Tbf, if those bars are anything like the bars I go to - and I'd assume they are, given that they have a jukebox - everyone just puts on their own stuff anyway. That's kind of the whole point. It'll go from Toploader to Pantera to Tupac to Alice Cooper to Slayer in the blink of an eye, there
is no unified atmosphere. People might sing along if they're drunk enough when a song they know (or requested!) comes on, and then resume drinking and enjoying their time.
Heck, what's wrong with Dream Theater anyway? Put on the Residents if you want to clear the room, but DT play pretty palatable rock music for the most part. I very much doubt that the string of girls leaving had anything to do with the music that was on. Sure, Octavarium's a bit slow for eight minutes or so, but if you put on A Change of Seasons I doubt anyone's gonna be listening intently enough to realise that it's been the same song playing for the last twenty minutes. They're just going to hear "some rock song that they don't know" five times over - wow, you've sure ruined
their pub atmosphere!
Seriously it's not like he put on some kind of avant-garde drone symphony. He felt like a bit of DT so he put it on. Bit abusive inasmuch as he got an hour's worth of music for the same price as what would usually constitute about 20 minutes' worth, but other than that I don't get why everyone's being so dicky about it. It's a bit of a laugh and he put some rockin' songs on. Fair play I say.
I mean don't get me wrong, the "URRRR get rid of the HATEFUL SINFUL
PEEPLES" attitude to social interaction is completely baffling and a little bit Gollum if he's being serious (which I very much doubt), but it's not like he set off a chemical weapon. Give the guy a break.
I'm aware that that was inordinately long, but then I'm an inordinately long kinda guy. If you catch my drift.
...ladies?