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

[Zantera]

Without getting into specific songs yet (i might do that in another post) just thinking realistically about it, a few things I would consider:

1. Probably one WDADU song since Dominici passed as a tribute, and also with MP returning it would feel logical having something from the first album
2. I think the focus will be on the new album but also the classic albums MP played a part in, would definitely expect most of the setlist to be that
3. But I do think there will be at least 1 (maybe 2) songs from the Mangini era, because he was there for 5 albums and it's too much material to completely overlook and it would also cause unnecessary drama within the fanbase if they ignored it completely
4. I would expect at least 2 classic songs as in among their most popular (whether thats Pull Me Under, Metropolis, Octavarium or whatever else) to show off them being back in full force with a bang

[Lonk]

1. Probably one WDADU song since Dominici passed as a tribute, and also with MP returning it would feel logical having something from the first album

This triggered a though. Yes, a song from WDADU would be nice, but maybe a song from SFAM given that it was the first album recorded with this line up, OR a song from BC&SL since it was the last with this line up before MP's return.

If they play a song from BC&SL, I would take any of them except ANTR.

[emtee]

I was thinking it would be kind of cool/different if they played the opener of every album. I don't think any band has ever done that before.

[Schurftkut]

reading learning to live as a suggestion many times over (i dismissed IW completely for ideas for the upcoming tour) i was thinking that JLB could come out for the F# whoa, but instead of trying it himself, encourage the audience to sing it! That would be engaging, but also keep him from trying "the thing" from the past and failing.

also love the suggestion of To Live Forever as a tribute to Charlie. That song is the first one i heard from DT actually, would be nice to finally hear it live!

[crystalstars17]

I can't help noticing that almost EVERY post has mentioned Octavarium! 😁✨✨✨✨

[Zantera]

1. Probably one WDADU song since Dominici passed as a tribute, and also with MP returning it would feel logical having something from the first album

This triggered a though. Yes, a song from WDADU would be nice, but maybe a song from SFAM given that it was the first album recorded with this line up, OR a song from BC&SL since it was the last with this line up before MP's return.

If they play a song from BC&SL, I would take any of them except ANTR.

I feel like getting something from Scenes almost feels like a given. It's the most classic album they released with this lineup so surely something from it will be played. Getting something from BCSL feels a little bit less likely but I could see it happen for the reasons you say. However I dont think they would play one of the epics from it and maybe they would do one of the shorter songs?

Considering Awake is celebrating 30 years this year I feel like surely something from it will be played? I know they did a lot of it for the 25 (?) anniversary but just playing one song from it would tick off both "play something from the classic DT era" and also "play something from Awake for the 30 years anniversary".

[Setlist Scotty]

I was thinking it would be kind of cool/different if they played the opener of every album. I don't think any band has ever done that before.

Interesting idea, but I wonder how well that would work. Some of those songs only feel right if they open or close a show. Having some of them in the middle would just be weird.

[hefdaddy42]

I can't help noticing that almost EVERY post has mentioned Octavarium! 😁✨✨✨✨

Yep.  They only ever played it on that tour.

I saw it then, so it's not a bucket list song for me or anything.  It's just awesome, and it's been way too long.

[pg1067]

I was thinking it would be kind of cool/different if they played the opener of every album. I don't think any band has ever done that before.

DT did it on a lot of shows on the I&W tour.   

[Setlist Scotty]

I was thinking it would be kind of cool/different if they played the opener of every album. I don't think any band has ever done that before.

DT did it on a lot of shows on the I&W tour.   

I think emtee means a setlist consisting of AFiL, PMU, 6:00, NM, etc. all in one setlist - not different opening bands.

[pg1067]

I was thinking it would be kind of cool/different if they played the opener of every album. I don't think any band has ever done that before.

DT did it on a lot of shows on the I&W tour.   

I think emtee means a setlist consisting of AFiL, PMU, 6:00, NM, etc. all in one setlist - not different opening bands.

I understood what he meant....   

