anyway  after all, they're like the first big metal band that tours here since Maiden in the 90s, and the setting is great anyway.

[Moor]

Directly from the band:

The band understands that some of the shows on this recent leg were mistakenly billed as "SFAM 20th Anniversary" shows (for a very short time, which has since been corrected).  Please understand that that information did not come from the band, but was apparently a miscommunication issue somewhere farther down the chain.  As most of you know, SFAM alone will take up an entire set, which means it can only be played in an "evening with" format, and not at festival shows or shows with opening bands.  We are sorry if anyone was misled, but we hope you enjoyed these very special shows nonetheless.  We know we sure enjoyed playing them!  We hope to see you all again soon!

I can also say that I spoke directly to JP, and he is really sorry for any misunderstanding.  He truly wants fans to always leave DT shows happy every single time.

With all my respect to the band, but its statement contains some info which I would like to comment on as follows:

1. The Tour was announced in November 2018 and was taglined SFAM anniversary tours on the DT official website for over 5 months (until the NA leg was over)! Hence, it would not be totally correct to mention that this miscommunication lasted "for a very short time".

2. I never rely on the info shared by promoters, because those are only for advertising purposes to secure their profits and increase their sales; my only place to check regarding DT shows is the tours page on the DT official website, and this is where I got misled. I am really sharing here my personal experience with this event: I have checked the tour page on DT website and booked accordingly the VIP ticket (150 EUR because this time my favorite album of all-time is being played), booked a hotel near the venue and flight ticket flights (totaling 600 EUR). Accordingly, I do not agree with blaming the promoters or putting the issue "somewhere farther down the chain".

3. There are two main concerns in this whole issue, one is that the DT appearance is limited to 90 minutes now and the other is that SFAM will not be played in its entirety; I believe that there is a chance to address the SFAM issue by modifying the setlist and playing the SFAM album in its entirety (being of 77 minutes) in addition to one or two D/T songs. I believe this is what at least could be done (rather than a public statement) because if you check the social media, you will realize that there is a real issue with fans this time, and anyway announcing now that SFAM would be played will surely increase the sales.

[tristl]

The fans do not care about the promoter,
But they will blame DT for it, that is what the band has to be aware of.
Just saying.

[Moor]

The fans do not care about the promoter,
But they will blame DT for it, that is what the band has to be aware of.
Just saying.

Sure, and especially that DT official website is not managed by the promoters !

[Lifeamongtheruins]

2. I never rely on the info shared by promoters, because those are only for advertising purposes to secure their profits and increase their sales; my only place to check regarding DT shows is the tours page on the DT official website, and this is where I got misled.

Same here. I absolutely agree with your post. I don't think anyone in the band and in their team did this in bad faith, but the blame isn't 100% on the promoters in my opinion.

[bosk1]

1. The Tour was announced in November 2018 and was taglined SFAM anniversary tours on the DT official website for over 5 months (until the NA leg was over)! Hence, it would not be totally correct to mention that this miscommunication lasted "for a very short time".

Well, no, that is not entirely correct.  The North American leg of the tour was promoted as the SFAM anniversary tour.  The website did NOT say that any other legs would be SFAM anniversary tours.  And the band had said in interviews that the SFAM tour would not be done in Europe this time around. I'm sorry you misunderstood what was said on the website, but it was not promoted the way you are describing.

[RoeDent]

But they will blame DT for it, that is what the band has to be aware of.

Of course. They blamed Mangini for the drum sound on DT12, but recent info has proved that he was not to blame for that, and that he was upset by that. I hope those fans feel some regret over that.

[Nofire]

Someone posted this link in the Facebook comments section below the post where the band apologized. It leads to an archived page from their "tour" page on their website which clearly connects DoT and SFAM to the European summer tour dates. The page grab is from April, at which point someone must have noticed it since it's announcement several months earlier.

https://web.archive.org/web/20190405131915/http://dreamtheater.net/tour/

[bosk1]

I wouldn't say "clearly," because, again, the band clarified exactly what the tour was.  But, again, I understand the confusion.

[Nofire]

I wouldn't say "clearly," because, again, the band clarified exactly what the tour was.  But, again, I understand the confusion.

