A WAY TOO EARLY reunion tour setlist fantasy thread

[TheCountOfNYC]

Here’s my entirely unrealistic setlist.

The Glass Prison
Panic Attack
Under a Glass Moon
Lifting Shadows Off a Dream
Home
Instrumedley
Lines in the Sand

Only a Matter of Time
Constant Motion
Vacant
Stream of Consciousness
Pull Me Under
The Spirit Carries On
The Best of Times

Octavarium

[Jamesman42]

Opening with Metropolis or The Glass Prison would make the most sense.

[Fritzinger]

Would love to see the 12 Step Suite in its entirety performed by the musicians who recorded the original tracks. Not sure though if both JLB and JP are still able to perform it. I recall reading something about JP being unsure about that opening solo on The Glass Prison.

[EPIC Outro]

I don't think, for a second, that there would be a 'Welcome Back Portnoy!" show that doesn't include The Glass Prison. I don't think DT is the kind of band who would shy away from a great moment like that because a song is 'too hard.'

[MirrorMask]

Would love to see the 12 Step Suite in its entirety performed by the musicians who recorded the original tracks. Not sure though if both JLB and JP are still able to perform it. I recall reading something about JP being unsure about that opening solo on The Glass Prison.

When MP played it live, they stopped between TDS and Root, having the intro of Root play over the PA. That defies the whole purpouse of the separate songs meant to create a giant song together.

I understand that the key might be different between the end of TDS and the "real" beginning of Root, and that after 25 minutes of playing fast heavy music they need to breath, but maybe.... they could have thought about it during the writing sessions?

If you listen to the end of This Dying Soul and then go straight into the actual beginning of Root cutting off the intro, it's so clear they're meant to flow that way. Not doing it live completely ruins the premise of "it's a giant song split over five albums".

[SeRoX]

Eve.

[Kyo]

When MP played it live, they stopped between TDS and Root, having the intro of Root play over the PA. That defies the whole purpouse of the separate songs meant to create a giant song together.

I understand that the key might be different between the end of TDS and the "real" beginning of Root, and that after 25 minutes of playing fast heavy music they need to breath, but maybe.... they could have thought about it during the writing sessions?

If you listen to the end of This Dying Soul and then go straight into the actual beginning of Root cutting off the intro, it's so clear they're meant to flow that way. Not doing it live completely ruins the premise of "it's a giant song split over five albums".

Yeah, I found that odd. This was something that I asked Mike about when I interviewed him on the first Adrenaline Mob tour, but he didn't have an answer for me then. I found the eventual solution a bit of a cop-out. I think one problem was that the guitar tuning changed between the songs? What a weird thing to do when you're trying to put together an uninterrupted large-scale composition.

[MirrorMask]

I have a solution, but not being a musician I don't know how much it's doable.

Towards the end of the long TDS solo there's a short break, a moment where the music stops for a beat; kinda like they do in Metropolis towards the end of the solo section, they could use that moment to black out the stage, take a long breath, change guitars if need be, and then relaunching into the last minute or so of TDS, and then straight into Root.

[Kyo]

I have a solution, but not being a musician I don't know how much it's doable.

Towards the end of the long TDS solo there's a short break, a moment where the music stops for a beat; kinda like they do in Metropolis towards the end of the solo section, they could use that moment to black out the stage, take a long breath, change guitars if need be, and then relaunching into the last minute or so of TDS, and then straight into Root.

So your solution for avoiding an interruption of the performance for some taped transition is to interrupt the performance entirely, but a minute earlier? 

[MirrorMask]

Yes because the interruption doesn't happen between two songs that were specifically written to flow one into the other 

Imagine if Metropolis part II was a song. They purposedly wrote the beginning of Overture 1928 to segue from the end of Metropolis. If there has to be a break between those two songs, it's better to have it in the solo section (like they actually did on many tours) rather than finishing Metropolis, have Regression play on a tape and then go into the Overture (this on a scenario where they told many times that Metropolis part I and "part II" were meant to go together as one single song).

[Ben_Jamin]

I really hope they don't neglect the MM era songs. There's plenty I would love to hear played by Portnoy.