[Samsara]

1. Scarred
2. A Change of Seasons
3. Anna Lee
4. The Great Debate
5. Stream of Consciousness
6. Trial of Tears
7. The Glass Prison
8. In the Name of God
9. Eve
10. Home

[nobloodyname]

No Octavarium. List invalidated!

[hefdaddy42]

No Octavarium. List invalidated!

[Samsara]

I'm sorry, but I think the Octavarium album, and the song itself, are some of Dream Theater's most derivative works. I know I'm in the minority, but it's how I feel. I mean, that title track, they completely ripped off Kansas in one section, not to mention other bands. I don't find it creative and enjoyable.

[Madman Shepherd]

I'm sorry, but I think the Octavarium album, and the song itself, are some of Dream Theater's most derivative works. I know I'm in the minority, but it's how I feel. I mean, that title track, they completely ripped off Kansas in one section, not to mention other bands. I don't find it creative and enjoyable.

I love 8V when it came out. It's largely responsible for becoming a hardcore fan even though I'd been listening to them somewhat casually for 5 years at that point. I think the accessibility of that album helped finally break the prog barrier I put up in my brain to fully enjoy all sides, not just the metal and the mellow.

That said, I mostly agree with you. The two songs I love off that album were the only two I didn't care for at first. The rest that I loved right off the bat I'm kinda "meh" about now

[Chino]

I'm sorry, but I think the Octavarium album, and the song itself, are some of Dream Theater's most derivative works. I know I'm in the minority, but it's how I feel. I mean, that title track, they completely ripped off Kansas in one section, not to mention other bands. I don't find it creative and enjoyable.

Which bit ripped off Kansas?

Not denying your claim. Just curious because I never made that connection while listening.

[Samsara]

I'm sorry, but I think the Octavarium album, and the song itself, are some of Dream Theater's most derivative works. I know I'm in the minority, but it's how I feel. I mean, that title track, they completely ripped off Kansas in one section, not to mention other bands. I don't find it creative and enjoyable.

Which bit ripped off Kansas?

Not denying your claim. Just curious because I never made that connection while listening.

I'd have to go back and listen to both tracks, but a part of Kansas' "Magnum Opus" is fully repeated by "Octavarium." Could be the very end. I forget, it has been at least a decade since I played the latter.

[lovethedrake]

I'm sorry, but I think the Octavarium album, and the song itself, are some of Dream Theater's most derivative works. I know I'm in the minority, but it's how I feel. I mean, that title track, they completely ripped off Kansas in one section, not to mention other bands. I don't find it creative and enjoyable.

Not only do I agree with this, but I also loved the Top 10 you just put out.    Seems like we have similar taste.

Octavarium has grown on me over the years (I absolutely hated it when it came out) but its definitely derivative and not in a good way as the bands they chose to emulate like U2 and Muse are not why I fell in love with Dream Theater.   I feel like this is the album when they started to lose steam as a band.   

The title track is good but  overrated by many and I certainly didn't include it on my top 10 to play here.   

[OpenYourEyes311]

I was thinking it would be kind of cool/different if they played the opener of every album. I don't think any band has ever done that before.

Interesting idea, but I wonder how well that would work. Some of those songs only feel right if they open or close a show. Having some of them in the middle would just be weird.

I noticed that on the first leg of the D/T tour, the setlist contained five album openers.

[nobloodyname]

I'm sorry, but I think the Octavarium album, and the song itself, are some of Dream Theater's most derivative works. I know I'm in the minority, but it's how I feel. I mean, that title track, they completely ripped off Kansas in one section, not to mention other bands. I don't find it creative and enjoyable.

Which bit ripped off Kansas?

Not denying your claim. Just curious because I never made that connection while listening.

I'd have to go back and listen to both tracks, but a part of Kansas' "Magnum Opus" is fully repeated by "Octavarium." Could be the very end. I forget, it has been at least a decade since I played the latter.

I'd never heard Magnum Opus so I just listened. There's nothing there, as far as I can tell, that is "fully repeated" in Octavarium. Maybe a hint of a bit around the six or seven minute mark if I squint really hard? Like super hard and also pop some cotton wool in my ears?