It says that they're celebrating 20 years of SFAM and then list a number of tour dates below. And we know that that's what the tour looked like in North America. Nowhere does it indicate that this would not be the case in Europe as well. Where did they announce that the summer shows would be a festival set? Granted, I haven't watched all YouTube interviews out there, but I also expect tour info of this magnitude to appear on their website, which it does since about a month ago.

Now, the critical observer would probably note upon further inspection that the events themselves (Gävle in Sweden for example which has had no mention of being a festival) sure seem to have a lot of bands on the bill to allow for an evening with DT. That's why I personally didn't get tickets to this tour leg. And I'm 100% sure that this was not done intentionally, knowing how loyal the band and their crew always have been to their fanbase.

But to blame this on "people down the chain" is wrong in my opinion. The official website represents the band. And to have false (or in other ways misleading) information on their official webpage for even a few weeks when many super loyal fans buy tickets as soon as they are released makes the disappointment that people are expressing justified.

[Samsara]

To back up noxon's comment, please remember that no major band on tours such as this set their own prices. Bands have a rate for their performance. A promoter agrees to it, and a contract is made, guaranteeing the band that rate. The promoter sets the concert ticket price.

As for this situation, I do remember the band being very clear that they were NOT doing SFAM in its entirety in Europe. The website at the time, is a little misleading, but even that page that someone pulled up on the wayback machine does not state they are doing SFAM in full. Just that they are celebrating SFAM. That is a big difference. Whoever did the website probably should have had a very bolded disclaimer about the European shows not being SFAM in its entirety, just so it was crystal clear.

Mistakes happen, and I am sure the band will take steps to fix the issues moving forward. And the apology, plus JP's personal remarks to bosk, were very classy and forthright.

I can understand not being happy spending a high amount for a 90-minute performance. And I feel bad for our European friends who are. But the money is spent. Go enjoy your favorite (or one of your favorite) band and embrace the show. Knowing DT, they'll find a way to make it up to people. If there's one thing DT has always been about, its making sure fans are happy. If a mistake is made, they make it up at some point.

[zappafrank2112]

Between this, the whole tour program kerfluffle, and some VIP ticket issues I've read about in other threads here, there sure seem to have been lots of crossed wires of late...

[pg1067]

1. The Tour was announced in November 2018 and was taglined SFAM anniversary tours on the DT official website for over 5 months (until the NA leg was over)! Hence, it would not be totally correct to mention that this miscommunication lasted "for a very short time".

Well, no, that is not entirely correct.  The North American leg of the tour was promoted as the SFAM anniversary tour.  The website did NOT say that any other legs would be SFAM anniversary tours.  And the band had said in interviews that the SFAM tour would not be done in Europe this time around. I'm sorry you misunderstood what was said on the website, but it was not promoted the way you are describing.

FWIW, I used the Wayback Machine (archive.org) and found the "Tour" page from April 5, 2019.  At the top, it says "Tour Dates," followed by "THE DISTANCE OVER TIME TOUR 2019: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF ‘METROPOLIS PT. 2 SCENES FROM A MEMORY" (followed by pictures of the DOT and SFAM album covers), and all of the tour dates listed are European dates.  Contrast that with the current version of the "Tour" page, which says, "DISTANCE OVER TIME TOUR: THE SUMMER FESTIVALS featuring a specially curated festival set."


EDIT:  I wrote all of the above before seeing Nofire's post.  That's the page I found as well, and I don't see how any reasonable person seeing that could think anything other than that the same "celebration" of SFAM that was happening in North America would be happening at those European dates.  Regardless of the interviews (which not everyone sees or hears), this was misleading.

[Nachtmerrie]

To back up noxon's comment, please remember that no major band on tours such as this set their own prices. Bands have a rate for their performance. A promoter agrees to it, and a contract is made, guaranteeing the band that rate. The promoter sets the concert ticket price.

As for this situation, I do remember the band being very clear that they were NOT doing SFAM in its entirety in Europe. The website at the time, is a little misleading, but even that page that someone pulled up on the wayback machine does not state they are doing SFAM in full. Just that they are celebrating SFAM. That is a big difference. Whoever did the website probably should have had a very bolded disclaimer about the European shows not being SFAM in its entirety, just so it was crystal clear.