OTBOA
Breaking All Illusions
Bridges In The Sky (hell one of JPs solo songs has the same rhythm as this song)
This is The Life
Outcry

The Enemy Inside
Along for The Ride
The Bigger Picture
Behind the Veil
Surrender to Reason
Illumination Theory

The Gift of Music
A Moment of Betrayal
Chosen
Our New World

Barstool Warrior
At Wits End
S2N
Pale Blue Dot
Out of Reach

The Alien
Answering The Call
Transcending Time
AVFTTOTW
Sleeping Giant

[crystalstars17]

I really hope they don't neglect the MM era songs.

Indeed. Your post is a relief in a thread that makes me sad.

[Trav86]

I really hope they don't neglect the MM era songs. There's plenty I would love to hear played by Portnoy.

OTBOA
Breaking All Illusions
Bridges In The Sky (hell one of JPs solo songs has the same rhythm as this song)
This is The Life
Outcry

The Enemy Inside
Along for The Ride
The Bigger Picture
Behind the Veil
Surrender to Reason
Illumination Theory

The Gift of Music
A Moment of Betrayal
Chosen
Our New World

Barstool Warrior
At Wits End
S2N
Pale Blue Dot
Out of Reach

The Alien
Answering The Call
Transcending Time
AVFTTOTW
Sleeping Giant

I agree. Great song choices as well.

[Ben_Jamin]

If we're taking into account when they're going into the studio...Doing another Dream Sonic type of tour would be awesome to introduce him back before a proper tour for their DT16, which would be the tour to go full-force with a fascinating set-list(s).


As I Am
6:00
The Alien
These Walls
Constant Motion
The Bigger Picture
On The Backs of Angels
Ytsejam
Overture 1928/Strange Deja Vu
The Gift of Music
Barstool Warrior
Hollow Years
Only a Matter of Time
Stream of Consciousness
I Walk Beside You
Trial of Tears
The Spirit Carries On

Metropolis Pt.1


It's a little over 2:15:00, but I would not mind this mix of a setlist.

[Schurftkut]

maybe they can save the 12step suite for the DreamSonic tours, so people who want to see proper dream theater can skip those shows, or at least they get more variety that evening.

[Qrusher14242]

The Glass Prison
6:00
The Alien
Peruvian Skies
The Great Debate
The Mirror/Lie
Panic Attack
This is the Life
Lifting Shadows off a Dream
Honor Thy Father
The Dark Eternal Night
Blind Faith
Lines in the Sand
In the Presence of Enemies Pt. 1
The Looking Glass
Home

Encore

Metropolis Pt. 1

Will be interesting to see if they play any MM stuff.

[JeopardousRaven]

In the past, MP has always been insistent on honoring all of their discography on tour, even FII which he has been very vocal about disliking. Obviously this gets harder as the number of albums increases but I'm sure they will play some MM stuff. ADTOE, D/T, and AVFTTOTW are some of the best albums they've done in my opinion.

[Kyo]

I would expect a lot of the following:

-- Songs that were played a lot during the late Portnoy years and never since. This is what I consider low-hanging fruit reunion setlist-wise. The list is surprisingly long:
Erotomania
Voices
Hollow Years
Lines in the Sand
The Glass Prison
Blind Faith
Misunderstood
In the Name of God
Sacrificed Sons

* Mike has played Lines in the Sand a lot even out of DT, first with PSMS, then with Sons of Apollo. He might prefer the other songs for now.
* The Glass Prison may well be as part of the Twelve Steps suite if they get around to playing the whole thing.

--  Songs that haven't been played since their respective album tours or shortly afterwards:
Honor Thy Father
Stream of Consciousness
Octavarium

* I fully expect Octavarium to make a return. Stream of Consciousness would also be a cool addition to the set. Whether we ever hear Honor Thy Father live again will probably depend on how Mike feels about its lyrics these days.


--  Songs that were since only played on the short 30th anniversary summer tour in 2015:
Afterlife
Burning My Soul
Panic Attack
Constant Motion
Wither

* Doubt we'll see Wither again anytime soon, but I think Panic Attack and Constant Motion are very likely. Burning My Soul, hmmm - maybe in its '96 arrangement?


Both Images and Words and Scenes from a Memory saw complete performances on dedicated anniversary tours, so while the "classic" status will make the band likely to revisit some of this material, I think it won't be THAT much.

--  Stuff that is very likely to get played:
Pull Me Under
Metropolis Part I
The Dance of Eternity
The Spirit Carries On

Beyond these, I think Home is most likely to make a return. It's become a live rarity after Mike left, which I find a bit puzzling. And from I&W, I think Learning to Live might be the next pick.

