If YOU were writing the set list for the next DT tour...

[gborland]

They will not play 3 MM-era songs, at least initially. I can see one or maybe two at a stretch.

[Dream Team]

So the question I have is since they are putting out new material and they need to promote it, how many songs from the new era, how many songs from the MM era and how many from the MP era?

I say based on the list above:
New - 4
MM - 3
MP - 3

That would be a pretty long set requiring an "Evening With" and an intermission. They could even do an LTE song. John Myung could learn any LTE song.

I can’t tell what list you’re referring to. That’s only 10 songs?

[gzarruk]

Could we ask the higher powers to get the LNFA back, Bosk?  But thank you for doing this! I'm very late to the party here, but I guess it's worth the shot anyway.

Here's my list in reverse chronological order:
1. Transcending Time
2. S2N
3. Surrender to Reason
4. Raw Dog
5. The Best of Times
6. Octavarium
7. Stream of Consciousness
8. The Glass Prison
9. Voices
10. The Killing Hand

I really don't care much about "classics" or "fan favorites", just give me a varied set with great songs that haven't been played in a while and I'll be happy.

*Bonus mention: I don't know if medleys will ever come back, but I guess it'd be really interesting to see a half-Illumination Theory half-AVFTTOTW thing, since I don't think they'll ever play those in full again, but a mix of both? That might do.

[OpenYourEyes311]

I'll admit to being a bit out of the loop; my tastes started to drift away from DT shortly after BC&SL, then when MP left I just didn't listen all that much to the new stuff. Him rejoining them has me excited again though. As I'm out of the loop, and assuming they will continue to play some Mangini-era stuff live, what are the sort of 'fan favorites', if you will, of the Mangini albums?

A Dramatic Turn of Events - I see Breaking All Illusions listed all the time as people's favorite. My personal faves are Bridges in the Sky, Beneath the Surface, and Outcry.

Dream Theater - Personally, I love The Enemy Inside. Surrender to Reason gets a lot of talk too.

The Astonishing - I see this album get mostly maligned, though I think it's great. I think most people would say Moment of Betrayal is a banger though. I really like Our New World (which has a video/was a single).

Distance Over Time - I like Fall Into the Light and Barstool Warrior. Other well liked tracks are At Wit's End and Pale Blue Dot, though I don't care for PBD.

A View From the Top of the World - The Alien won a Grammy, so I could see that coming back. Transcending Time is the only that hasn't been played, so maybe that'll change. This is my least favorite DT album, though.

[nobloodyname]

They will not play 33 MM-era songs, at least initially. I can see one or maybe two at a stretch.

I agree with this. Still, no problem with them being listed in this thread, of course.

[gborland]

They will not play 33 MM-era songs, at least initially. I can see one or maybe two at a stretch.

I agree with this. Still, no problem with them being listed in this thread, of course.

I meant 3, not 33. Fixed. Oops!

[JiM-Xtreme]

They will not play 33 MM-era songs, at least initially. I can see one or maybe two at a stretch.

I agree with this. Still, no problem with them being listed in this thread, of course.

I meant 3, not 33. Fixed. Oops!

I agree that “one or maybe two at a stretch” is the most likely outcome. They will play one or two to acknowledge the era and make the point that they don’t consider those songs off-limits going forward but ultimately, the bulk of set lists are going to be to focussed on what this particular lineup feels comfortable playing together - so a combination of the stuff they recorded together and new material…

For a similar reason, whilst I put TGP on my wishlist on the previous page, I don’t realistically expect it. That song is otherworldly technical and demanding even by the DT benchmark. Will the guys really think it’s worth putting in the extra rehearsal time for the sake of that or any other particular song? I can’t see it… but honesty I will be happy enough just to see this lineup back together playing whatever suits them, and I will be there in the front row irrespective of whether I end up having the setlist either fully or partially spoilt for me in advance…!

[Trav86]

If they play an MM era song I doubt it will be because they feel the need to represent those albums. It will probably be because the band really enjoys playing it. Outside of this forum, the majority of fans are more excited about seeing Portnoy back playing the classic tunes and whatever new material they come up with. I doubt there is a major percentage of fans that are dying to hear Portnoy play ….Breaking All Illusions or whatever from the last decade. Nostalgia is a big part of this reunion. 

