A WAY TOO EARLY reunion tour setlist fantasy thread

[mariner]

A few assumptions (to be assured proven wrong):

40th Anniversary tour in 2025

Octavarium 20th anniversary will be recognized

They won't over do I&W and SFAM due to recent anniversary tours

Hoping TOT 20th anniversary gets recognized

Eat My Ass and Balls - I mean they have to.

So.. given that:

Intro
Home
Lead track off of DT 16
Panic Attack
Long proggy tune off of DT 16
The Alien (Grammy winner!)
S2N
Second "single" off of DT 16
As I Am

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

Octavarium

[hefdaddy42]

Eve.

I can answer this one, because I've asked it of JP already.

It's almost certainly NEVER going to happen.

[Trav86]

Eve.

I can answer this one, because I've asked it of JP already.

It's almost certainly NEVER going to happen.

I get the vibe that he’s not crazy about playing b-sides. That’s why I was so surprised that he pulled out To Live Forever and Don’t Look Past Me on the I&W anniversary tour.

[hefdaddy42]

Eve.

I can answer this one, because I've asked it of JP already.

It's almost certainly NEVER going to happen.

I get the vibe that he’s not crazy about playing b-sides. That’s why I was so surprised that he pulled out To Live Forever and Don’t Look Past Me on the I&W anniversary tour.

That's part of it. 

Another part of it, at least with this song in particular, is that, in JP's words, there is me and like 5 other people on the planet waiting to hear it, and the vast majority of fans either don't know it or don't care about it.  So no real upside to playing it, except for me personally lol

[MoraWintersoul]

There's dozens of us! Dozens!!

(in about a few dozen cities too)

[hefdaddy42]

There's dozens of us! Dozens!!

(in about a few dozen cities too)

I mean, maybe.

[Trav86]

Eve.

I can answer this one, because I've asked it of JP already.

It's almost certainly NEVER going to happen.

I get the vibe that he’s not crazy about playing b-sides. That’s why I was so surprised that he pulled out To Live Forever and Don’t Look Past Me on the I&W anniversary tour.

That's part of it. 

Another part of it, at least with this song in particular, is that, in JP's words, there is me and like 5 other people on the planet waiting to hear it, and the vast majority of fans either don't know it or don't care about it.  So no real upside to playing it, except for me personally lol

15 to 20 years ago it seemed like everyone knew those songs. Either the fan base has changed or just gotten bigger to where us old school fans are the minority now.

[MoraWintersoul]

I'm not a huge fan of The Best Of Times but if they bust that one out I'll be in the front row screaming my face off. What a cool moment that would be. Not sure how I would feel about 12SS and I would only put it at 20% likelihood that it actually happens during the next tour.

[Kyo]

15 to 20 years ago it seemed like everyone knew those songs. Either the fan base has changed or just gotten bigger to where us old school fans are the minority now.

At some point it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. They never play these songs, so of course people don't know them, so they don't play them because nobody knows them. Including one on a big official release as happened with To Live Forever early on can do wonders!

[bosk1]

While that's true to an extent, they now have a REALLY extensive catalog, and those songs are pretty stark departures from their core sound, so I get the inclination to just shelve them.  And given the sheer amount of rarities this band has done in its history, I can't even begin to accuse them of playing it safe and not giving fans the deep cuts.

[Trav86]

While that's true to an extent, they now have a REALLY extensive catalog, and those songs are pretty stark departures from their core sound, so I get the inclination to just shelve them.  And given the sheer amount of rarities this band has done in its history, I can't even begin to accuse them of playing it safe and not giving fans the deep cuts.

Oh I totally get it. I could see them pulling one out if they did another big anniversary retrospective tour like the Octavarium/20th anniversary tour.  But I guess I was thinking of like, on here too. There was some people I’ve seen post that they didn’t know Eve, or To Live Forever or Speak to Me or something like that. Back in the old MP forum days, everyone on there knew those songs. It’s just funny now that on here, the biggest DT nerds, these songs are getting forgotten.

[Jinx]

They love playing Caught In A Web (they played it quite often during the MM era) and MP used to love sticking the drum solo in the middle of it so I would say that will be in.. plus the solo of course.

[EPIC Outro]

I love B-Sides and Rarities. It would be awesome if DT re-recorded some of these and used them as bonus tracks on their future albums. Or even put out an EP of such tracks.

[ReaPsTA]

On one hand, I get why playing the more obscure tracks is a weird thing to do. Hearing a song for the first time live isn't the best because you don't know it and you can't totally follow it.

