DT to play the whole I&W in full next year!

[sfam2112]

So how will they handle the dual vocal part in ACOS if they play it? In the past James would hold out that long note while Portnoy sang the other line.

On the ACoS mini-tour, he just held the note out and no one sang the other line. But, I imagine JP could handle it.

[gzarruk]

I feel your pain, they've only come to my country once, for the BC&SL tour, and I couldn't go see them, so I've been sad for not going ever since

At least you got to see ITPOE live, that's one of my DT favorotes as well

Actually no, just the first part I saw the second leg of the SC tour, round the time BC&SL was coming out but they only played AROP from the new album. I was in München (I believe it was 23rd of June 2009), with Neal Morse as supporting act If I recall correctly, that was still part of the SC tour. Correct me if I am wrong. Anyway, it was awesome! I stood out in the rain for a few hours to get in the first line and met my (later) girlfriend for the first time (she's not anymore though ). Later I found out, that Mike Portnoy recorded a lot of his vocals for The Whirlwind at the very same time, backstage, a few meters away from me. I am very proud of having seen DT with MP. Great day.

You got a really nice story there!
I found the setlist for your concert on Setlist fm. Looks like a great setlist! https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dream-theater/2009/norje-havsbad-norje-sweden-5bd613b0.html

Seems like it was more of a short mini tour or series of few dates before they released the album, the same thing they did playing festivals in Europe just before ADTOE was released, and they were only playing OTBOA from the album.

Since it'll be to a click and a bit too robotic for my tastes, I hope they do 8vm since I don't have as strong a connection to it.

Maybe I'm wrong, but why lots of people seem to think that playing to a click makes it sound robotic? 
Every song on every of their studio albums was recorded using a click, same with 99% of albums in general,  and people don't really complain about it. I know it's all about the feel for the show and all that, but the click makes you play everything in sync with the band, lights, videos, etc, and you play the song at the tempo it was supposed to be played on the first place 

[Adami]

Yea, I should clarify that. I used to always play live to a click too, I'm fine with a click. I just feel like (and I know many will disagree with me, so this is just my opinion) that Mangini, in general, is a bit too robotic live (and studio) and I don't think it will mesh too well with ACOS.

Just my opinion of course, and they're free to do whatever.

[bosk1]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

[Bertielee]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

Oh, you, teaser! 

B.Lee

[TheAtliator]

 

[MirrorMask]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

Just for curiosity... he shared in the sense that he told you "We're gonna play this, this and that and also we're gonna do this big epic" or he actually showed you / listed you the entire setlist, song by song? in this second case I thought only Portnoy planned in such advance!

[gzarruk]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

I feel very jealous right now

Did you ask him about their plans for next year, after the IAW tour? I mean, are they going to tour Asia/Australia for TA? or are they going to take some time off and then start working on the next album?

Anyway, thank you! 

[devieira73]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

Bosk, did you ask JP about the DVD from TA live? Thanks!

[Dream Team]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

Hmmm . . . hopefully we'll get a list of North American dates soon.

[krands85]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

You didn't happen to find out if they'll be adding any UK dates did you? 

[gzarruk]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

Hmmm . . . hopefully we'll get a list of North American dates soon.

Would be amazing for North American fans, but I see it very unlikely, considering they just did two US legs for TA. That would take them a lot of time on the road on the same cities, while they haven't even finshed the TA tour (if they plan to continue with it) on other countries.
That would also take them almost  all of 2017 touring, and would push the next album to late 2018 or even early 2019 

We can only speculate, though. 

[noxon]

Color me a bit scared though. They're announcing 4 concerts in norway - we've typically had only one. We're 5 million people here. Add to this the fact that we've been used to ONE concert every two years. Now; over the span of less than two years we will have had 9 concerts - 5 of which are in completely new places for DT.

We have a term when this happens to bands in norway, "Norgesvenner" - Friends of Norway. It's a slighly derogatory term used for bands that are way passed their popularity peak and are touring wherever they can. I'm not saying DT is all there yet, but the waning popularity is plain to see. My job has also become increasingly more difficult. It's REALLY hard to drum up any sort of excitement anymore. I noticed that during the run up to The Astonishing.

I guess it's more of a sickness in the entire music industry though - the money just isnt there as much anymore, and everyone started touring like crazy. But now it's at a point where people are just tired of going to concerts...

[mikeyd23]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

That's awesome!

[hefdaddy42]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

[Pettor]

Color me a bit scared though. They're announcing 4 concerts in norway - we've typically had only one. We're 5 million people here. Add to this the fact that we've been used to ONE concert every two years. Now; over the span of less than two years we will have had 9 concerts - 5 of which are in completely new places for DT.

We have a term when this happens to bands in norway, "Norgesvenner" - Friends of Norway. It's a slighly derogatory term used for bands that are way passed their popularity peak and are touring wherever they can. I'm not saying DT is all there yet, but the waning popularity is plain to see. My job has also become increasingly more difficult. It's REALLY hard to drum up any sort of excitement anymore. I noticed that during the run up to The Astonishing.

I guess it's more of a sickness in the entire music industry though - the money just isnt there as much anymore, and everyone started touring like crazy. But now it's at a point where people are just tired of going to concerts...

I get exactly what you mean. They have 3 concerts in Sweden and only time I ever seen an arena being sold out here is 8V tour when they had a big peak you could actually see posters of them coming here. I don't get how they are supposed to sell out this. I hope it will go well and this works so they can repeat the concept, but worried it will be the opposite.