[crystalstars17]

I doubt there is a major percentage of fans that are dying to hear Portnoy play ….Breaking All Illusions or whatever from the last decade. Nostalgia is a big part of this reunion.

Respectfully disagreeing. Not everyone wants "nostalgia", so let's look forward while including all eras of the band. Who wouldn't love to hear MP play Answering the Call, Moment of Betrayal, or Outcry with the band? I would, for one! There are many songs that I could see him bringing a new energy to that may, despite my earlier reservations, be scintillating.

[nikatapi]

I doubt there is a major percentage of fans that are dying to hear Portnoy play ….Breaking All Illusions or whatever from the last decade. Nostalgia is a big part of this reunion.

Respectfully disagreeing. Not everyone wants "nostalgia", so let's look forward while including all eras of the band. Who wouldn't love to hear MP play Answering the Call, Moment of Betrayal, or Outcry with the band? I would, for one! There are many songs that I could see him bringing a new energy to that may, despite my earlier reservations, be scintillating.

Agreed. And it's a big part of the bands catalog which i really enjoy, it would be a shame to not hear these songs live again.

For some reason, i feel strongly about Bridges In The Sky as candidate, seems to be a favorite of the band, and stylistically sounds like something that's close to MP's playing.
On the other hand, at least for the first tour, i think they'll keep MM-era songs to a minimum.

[Ben_Jamin]

I doubt there is a major percentage of fans that are dying to hear Portnoy play ….Breaking All Illusions or whatever from the last decade. Nostalgia is a big part of this reunion.

Respectfully disagreeing. Not everyone wants "nostalgia", so let's look forward while including all eras of the band. Who wouldn't love to hear MP play Answering the Call, Moment of Betrayal, or Outcry with the band? I would, for one! There are many songs that I could see him bringing a new energy to that may, despite my earlier reservations, be scintillating.

Agreed. And it's a big part of the bands catalog which i really enjoy, it would be a shame to not hear these songs live again.

For some reason, i feel strongly about Bridges In The Sky as candidate, seems to be a favorite of the band, and stylistically sounds like something that's close to MP's playing.
On the other hand, at least for the first tour, i think they'll keep MM-era songs to a minimum.

Have you heard Temple of Circadia on Terminal Velocity, it's quite similar to BITS.

[nikatapi]

Have you heard Temple of Circadia on Terminal Velocity, it's quite similar to BITS.

Yeap, pretty similar riff

[Ben_Jamin]

Have you heard Temple of Circadia on Terminal Velocity, it's quite similar to BITS.

Yeap, pretty similar riff

When I first the song, it made me think that BITS would be a great song to hear MP play if he rejoins DT. Even though they played it live recently, I wouldn't mind hearing it again since it's an excellent live song.

The energy of BITS is why I also wouldn't mind, and kind of want to hear Raw Dog live. It has a drive and energy that I think would come across well in a live setting. They could also just go all out soloing at the end since it doesn't have a proper ending that is available. Would they still be able to use that ending they originally had planned with those 'God of War' samples because that would be pretty cool.

[MoraWintersoul]

Nostalgia is a big part of this reunion.

I don't know about that. Those albums without MP have some huge detractors, who are all going to show up anyway to see MP regardless of what they play. Then there is a bigger number of huge fans who are definitely going to be disappointed if they skip over those albums. Then there's the biggest number, the majority of DT fans, who don't have strong negative or positive opinions on the albums but would enjoy hearing some of the modern classics, and the most negative of them probably wouldn't be opposed to hearing a couple of the best songs.

Outside of us fans, there's also JP, JR, JLB and JMX who are all happy and excited to have MP back but who probably don't feel like they've just been spinning their wheels waiting for his return. There's also the fact you'll always feel more of a connection to your classic albums and your formative years, but outside of their true formative years, who knows, maybe they have more of an emotional tie to the songs they made for the first Mangini album than the ninth or tenth MP album, seeing how it was a new beginning for them? And then we have MP who said he's not opposed either.

[gborland]

I am not particularly keen on much of the MM-era material, but I would be genuinely excited to hear MP's take on some of those songs in a live setting.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Nostalgia is a big part of this reunion.