[Samsara]

I could have the song wrong. It has been many years. But there is a section that is totally ripped off from a Kansas song.

Whatever, I could care less what people think. I realize my opinion about Octavarium, both the album and song, are in the minority.

[pg1067]

I'm sorry, but I think the Octavarium album, and the song itself, are some of Dream Theater's most derivative works. I know I'm in the minority, but it's how I feel. I mean, that title track, they completely ripped off Kansas in one section, not to mention other bands. I don't find it creative and enjoyable.

Which bit ripped off Kansas?

Not denying your claim. Just curious because I never made that connection while listening.

I'd have to go back and listen to both tracks, but a part of Kansas' "Magnum Opus" is fully repeated by "Octavarium." Could be the very end. I forget, it has been at least a decade since I played the latter.

I'd never heard Magnum Opus so I just listened. There's nothing there, as far as I can tell, that is "fully repeated" in Octavarium. Maybe a hint of a bit around the six or seven minute mark if I squint really hard? Like super hard and also pop some cotton wool in my ears?

Yeah...I'm very familiar with both tunes.  There's some stylistic similarity, but I've never noticed anything that I thought was actually lifted from MO into 8VM.  I'll give MO a listen later today.

[hefdaddy42]

The end of Octavarium is similar to the end of Kansas's The Wall, if memory serves.

[nobloodyname]

There's a run of climbing notes around 4m35 in that one that's similar to a run at the end of Octavarium. Only a few seconds, though, and I imagine it's something that's appeared at the end of a thousand progrock epics.

[dvargas]

1. Lifting Shadows off a Dream
2. Speak to me
3.  Take away my pain
4.  Misunderstood
5.  The Great Debate
6.  Never Enough
7.  At Wits End
8.  A New Beginning
9.  Ministry of lost souls
10. Octavarium

[sfam2112]

The end of Octavarium is similar to the end of Kansas's The Wall, if memory serves.

Six Degrees 😉
That main motif reminds me of "The Wall", at least.

Just wanted to say that while I appreciate ALL the feedback, to those posting in a form other than a ranked list, I cannot tally and score your choices, so they can't be included in the final list that gets sent to the band.

In that case, I want to go back and rank my list:
1. Scarred
2. The Glass Prison
3. Lie
4. Surrender To Reason
5. Lines in The Sand
6. Pale Blue Dot
7. The Alien
8. Home
9. Honor Thy Father
10. Panic Attack

[11. A View From The Top of The World 😁]

[Plasmastrike]

01. Illumination Theory - This song is a colossus - The rhythms are so fun and every time I listen to this song I love it even more. If the boys practice it hard, it could be such a majestic performance. MP would be all over those very heavy and dramatic riffs and piano. I think he would have a lot of fun with this one. And that massive fill before the first verse! We love you MM.. As for the middle section: I would be fine leaving it as is, or if the band decided to take some creative liberties to perform it in a new way.

02. The Glass Prison - Hasn't been played in soo long, and what better way to show MP is back?!

03. The Shattered Fortress - First time this was played live was 2014, which means MP has never played it with DT. We need to see that! Also, TGP/TSF back-to-back would be a nice nod to the Suite without having to play the entire thing.

04. A Life Left Behind/My Last Farewell - Apologies for grouping two songs. These songs are massive. It's beautiful to imagine MP playing that proggy intro and smiling during the verses/chorus. MLF is short but hits so hard. The syncopation, RIPPING JR solo, crawling JP riffs all over the place, and a theatrical JLB performance.

05. Surrender To Reason - A very special song and a vibe not captured on any other DT track. Never been played live. I think MP would add some amazing touches to the Rush-sounding intro, heavy riffs, cymbal work during the chorus, and more. We need to see JP perform this solo! Vocals are beautiful and not too straining on JLB.

06. S2N - Extremely fun yet intricate song. Never been played live. Would be great to see JP/MP (maybe JR?!) help with vocals. Dat outro..

07. Stream Of Consciousness - I would love to see the boys play this eery tune, especially without a click track. Feeding off each others energy, trudging their way through that middle section together, coming out triumphant at the end.

