On the other hand, playing to a click makes it possible to have a much richer visual show. Lights and video syncing with the music.
Some of us really like a great visual show too.
I guess, but Dream Theater shows have morphed from a Rock Concert to a Performance. If I'm going to see a band play live, I want me a Rock Concert.
Indeed. The hardcore fans go to see the band play. A casual fan or someone unfamiliar with them, I guarantee, will be blown away by the quality of the performance. No CD can capture the hugeness of their sound, and the songs hit better when you can nail them.
Instead, for reasons I don't think I'll ever understand, the focus is on the stage show. The Apotheosis of this was the Astonishing tour. When I saw this live, the crowd was never able to lock in right. A lot of sitting through the first act. Then still sitting during the second. Then The Path That Divides starts. The song is a banger. The crowd stands up and rocks out with the song. Then the NOMACS track comes on, crowd sits. Then The Walking Shadow kicks in with the tom hits and guitar leads, but the crowd's already back in their seats.
Distance Over Time was the right album to put out in response, but they relegated it to side-show status on its own tour by featuring Scenes from a Memory. I know there is a certain percentage of fans that will never think anything else they do is as good. During the pre-show montage on the DT12 tour, it was the only album that got an actual cheer.
But this is not the way forward! What person that isn't already a hardcore fan would be interested in a walk down memory lane? This is a business. The asses need to be put into the seats! Going off Youtube video views for the album playlist, At Wit's End is the second most viewed track after Barstool Warrior. And, it's a new song, meaning you can show casual fans and potential new listeners that you're still putting out good material. How was this not a featured song in the first North American leg!?
I might be off-base because of the bubble I'm in, but even though metal is supposedly passe it seems to still have a large and passionate fanbase. Steven Wilson's popularity proves that people still like nerdy prog music. Musicians being good at their instruments is essentially a genre on Youtube. Even people who don't like Dream Theater at least respect them. There's no reason their attendance figures should be decreasing. Put out high quality new material. Play shows that feature your ability to blow the crowd's balls off. Profit.
One of the saddest things I read here was that they pulled Don't Look Past Me from the setlist because people were using it as a bathroom break. This is the peril of over-catering to the hardcore fan who just wants to hear exactly what they like. If you pull in a broader crowd of people who are there to enjoy seeing you play and not to have their specific tastes indulged, you won't have this problem.
The irony of all this is I still loved the show they played in Philly last spring, because they're just so good. But I also know how much they're still leaving on the table.