I don't know about that. Those albums without MP have some huge detractors, who are all going to show up anyway to see MP regardless of what they play. Then there is a bigger number of huge fans who are definitely going to be disappointed if they skip over those albums. Then there's the biggest number, the majority of DT fans, who don't have strong negative or positive opinions on the albums but would enjoy hearing some of the modern classics, and the most negative of them probably wouldn't be opposed to hearing a couple of the best songs.

Outside of us fans, there's also JP, JR, JLB and JMX who are all happy and excited to have MP back but who probably don't feel like they've just been spinning their wheels waiting for his return. There's also the fact you'll always feel more of a connection to your classic albums and your formative years, but outside of their true formative years, who knows, maybe they have more of an emotional tie to the songs they made for the first Mangini album than the ninth or tenth MP album, seeing how it was a new beginning for them? And then we have MP who said he's not opposed either.

The last 3 MP albums also have some huge detractors. I don't think we know how anyone but JP feels about MP back in the band because we don't know how those discussions unfolded.

I have to agree with Trav. This whole thing is very much about nostalgia. There are other factors but I find it hard to believe that at the core of this whole change is not a sense of 'hes finally back!'. Fans called for over a decade for him to return, they blamed his absence for allegedly rigid and predictable shows, they complained about lack of fan engagement without him...and now is their retribution. He's back to right everything wrong about the darkness of the MM era, to them. Read the Facebook and YouTube comments. The sentiment is unavoidable there. For a lot of fans just having the old line up on stage ripping through the old stuff is like South Park's Randy at the computer gif.

I am personally a tale of two cities on things. It's the worst of DT times but potentially the best of DT times. We could get a total let-down of an album. We could get one of the best albums because there really is something at stake here. I can only speak for myself, but I don't want to hear them just replay old hits. I have high hopes for the music they're just written and are going to write.

[NoFred]

Nostalgia is our issue right now, have to wait to hear the new music to see if it’s theirs too.

1. At Wit’s End
2. Octavarium
3. The Shattered Fortress
4. In the Name of God
5. Learning to Live
6. Untethered Angel
7. A Life Left Behind
8. The Glass Prison
9. Blind Faith
10. Constant Motion

[axeman90210]

1) Octavarium. This song is too good to not have been played in so long. At this point I get if they want to wait until next year for the 20th anniversary, but if the calendar flips to 2026 and DT hasn't made this a feature of one of their tour setlists then they done fucked up.

2) The Glass Prison. I don't know if DT will ever do a "full 12SS" tour given that Mike scratched that itch with The Shattered Fortress, but at the very least tey should bring back the best part of it.

3) Breaking All Illusions. The MM era should continue to be represented in the live setlists going forward, and this is the best them

4) Peruvian Skies- This song rules live, and it's been a long time since it was a regular (in the US at least).

5) Blind Faith- Another Six Degrees gem that's been on the shelf for too long.

6) Erotomania- Fully understand that Voices may be out of James's range at this point, but if the full AMBI suite is off the table then this instrumental at least shouldn't.

7) Barstool Warrior- Another top notch MM era song that should remain in the repertoire.

8) Afterlife- A good song and would be a nice tribute to Charlie

9) S2N- An underappreciated song from D/T. Also, I want to here Mike doing the Owen Wilson soundclip live

10) Constant Motion- Not a great song, but a fun song, and Mike is back to cover his copious backing vocals.

[Dream Team]

Nostalgia is a big part of this reunion.

I don't know about that. Those albums without MP have some huge detractors, who are all going to show up anyway to see MP regardless of what they play. Then there is a bigger number of huge fans who are definitely going to be disappointed if they skip over those albums. Then there's the biggest number, the majority of DT fans, who don't have strong negative or positive opinions on the albums but would enjoy hearing some of the modern classics, and the most negative of them probably wouldn't be opposed to hearing a couple of the best songs.

Outside of us fans, there's also JP, JR, JLB and JMX who are all happy and excited to have MP back but who probably don't feel like they've just been spinning their wheels waiting for his return. There's also the fact you'll always feel more of a connection to your classic albums and your formative years, but outside of their true formative years, who knows, maybe they have more of an emotional tie to the songs they made for the first Mangini album than the ninth or tenth MP album, seeing how it was a new beginning for them? And then we have MP who said he's not opposed either.