08. The Alien - This song is cemented into DT history for winning the Grammy. It's full of energy and I would love to see MP's take on it.

09. Lie - Really, really fun song. Classic DT showcasing all band members and ends with John, John, and Mike going crazy.

10. These Walls - One of the most beautiful DT songs. So easy to put on and listen to. A calmer song which allows MP to shine on those gentle verses, and that dramatic outro is too good.

Honorable mention:
One Last Time


Here is a setlist using the tracks above & some new album tracks. I believe it would work beautifully in terms of balancing the pacing/speed of the songs, taking the audience on an emotional ride, giving the band members breaks, and hitting different eras past and present.

Songs grouped together would be played with very little, if any, break between them. The songs sound awesome flowing into one another, check it out  . Spaces between the song groups would give time for applause, or as much time as the band wanted to rest, switch guitars, talk to the crowd, etc.

Setlist:

New album: Single or Album Opener track

Lie
S2N

The Glass Prison
The Shattered Fortress

A Life Left Behind
My Last Farewell

New album: Shorter track

Stream of Consciousness
One Last Time
These Walls

The Alien
Surrender To Reason

Illumination Theory

New album: Longer track

New album: Encore track

~2hr 45min?

[Polarbear]

1. A Change of Seasons (Still easily the best DT epic IMO.)
2. These Walls
3. The Glass Prison
4. Surrounded
5. Lifting Shadows
6. Honor Thy Father
7. At Wit's End
8. Under a Glass Moon
9. Afterlife (A tribute for Charlie)
10. Raise The Knife (Longshot, but still would be so cool.)

[skydivingninja]

I think it'd be funny to put 10 Mangini songs but I'll be more sincere here.

1. Octavarium. It's their best epic, one of the songs that got me into the band, and their attempts at 20+ epics since have really fallen flat in comparison.
2. At Wit's End. The best Mangini-era song, and the one song from this era that stands toe-to-toe with their all-time classics.
3. Afterlife. There should be a Dominici tribute but I hope they tune down for James.
4. Home. WOMP WOMP
5. On the Backs of Angels. I've always really liked this one and I still come back to it. So 🤷🏼‍♂️
6. These Walls. Another 8vm song that got me into the band. It'd be really cool to see this one.
7. Barstool Warrior. It was really refreshing to hear an old-Marillion-style prog song on a modern DT album. Doesn't hurt that it's really strong.
8. Hollow Years extended. I've seen it before but it's good enough for seconds. Way to take an okay song and elevate it live!
9. Overture 1928/Strange Deja Vu.
10. The Glass Prison. I'm hesitant to wish for anything JLB has to belt but I needed some 6DoiT rep on this list and it's one of my favorites.

[Zydar]

3. Afterlife. There should be a Dominici tribute but I hope they tune down for James.

Good call, I hope they'll do a Charlie tribute on the next tour. I wonder if they'll consider doing a WDADU medley, or if JP will put his foot down on medleys

[Indiscipline]

I'm sorry, but I think the Octavarium album, and the song itself, are some of Dream Theater's most derivative works. I know I'm in the minority, but it's how I feel. I mean, that title track, they completely ripped off Kansas in one section, not to mention other bands. I don't find it creative and enjoyable.

I thought I was alone in this.

[hefdaddy42]

The end of Octavarium is similar to the end of Kansas's The Wall, if memory serves.

Six Degrees 😉
That main motif reminds me of "The Wall", at least.

You're right.  That's what I was thinking of.

[Samsara]

Yeah, there needs to be a WDADU medley in Charlie's honor. I feel stupid I forgot that. It has to be done.

And tuned down, as someone suggested, so James can get those notes. I hope they do honor Charlie, IMO. Let us applaud the work he was a part of.

[JMSE]

- Octavarium as an encore would be absolutely badass
- Afterlife (RIP Charlie)
- In the name of God.
- Metropolis
- The Path that Divides or New Beginning from TA
- The Glass Prison
- Lie
- The Dark Eternal Night
- Home (my wife's fav)