I think it's been said here before that DT cut Don't Look Past Me from their set when they tried it because audiences were using it for a piss break. I have to take whoever said this at their word I guess.

I dunno though. I just think a lot of the more obscure songs are good. Like okay there are only five people who, right now, are interested in hearing Eve live. I just can't imagine only five people would be happy to have heard it after it was over.

And, if I'm going to look at it purely pragmatically - Were DT's live shows better attended when the setlists had more or less variety?

[ReaPsTA]

I love B-Sides and Rarities. It would be awesome if DT re-recorded some of these and used them as bonus tracks on their future albums. Or even put out an EP of such tracks.

I have a feeling this might be part of why Don't Look Past Me specifically didn't work as a rarity. I don't think there's a commonly available official release of it. Same with Eve.

No reason not to just throw these up on Youtube/Spotify as a two-track Lost Not Forgotten release.

The rest of Cleaning Out the Closet is out there:

TLF 91 - LNF I&W Demos
TLF 94 - Greatest Hits
Everything Else - FII Demos (the LNF remaster sounds really good)

[ReaPsTA]

I also think WHAT rarities you play also matters. Space Dye Vest is an example of a song that's aged well. Its weird, dark, soundscapey style is something that more music has moved toward over time, and Jordan did a good job adapting the soundscape to use the live venue well, creating something that sounds expansive rather than like sitting in a room by yourself. (Proof is in results here. SDV is by far the most listened to song on Awake on Spotify in spite of being regarded by the fanbase as an oddity. Putting it in the live set gave it a new life).

Whereas Don't Look Past Me is kind of out of step with where music has gone. Feels like a throwback but isn't famous enough to be nostalgic.

Raise the Knife is the most obvious example of a song that never should have left the rotation to begin with. And when you look at what people are listening to today, it's aged well.

[Kyo]

Honestly, while I thought it was cool to see such a rarity played live, Don't Look Past Me was never a particularly great song to start with. There's a reason it was shelved and James didn't even sing on it at the time (the Cleaning Out the Closet version combines the early '90s instrumental tracks with vocals by an obviously older James LaBrie cut during the SfaM sessions).

Eve, on the other hand, remains as great today as it was then. 

[gzarruk]

One of the issues with DLPM and TLF during the 2017 tour was that they just played them. No introduction, no background, nothing. I've never been able to attend a DT show, but from what I've seen online, James' stage banter isn't really too good IMO. IIRC, he had a couple talking spots for that tour, couldn't he just introduce the songs before? That would've helped with the crowd reaction.

[OpenYourEyes311]

Raise the Knife is the most obvious example of a song that never should have left the rotation to begin with. And when you look at what people are listening to today, it's aged well.

Musically this song is still really good. Lyrically it's aged very poorly IMO. MP wrote most of the lyrics about being bitter about an ex-member leaving the band. He then left the band. And now he's back in said band. It would be pretty awkward for them to play it again at this point.

[zappafrank2112]

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of WDADU by playing it in its entirety.

That album needs fucking love, dammit.  Too many foo's up in here shit on it.

Shittin' foo's!

[Trav86]

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of WDADU by playing it in its entirety.

That album needs fucking love, dammit.  Too many foo's up in here shit on it.

Shittin' foo's!

They’ve already done that. And released the show. How many times do they need to replay it?

[TAC]

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of WDADU by playing it in its entirety.

That album needs fucking love, dammit.  Too many foo's up in here shit on it.

Shittin' foo's!

They’ve already done that. And released the show. How many times do they need to replay it?

That's right, foo!

[EPIC Outro]

5 times. That's how many times.

[zappafrank2112]

They’ve already done that. And released the show. How many times do they need to replay it?

But *I* wasn't there live.

And they've also done SFaM multiple times in its entirety and released it on more than one occasion, so what's your feckin' point?  No one was clamoring for repeat offerings of SFaM.  I certainly wasn't.

ETA: There was enthusiasm for the 20th anniversary only after the decision was made that it's what the fans were getting.  But leading into that, no one was advocating "man, they really need to play SFaM for its 20th."  I would have been perfectly happy on the DoT tour if that 2nd set wasn't needlessly eaten up by the entire album.  They'd already done a nice overview during Along for the Ride.

WDADU needs the love.  It all but gets ignored.

[zappafrank2112]

in JP's words, there is me and like 5 other people on the planet waiting to hear it, and the vast majority of fans either don't know it or don't care about it.