Honestly, looking at this list, I kinda hope they do a little reunion tour before the new albums is released to get all that old stuff out of their system, then return with a lot of new material and some of the best Mangini-era tracks to keep things fresh.

EDIT: Cut down the I&W and SfaM sections for clarity.

[JeopardousRaven]

I would expect a lot of the following:

-- Songs that were played a lot during the late Portnoy years and never since. This is what I consider low-hanging fruit reunion setlist-wise. The list is surprisingly long:
Erotomania
Voices
Hollow Years
Lines in the Sand
The Glass Prison
Blind Faith
Misunderstood
In the Name of God
Sacrificed Sons

* Mike has played Lines in the Sand a lot even out of DT, first with PSMS, then with Sons of Apollo. He might prefer the other songs for now.
* The Glass Prison may well be as part of the Twelve Steps suite if they get around to playing the whole thing.

--  Songs that haven't been played since their respective album tours or shortly afterwards:
Honor Thy Father
Stream of Consciousness
Octavarium

* I fully expect Octavarium to make a return. Stream of Consciousness would also be a cool addition to the set. Whether we ever hear Honor Thy Father live again will probably depend on how Mike feels about its lyrics these days.


--  Songs that were since only played on the short 30th anniversary summer tour in 2015:
Afterlife
Burning My Soul
Panic Attack
Constant Motion
Wither

* Doubt we'll see Wither again anytime soon, but I think Panic Attack and Constant Motion are very likely. Burning My Soul, hmmm - maybe in its '96 arrangement?


Both Images and Words and Scenes from a Memory saw complete performances on dedicated anniversary tours, so while the "classic" status will make the band likely to revisit some of this material, I think we need to look at these with some nuance:

--  I&W songs that were since only played on the I&W 25th anniversary tour in 2017:
Another Day
Take the Time

* Both of these are really difficult for James, but I can see Take the Time making a return.

--  I&W songs that were since played on the I&W 25th anniversary tour in 2017, but other than that, it's been over a decade (early Mangini era):
Surrounded
Under a Glass Moon
Wait for Sleep
Learning to Live

* I can see Learning to Live returning as an encore or set closer, possibly with Wait for Sleep as an intro.

--  SfaM songs that were since played on the SfaM 20th anniversary tour in 2019/20, but other than that, it's been over a decade (early Mangini era or longer):
Through My Words
Fatal Tragedy
Beyond This Life
Through Her Eyes
Home
One Last Time

* I think Home is most likely to make a return. It's become a live rarity after Mike left, which I find a bit puzzling.


--  Stuff that is very likely to get played:
Pull Me Under
Metropolis Part I
The Dance of Eternity
The Spirit Carries On



Honestly, looking at this list, I kinda hope they do a little reunion tour before the new albums is released to get all that old stuff out of their system, then return with a lot of new material and some of the best Mangini-era tracks to keep things fresh.

I'm gonna guess anything from I&W is off-limits besides PMU unless they do some serious re-tooling of the vocal melodies. Although I feel like Wait for Sleep/Learning to Live isn't too demanding for James and is goo material for an encore. He's definitely still capable of some nice screams and if not they can just re-tool the F# section like they've done in the past.

I'd love to see Voices, and ITNOG but idk if James can handle that. He seemed to struggle a lot with ITNOG on the BC&SL tour, mainly the "Listen, when the prophets speak to you" chorus. Honor Thy Father is a nice deep cut but idk how much fans actually like it, plus it has some intense vocals. I actually enjoy it quite a lot.

Burning My Soul '96 would be really cool to see, alternatively they could do Hell's Kitchen/Lines in the Sand. However, seeing as how FII isn't really a fan favorite album I can see them being apprehensive to dedicating 15-20 mins of a live show to it, making Burning My Soul a more 'economic' pick. IIRC they brought back the '96 arrangement in 2002?

I've really wanted them to bring back Blind Faith because it is an amazing song. Maybe they've been avoiding due to dat unison?

They should definitely try to bring back some instrumentals like Stream of Consciousness or Sacrificed Songs (obviously SS isn't completely instrumental but it has a very long break and isn't too crazy vocals-wise).