Mistakes happen, and I am sure the band will take steps to fix the issues moving forward. And the apology, plus JP's personal remarks to bosk, were very classy and forthright.

I can understand not being happy spending a high amount for a 90-minute performance. And I feel bad for our European friends who are. But the money is spent. Go enjoy your favorite (or one of your favorite) band and embrace the show. Knowing DT, they'll find a way to make it up to people. If there's one thing DT has always been about, its making sure fans are happy. If a mistake is made, they make it up at some point.

Based on the website I would say it's makes a lot of sense to assume they would be playing SFAM in full (I did). Right now they are only playing TDOE which isn't a big celebration as much as I like the song.

The announcement confused me and I totally understand others and especially the ones are travelling to attend the shows.

That being said I really enjoyed the Oberhausen show saturday. The so called festival felt a like a 'last minute' decision' with a few band that don't fit a DT-show (except Andy McKee) but DT was great.

The apology by the band is classy and makes a lot of sense.
Totally agree which your conclusion. Mistakes happen and there's is no way DT did this intentionally (not sure about the promotors though).

Let's look forward to the next tour with SFAM in full

[Samsara]

EDIT:  I wrote all of the above before seeing Nofire's post.  That's the page I found as well, and I don't see how any reasonable person seeing that could think anything other than that the same "celebration" of SFAM that was happening in North America would be happening at those European dates.  Regardless of the interviews (which not everyone sees or hears), this was misleading.

P,

Rationally, I can't disagree. However, a "celebration" of SFAM can mean many things, including a "suite" of those songs. It doesn't specifically state a full performance. I grant you that people would likely naturally assume that, but...

In any event, I think everyone involved agrees it was misleading. Mistakes were made. I am sure DT will make up for it. They always seem to.

[Setlist Scotty]

I do remember reading/hearing somewhere that this European leg would consist of them playing festival shows, and therefore SFaM would not be featured. I wish I could find exactly where that was stated, as it's not on the official website, and a cursory search on Google didn't turn anything up.

However, I think a big part of the problem is that the band never specifically addressed what would happen at the shows they would play which explicitly are not festivals. While it would be wrong to make assumptions, there has been a precedent set by DT on previous tours when they hit the festival circuit, which can reasonably have set fan expectations. Consider:

DT played festivals while touring Europe during the summers of 1995, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015. While they are playing many more festivals this year than any year previously aside from 2015 (where only 1 show was *not* a festival show), at non-festival shows during all those other years, DT played at least a 2 hour show - in fact, they even played all of SFaM during shows in 2000. Even when they were opening for Yes (2004) and Iron Maiden (2010), there were a handful of headlining shows they squeezed in, and each of these was a minimum 2 hour set.

So was it reasonable for fans to expect a longer show than 90ish minutes at non-festival shows based on DT's previous track record? I think so.

[bosk1]

So, I see three issues (sort of):

1.  The way these shows were promoted.  That is what the band was trying to address, and I think they did so admirably.  It sucks that the shows were promoted this way, and even though it isn't the band's fault, they regret that it happened.

2.  The way the web page also mentioned the SFAM anniversary.  Taking another look at it, I see what you guys mean.  I don't think the band even realized that.  They were clear from the beginning that SFAM would NOT be played in Europe this go-around, and I don't think they realized that the web page seemed to imply otherwise.  I'm sure that's an oversight they would like to have back if they could.

3.  The "short" sets.  I see what Scotty is saying about fans naturally assuming longer sets, given the band's track record.  I fully get that, and I understand fan expectation in that regard.  But they weren't in control of the other acts being booked with them, and how much time they would actually get as a result. 

[Setlist Scotty]

So, I see three issues (sort of):

1.  The way these shows were promoted.  That is what the band was trying to address, and I think they did so admirably.  It sucks that the shows were promoted this way, and even though it isn't the band's fault, they regret that it happened.