Then get it out there in front of people, at least to try.  You never know, especially given how old the song is and newer fans may not have had the chance to find it.

[zappafrank2112]

That's right, foo!

Hush, you TACin' foo'!

[Trav86]

[jimgolf]

So I've thought about this a little bit and I'm approaching it from the perspective of things I'd like to see, what they would realistically perform, and what James can realistically handle live. These would be the songs they could perform from their back-catalogue, and then assume they would have other songs they'd perform from their new album.

1. The Glass Prison
2. This Dying Soul
3. Hollow Years(with some sort of guitar intro/extended guitar solo probably)
4. Constant Motion
5. Barstool Warrior
6. Hell's Kitchen
7. Lines in the Sand
----(maybe a little acoustic section breather?)
8. The Silent Man
9. Acoustic version of Another Day/ Along for the Ride/ or maybe just Wait for Sleep
----
10. On the Backs of Angels/The Looking Glass(I really think MP would sound great on The Looking Glass)
11. Endless Sacrifice
12. Erotomania
13. Panic Attack
14. Breaking All Illusions

------Encore----

15. Octavarium


I could also see them maybe doing a medley of the first parts of A Change of Seasons(asking James to sing the whole thing might be tough, unless it was downtuned a little more than the 2017 version). I could see them start down-tuning a couple songs like Endless Sacrifice/Lines in the Sand/Barstool Warrior/Octavarium. I think for the most part James could do a really good job with this set, and it includes some stuff from the Mangini era MP could play, and its a filled with a lot of stuff they've been inclined to play in the past that fans also enjoy live.

[ReaPsTA]

WDADU has aged well in the sense that its high-energy, not-self-conscious style is in vogue these days.

But man, there are a lot of rough choices throughout. Like, I was listening to TOWHTSTS, and some of the vocal melodies are just like, what's going on here?

I think at the very least you'd start re-introducing the proven songs back into the rotation (AFIL, Ytsejam, TKH, Afterlife (kinda), OAMOT). And if there's more of a response then go into the deeper cuts.

[Cool Chris]

in JP's words, there is me and like 5 other people on the planet waiting to hear it, and the vast majority of fans either don't know it or don't care about it.

Then get it out there in front of people, at least to try.  You never know, especially given how old the song is and newer fans may not have had the chance to find it.

Philosophically, you are not wrong, but I don't know if that is how a band on the tail end of their career wants to craft their set lists. At this point, if a fan doesn't know Eve, that doesn't hurt the band any. They need butts in the seats; DLPM is not going to put them there.

[adastra]

I will make my DREAM setlist but won´t add the upcoming new songs.

1. The Glass Prison
2. Just Let Me Breathe
3. I Walk Beside You
4. Through My Words
5. Fatal Tragedy
6. Beyond This Life
7. Misunderstood
8. Vacant
9. Stream Of Consciousness
10. In The Name Of God

12. Learning To Live

13. Octavarium

[Indiscipline]

I'd love a full new album set for the bulk of the show, closing with a couple of classics following a corpous instrumental chunk - gotta let the vocals rest. It would mean the new release Is very worthy being represented live and written with James' comfort in mind.

[bosk1]

But leading into that, no one was advocating "man, they really need to play SFaM for its 20th." 

Yes they were.

[MirrorMask]

I'd love a full new album set for the bulk of the show, closing with a couple of classics following a corpous instrumental chunk - gotta let the vocals rest. It would mean the new release Is very worthy being represented live and written with James' comfort in mind.

Very random thought - it would be cool if they'd attempt something they never did before, a song which is instrumental for its entirety, and then has vocals just at the end. Say the instrumental has a main theme, as it winds down, just a couple of lines, a "chorus" if you will, is sung at the end over said main theme, just as an outro.

It doesn't work as an example, since the song has lyrics and was structured to have a "song with lyrics" structure, but imagine if Surrounded was entirely an instrumental - and with a structure more loose than the actual song actually has - and the only vocals in it would  be the outro at the end. "I know it's easier to walk away but look it in the eye...." until the end. If done right it could be cool and a novelty.

[STUM]

Hi all

first post

Based on the setlist predictions, it appears that most assume an "evening with" style 3 hour show even though the last two tours have had opening acts. So do we believe they are up to the longer show? Will James' voice be able to handle it? Perhaps a bunch of instrumentals to give him longer breaks.

Also, I think there is little chance that they don't play Pull Me Under, their only "hit", on the first tour back regardless of how long the set is.