The bolded part intrigues me. I would love to hear actual reasons why the 5 albums without MP have huge detractors AS A WHOLE. Because they all sound pretty different from each other. ADTOE is nothing like TA which is nothing like DoT. I fail to see the criticism that would be consistent against each of those 5 albums unless someone had an entrenched anti-MM bias?

[gzarruk]

Some people just didn't want to even conceive the idea of MP-less DT.

[MirrorMask]

@Bosk: when you will eventually pass on the list, would it be too much to ask for some generic comment or feedback from the band? I'm not meaning "Cool, you can be sure we'll play Octavarium and The Glass Prison", but some generic reaction, something like "the band appreciated the list and found it intriguing", "they are genuinely surprised it wasn't all Metropolis / Pull Me Under / Strange Deja Vu", etc etc something generic and vague to see if they were expecting the top 10 songs?

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

@Bosk: when you will eventually pass on the list, would it be too much to ask for some generic comment or feedback from the band? I'm not meaning "Cool, you can be sure we'll play Octavarium and The Glass Prison", but some generic reaction, something like "the band appreciated the list and found it intriguing", "they are genuinely surprised it wasn't all Metropolis / Pull Me Under / Strange Deja Vu", etc etc something generic and vague to see if they were expecting the top 10 songs?

+1, if possible. the reaction of the band as they hear the picks would be awesome. maybe they can film them as if they're reaction videos on youtube (moon shot request, lol)

[crystalstars17]

maybe they can film them as if they're reaction videos on youtube (moon shot request, lol)

Oh I would LOVE this! 🙏

[Indiscipline]

The DT response we deserve:

"Meh, it's DTF by the numbers with some uninspired noodling and posters past their prime. Couldn't they hire someone from devintownsendforums.com for better production?"

[MoraWintersoul]

I fail to see the criticism that would be consistent against each of those 5 albums unless someone had an entrenched anti-MM bias?

I mean, that's what it was they found out the hard way the secret ingredient they wanted in DT was Mike Portnoy and that was it.

[Stadler]

Nostalgia is a big part of this reunion.

I don't know about that. Those albums without MP have some huge detractors, who are all going to show up anyway to see MP regardless of what they play. Then there is a bigger number of huge fans who are definitely going to be disappointed if they skip over those albums. Then there's the biggest number, the majority of DT fans, who don't have strong negative or positive opinions on the albums but would enjoy hearing some of the modern classics, and the most negative of them probably wouldn't be opposed to hearing a couple of the best songs.

Outside of us fans, there's also JP, JR, JLB and JMX who are all happy and excited to have MP back but who probably don't feel like they've just been spinning their wheels waiting for his return. There's also the fact you'll always feel more of a connection to your classic albums and your formative years, but outside of their true formative years, who knows, maybe they have more of an emotional tie to the songs they made for the first Mangini album than the ninth or tenth MP album, seeing how it was a new beginning for them? And then we have MP who said he's not opposed either.

"Modern classics"?   Are there those? 

I KID! I KID! 

I like your post though; I'm in that "bigger group"; not opposed to anything they want to play.   

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

maybe they can film them as if they're reaction videos on youtube (moon shot request, lol)

Oh I would LOVE this! 🙏

it'd be so awesome hahaha

[Architeuthis]

9) S2N- An underappreciated song from D/T. Also, I want to here Mike doing the Owen Wilson soundclip live

    MP would be perfect for that!

 

[Kyo]

Heh, didn't properly read the first post. Let's try this again:

1. Blind Faith
2. Lines in the Sand
3. Lifting Shadows Off a Dream
4. Honor Thy Father
5. Misunderstood
6. Sleeping Giant
7. Bridges in the Sky
8. Hollow Years
9. The Glass Prison
10. Erotomania

[Lonk]

9) S2N- An underappreciated song from D/T. Also, I want to here Mike doing the Owen Wilson soundclip live

    MP would be perfect for that!

I didn't think of the "wow" in a live setting but that would be really cool 

[geeeemo]

9) S2N- An underappreciated song from D/T. Also, I want to here Mike doing the Owen Wilson soundclip live

    MP would be perfect for that!