This is a setlist of songs I'd like to see (Portnoy-only if this is meant to be a 'Welcome Back!' tour) that could realistically appear in a modern DT setlist:

- Constant Motion
- Never Enough (or Ytse Jam if Octavarium is in the set)
- Hell's Kitchen
- Lines in the Sand

A bit of a breather with the next 3 songs following Lines in the Sand. Maybe the setting gets a little more intimate and have the whole band sit together playing acoustically at the front of the stage like Genesis did for their Last Domino Tour at 49:15 here: https://youtu.be/zy4kGOnOhh0?si=MqQvNnjNEUBac4hF&t=2955
- The Silent Man
- Wither
- Vacant

Back into the action:

- Stream of Consciousness
- Blind Faith
- Home
- A Change of Seasons OR Octavarium (I can see either of these being played. ACOS because it's personal to Mike and could be a nice tribute to his return. Octavarium because it's probably the single most requested song I've seen posted on here since the announcement)

End the set with an encore of some Images and Words goodness:
- Wait for Sleep
- Learning to Live
- Pull Me Under

This setlist represents every studio album and contains a solid amount of fan favorites.

[The Paddies]

With respect to the OP's wishes I came up with this setlist:

Set 1:
Metropolis Pt. 1
Strange Déjà Vu
The Mirror
Ytse Jam
Blind Faith
The Alien
Hollow Years (Budokan style)

Set 2:
The Glass Prison
I Walk Beside You
Lines In The Sand
Home
Octavarium

Encore:
As I Am

[JeopardousRaven]

Hollow Years (Budokan style)

I wonder if it's more likely we'll see Hollow Years and other FII tracks in the original demo form, meaning that we'll see Hollow Years in it's 2009 form like in the Download Festival video. Btw why would they play Hollow Years of all songs at a giant metal festival? Those first few minutes had to massively kill the mood.

[Nachtmerrie]

My wishlist:

1. Ouverture 1928
2. Strange Deja Vu
3. The Glass Prison
4. These Walls
5. Hell's Kitchen
6. Scarred
7. Blind Faith
8. Stream of Consciousness
9. Metropolis Pt 1
11. The Best of Times
12. Home
13. In the Presence of Enemies 1 & 2

[Trav86]

I’m hoping for more FII songs. But not the ‘96 versions or demo versions or whatever you want to call it. Just the official album version is just fine.

[Lonk]

I have a solution, but not being a musician I don't know how much it's doable.

Towards the end of the long TDS solo there's a short break, a moment where the music stops for a beat; kinda like they do in Metropolis towards the end of the solo section, they could use that moment to black out the stage, take a long breath, change guitars if need be, and then relaunching into the last minute or so of TDS, and then straight into Root.

The thing is that TDS is played on a 7 string (Standard tuning), whereas TROAE is played on a 6 string, tuned down a half step. Technically, all the notes played in Root are available on the 7 string, but the positioning is different. The ending of TDS still uses the 7th string so changing guitars there wouldn't work.

The easiest thing would be to transpose Root up a half step, which would make it sound higher (And make it harder for James to sing probably) but would eliminate the need to switch guitars.

[Mosh]

It could also just be easily translated to 7 string. It's not a hard song to shift and JP already played the riff on 7 string in The Shattered Fortress. He could even play the same solo and just move everything down one fret. Seems like a really easy solution.

[bosk1]

If they do it (the 12SS), I hope it's at a show I can make it to, as I'd love to be there in person.  But it's a big risk for them to play, since it is so long, so metal, and there are some fans that wouldn't like so much of the set being dedicated to it.

[Trav86]

I’m really curious what the other band members think about the 12SS. Like do they think it’s this cool song cycle they put together or “it’s Mike’s thing that he made us do”. Obviously they wouldn’t word it that way. I just mean were they just appeasing Mike, or maybe is it just another bunch of DT songs, nothing special.

[bosk1]

I think JP was fully into it.  No idea about the others.  But I don't think anyone was ever against it or didn't like it, as far as I know.  I would guess that they all like all the pieces as much as the other DT music.  But whether they are enthusiastic about actually playing the whole thing live is a different matter entirely, and either way wouldn't surprise me.

[gzarruk]

I think people are overstimating the importance of the 12SS. Sure, it's a big project Mike wanted to do and was able to finish before leaving the band, but couldn't ever perform live as intended with DT... BUT, he already played it live for a whole tour with his own band (Haken + Eric), so I don't expect him to be too interested in revisiting that whole thing for his DT reunion.