2.  The way the web page also mentioned the SFAM anniversary.  Taking another look at it, I see what you guys mean.  I don't think the band even realized that.  They were clear from the beginning that SFAM would NOT be played in Europe this go-around, and I don't think they realized that the web page seemed to imply otherwise.  I'm sure that's an oversight they would like to have back if they could.

3.  The "short" sets.  I see what Scotty is saying about fans naturally assuming longer sets, given the band's track record.  I fully get that, and I understand fan expectation in that regard.  But they weren't in control of the other acts being booked with them, and how much time they would actually get as a result.

Overall, I think that's a fair summary, although I do take issue with your point that the band wasn't in control over the other acts being booked - that may be the case for the actual festival shows, but that's not what we're talking about. The band could've chosen one or two openers for these non-festival shows (which it seems they have, listing Andy McKee, Animals as Leaders and others as opening at certain shows) and still done a 2 hour show and said that's it, instead of allowing the promoters to add a bunch of extra local bands to the bill to fill up the time later. It's how DT did things in the past.

The only other thing that still is questionable is where does the blame properly fall. I mean, the website was ambiguous and not clear that non-festival shows would not be Evening With or even full length (2 hours). But I really question how much the promoters should be blamed - had it been just a couple of promoters that misrepresented their shows, then yeah, it was a misunderstanding on their part. But when every one of the shows is promoted it otherwise, it seems clear that a representative of the band must have dropped the ball in not properly conveying accurate information in the first place.

Additionally, I do feel a little sympathy for the promoters. Why? Because they're stuck between a rock and a hard place. It really appears that they were led to believe that the non-festival shows would be Evening With and/or featuring SFaM gigs when they announced these shows and put tickets up for sale. What do they do after it's been made clear to them *later* that DT's not doing at least a full length show? They're basically screwed. How do you think an announcement of "Um sorry guys, DT's only gonna play 90 minutes, so we're gonna fill the rest of the bill with a bunch of local acts that you've never heard of" gonna go over? I think the response we've seen gives us a good idea. Granted, the promoters should have been upfront as soon as they were made aware and offered refunds to whoever wanted them, because that would be the right thing to do. But I get that they were probably afraid of losing their shirts if they did so and would have to resort to canceling the gig, which would mean they'd be out even more money. I wonder if they would have had any legal recourse to pursue against whoever was responsible for misleading them in the first place - I would imagine there should be, given that contracts were no doubt written up and signed.

[bosk1]

Scotty, I get where you are coming from.  But you are speculating about quite a few things in that post that I do not believe accurately reflect what has happened here.

[cminor]

I wouldn't say "clearly," because, again, the band clarified exactly what the tour was.  But, again, I understand the confusion.

I think the problem is rather that the band never released an official public statement concerning the European non-festival shows. In every facebook event you can find dozens of fans asking about the set since the start of the ticket sale and the question also was asked here in the forum several times, so I guess anybody in the DT management must have been aware of the issue. There might have been some interviews which were published in march or april where the band mentioned they won't be playing SFAM, but (a) not every fan watches DT interviews on youtube and (b) the tickets already were on sale since the end of November 2018. So why no official statement? I guess it has to be in the interest of the band that their fans are happy and know what they are paying for.

2. They were clear from the beginning that SFAM would NOT be played in Europe this go-around [...]

Again the band perhaps was clear, but their management (or at least the social media management) definitely was not (at least not from the beginning). This video (https://www.facebook.com/dreamtheater/videos/186831395604553/) was posted on their official facebook page back in december 2018. It's about their upcoming gig in Italy and it clearly says "Dream Theater playing Scenes From A Memory". Or is it that what they now call "a miscommunication issue somewhere farther down the chain"? I mean come on. I think in 2019 (or 2018 to be precise) you should not use commercials on your official social media page with wrong information and never clarify it. That's misleading.

First post btw. I'm using the forum as a reader for years but never registered.
Greetings from Germany! 

[tristl]

I was two times at a regular DT concert, while they did festivals,
In Oporto before SC came out and in Gelsenkirchen before BCaSL and both times they played full sets.
I am not the biggest Portnoy fan, but i don‘t think, things like that would happen with Portnoy still being in Charge in the back