I didn't think of the "wow" in a live setting but that would be really cool 

I always did, but with the crowd saying it. (hopefully most would be in the know) The timing though....

I also thought the crowd would hum Waooaoo, from Sleeping Giant, but..no.

[ganpondorodf]

I'll admit to being a bit out of the loop; my tastes started to drift away from DT shortly after BC&SL, then when MP left I just didn't listen all that much to the new stuff. Him rejoining them has me excited again though. As I'm out of the loop, and assuming they will continue to play some Mangini-era stuff live, what are the sort of 'fan favorites', if you will, of the Mangini albums?

A Dramatic Turn of Events - I see Breaking All Illusions listed all the time as people's favorite. My personal faves are Bridges in the Sky, Beneath the Surface, and Outcry.

Dream Theater - Personally, I love The Enemy Inside. Surrender to Reason gets a lot of talk too.

The Astonishing - I see this album get mostly maligned, though I think it's great. I think most people would say Moment of Betrayal is a banger though. I really like Our New World (which has a video/was a single).

Distance Over Time - I like Fall Into the Light and Barstool Warrior. Other well liked tracks are At Wit's End and Pale Blue Dot, though I don't care for PBD.

A View From the Top of the World - The Alien won a Grammy, so I could see that coming back. Transcending Time is the only that hasn't been played, so maybe that'll change. This is my least favorite DT album, though.

Thank you! I do remember listening to Breaking all Illusions and thinking it was very good. I'll probably give all those albums a spin but with a particilar focus on the tracks you mentioned. Preesh!

[pg1067]

I'll admit to being a bit out of the loop; my tastes started to drift away from DT shortly after BC&SL, then when MP left I just didn't listen all that much to the new stuff. Him rejoining them has me excited again though. As I'm out of the loop, and assuming they will continue to play some Mangini-era stuff live, what are the sort of 'fan favorites', if you will, of the Mangini albums?

A Dramatic Turn of Events - I see Breaking All Illusions listed all the time as people's favorite. My personal faves are Bridges in the Sky, Beneath the Surface, and Outcry.

Dream Theater - Personally, I love The Enemy Inside. Surrender to Reason gets a lot of talk too.

The Astonishing - I see this album get mostly maligned, though I think it's great. I think most people would say Moment of Betrayal is a banger though. I really like Our New World (which has a video/was a single).

Distance Over Time - I like Fall Into the Light and Barstool Warrior. Other well liked tracks are At Wit's End and Pale Blue Dot, though I don't care for PBD.

A View From the Top of the World - The Alien won a Grammy, so I could see that coming back. Transcending Time is the only that hasn't been played, so maybe that'll change. This is my least favorite DT album, though.

Thank you! I do remember listening to Breaking all Illusions and thinking it was very good. I'll probably give all those albums a spin but with a particilar focus on the tracks you mentioned. Preesh!

We recently did a DT songs countdown (1-100).  Here are the top Mangini-era songs (let me know if the album name acronyms aren't clear):

- Breaking All Illusions (#8 overall) (ADTOE)
- Bridges in the Sky (23) (ADTOE)
- Illumination Theory (25) (DT12)
- At Wit's End (37) (DOT)
- A View from the Top of the Word (49) (View)
- Barstool Warrior (52) (DOT)
- On the Backs of Angels (56) (ADTOE)
- Outcry (58) (ADTOE)
- The Bigger Picture (60) (DT12)
- Pale Blue Dot (62) (DOT)

The highest-ranked song from The Astonishing was A New Beginning at #91.

[Trav86]

I agree with those being the best of that era. If they decided to play an MM track, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were one of those.

[DragonAttack]

I guess I can’t complain about the setlist if I don’t give this a go

Overture 1928 / Strange Déjà vu – good as the opener or first song after intermission

The Glass Prison – not a favorite, but I know of it’s strong appeal.  Again, a good concert opener or right after the intermission.

Breaking All Illusions – a given

Misunderstood – one of my favorite visual performances of the band back in ’08.

As I Am 

Metropolis

One song from D/T (S2N, Fall Into The Light, At Wit's End)

Constant Motion

One WDADU song (preferrably ‘Ytse jam’)

If they don’t perform 8vm due to time constraints and room for the new songs, at least end the concerts with ‘The Razor’s Edge’.  Please!