Forcing themselves into playing it in full would waste too much setlist space and that they/Mike will want a more balanced setlist with a bit of everything instead of this. Mike doesn't seem like the kind of guy who likes to repeat things too often either, so if he already checked that item on his list (playing the whole thing live), I don't see him wanting to do that again.

I agree, though, that TGP needs to come back at some point, maybe a two parter with TDS, but not the whole thing.

[OpenYourEyes311]

I'm imagining a world where the band picks up right where it left off in 2010, and do what MP had planned for the next tour, which would have been DT11 in its entirety (a single-disc concept album), and then the 12SS for the second half. So these are my next two tour setlists (both Evening With):

2024 (DT16 tour)

Set One
DT16 in its entirety

Set Two
The Glass Prison
This Dying Soul
The Root of All Evil
Repentance
The Shattered Fortress

Encore
Learning to Live


2025-2026 (40th Anniversary Tour)

Set One
1. Something off DT16 (maybe the opener?)
2. Transcending Time
3. Viper King
4. Moment of Betrayal
5. Surrender to Reason
6. Far From Heaven
7. Wither
8. In the Presence of Enemies - Part II

Set Two
9. Stream of Consciousness
10. War Inside My Head/The Test That Stumped Them All
11. Home (quick intro)
12. Hollow Years
13. Erotomania
14. Pull Me Under
15. Only a Matter of Time

Encore
16. Octavarium

[ReaPsTA]

In the past, MP has always been insistent on honoring all of their discography on tour, even FII which he has been very vocal about disliking. Obviously this gets harder as the number of albums increases but I'm sure they will play some MM stuff. ADTOE, D/T, and AVFTTOTW are some of the best albums they've done in my opinion.

I would hope this is the case. If the sets don't have any of the MM-era songs going forward, or only a couple token songs, would feel like they're saying "yeah, that era of the band sucked." Sour note.

[Laughingplace56]

When any new member has joined the band, DT has always continued to play music from their entire discography no matter what. I’d be shocked if that practice changed with MP returning. It’d be a huge disservice to the rest of the band and all of the amazing music they wrote with MM.

I would love it if they played the full 12 Step Suite. I made this set with that in mind:

1. Pull Me Under
2. 6:00
3. Panic Attack
4. Under A Glass Moon
5. Barstool Warrior
6. Ytse Jam (with small drum solo)
7. Constant Motion
8. Behind the Veil
9. The Spirit Carries On (with ambient JR/JP solo intro)
10. Finally Free (I mean, if they’re going to do it, might as well end the first set with the song that rolls right into TGP)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11. The Glass Prison
12. This Dying Soul
13. The Root of All Evil
14. Repentance
15. The Shattered Fortress
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
16. As I Am
17. Home (with an extended jam at the end. I think it would be an awesome way to close out MP’s first tour back with the band)


OR if they decide not to do the entire 12SS, I can see them at least adding TSF to the set. It’s a great summary of the 5 songs and it’s the only part of the suite MP’s never played with DT (the one time they did Repentance was enough anyway imo lol).

[Lonk]

10. Finally Free (I mean, if they’re going to do it, might as well end the first set with the song that rolls right into TGP)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11. The Glass Prison

They had a chance to do this when they played Scenes in its entirety back in 2019. I was so ready got TGS as an encore, but we go PMU instead for the first leg AWE for the second leg was interesting though.

[Polarbear]

Ok, I'll bite.

Set.1:
0. Intro tape
1. The Glass Prison
2. These Walls
3. S2N
4. Lifting Shadows of a Dream
5. Forsaken
6. At Wit's End
7. Under a Glass Moon
8. Home

Set.2:
9. A Nightmare to Remember
10. Afterlife
11. Hell's Kitchen
12. Honor Thy Father
13. Surrounded
14. Blind Faith
15. One Last Time
16. Finally Free

Encore
17. A Change of Seasons
18. Pull Me Under

[Ben_Jamin]

Ok, I'll bite.

Set.1:
0. Intro tape
1. The Glass Prison
2. These Walls
3. S2N
4. Lifting Shadows of a Dream
5. Forsaken
6. At Wit's End
7. Under a Glass Moon
8. Home

Set.2:
9. A Nightmare to Remember
10. Afterlife
11. Hell's Kitchen
12. Honor Thy Father
13. Surrounded
14. Blind Faith
15. One Last Time
16. Finally Free

Encore
17. A Change of Seasons
18. Pull Me Under

I like this set. Although I'd switch Home and At Wits End.