[bosk1]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

Just for curiosity... he shared in the sense that he told you "We're gonna play this, this and that and also we're gonna do this big epic" or he actually showed you / listed you the entire setlist, song by song? in this second case I thought only Portnoy planned in such advance!

He showed me the exact set list, written out.  Part of the reason it is planned out so far in advance is because they have basically been touring nonstop with only short breaks.  And there is more planned.  They are not going to have a ton of time to rehearse before they start playing this stuff.  So even though it is possible that things could change somewhat between now and the time that tour leg gets going, they have it pretty much dialed in so that they can start rehearsing the set from start to finish and be prepared.  Also, keep in mind that even though Mike Mangini has been in the band 6 years and is both a phenomenal player and a phenomenal student of music, he is still the "new guy" in the band and has not played the majority of the DT catalog, so he has a lot of learning to do any time they add new songs that he has not played.  So a couple of things to keep in mind related to that:

1.  This era of the band has a slightly different mindset than the prior version of the band.  They aren't going for the "fly by the seat of our pants" vibe and just throwing stuff together because it might be fun to try.  The overall band mindset for their live performances is, they want to present shows that are well rehearsed and well produced, and that come across as very polished.  They don't want to, for example, come up with a set of all new material that some or all of the members feel less than 100% ready to present in a very polished form.  They want everyone on stage to feel 100% comfortable with all the material so they can deliver these songs in their best, most energetic form.

2.  The above also means that the sets will not consist of all new material that Mangini has never played before.  To make sure Mike isn't overwhelmed, they will absolutely be playing some songs that they have already played with him on prior tours.  But there will definitely be SOME songs that he has not played on yet.  And...related to that, there will definitely be some songs that the band has not played in a VERY long time (or ever).  They are trying to put together a good mix of new and old, but the overall mindset was along the lines of, "Let's pick songs that we know are crowd pleasers that the audiences have really reacted well to, and let's go out there and just try to have as much fun as possible."  I really think they have done a great job of putting together a set that is going to put huge smiles on most fans' faces. 

3.  Kind of redundant, but just to be clear:  They will be playing songs that Mangini has played live with the band.  Because they are still touring in support of The Astonishing, that album will definitely be represented.  But there will be other songs, both new and old, that Mangini has played with them before.  But again, they consciously decided to pick songs that have really developed a solid live following that audiences have reacted well to.  Having seen the list myself, and knowing what the feedback has been on these forums to a lot of those songs, I agree that they picked GREAT selections from that standpoint.

For now, here's a tidbit about the Images & Words set:  Confirmed that the plan is to play all songs in their entirety!  So, for example, they will not chop the "if there's a pensive fear" verse out of Take the Time.  They are going to go for it, and James is completely on board.  As John put it, "James is going to have to eat his Wheaties for this tour!" 

More later...

[bosk1]

Okay, so...I talked to JP last night after the show in Reno, and he shared the set list with me.  First off, no, I will not tell you the entire set list and will not confirm or deny guesses...for the most part.    I will drop some details here and there, but not enough for people to piece the set together.  But for now, suffice to say:  This is not something to be missed.  People will DEFINITELY enjoy this show.  If you can go to one of these dates, DO IT!

Bosk, did you ask JP about the DVD from TA live? Thanks!

I'm so sorry, no, I didn't get a chance to ask that.  The conversation just took a different direction and I didn't get to it.  But John and I plan to try to get caught up on some other things in the near future, so I will try to remember to revisit that.

[hefdaddy42]

bosky, that sounds incredible.

[bosk1]

It will be "epic." 

[hefdaddy42]

It will be "epic." 

Did you ask if it would be Europe-only, or if it would be coming to the States?

[bosk1]

Yes, I did ask.

[TAC]

Um..and..?

[MirrorMask]

Thanks for the very comprehensive update!

I love how you left out any references to them playing A Change of Seasons, they surely told you to be tight lipped about it... 

Ahaha, just kiddin'. But seriously, thanks for explaining the mindset of the band on this, it's always nice to see how they approach their own shows and performances.

[bosk1]

Um..and..?

Oh, sorry.  Let me be more specific:  He answered. 

[bosk1]

Thanks for the very comprehensive update!

I love how you left out any references to them playing A Change of Seasons, they surely told you to be tight lipped about it... 

Ahaha, just kiddin'. But seriously, thanks for explaining the mindset of the band on this, it's always nice to see how they approach their own shows and performances.

My general practice is, I do not leak ANYTHING they tell me unless they have clearly given permission.  I do have permission to share some details.  But we have time.  No use spilling the beans about everything just yet. 

I will just say that with respect to some of the speculative songs that have been listed in people's set lists:  Some guesses are correct.  Some are not.

[OpenYourEyes311]

Your "not-answering" if it's coming to the US makes me think it IS coming to the US and you were told not to say anything until the dates have been posted.

And THAT gets me excited.

I'm sure they're waiting until the current tour is over before announcing a new tour. That would make sense and will prevent confusion.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Confirmed that the plan is to play all songs in their entirety!  So, for example, they will not chop the "if there's a pensive fear" verse out of Take the Time.  They are going to go for it, and James is completely on board.  As John put it, "James is going to have to eat his Wheaties for this tour!" 

So not only are they playing Take the Time (my favorite DT song under 10 minutes) for the first time since Portnoy left, but they're playing it in full?! They better come to America and more specifically NYC.

[MirrorMask]

One very minor issue I have with Take the Time live: for whatever reason they chose to just sing the title as backup during the chorus, rather than doing it like on the studio version and sing "it's time to take the time", ascending... instead they just say "Take the time" in a descending way, and it makes a lot of difference, I like way more the studio version and I hope they'll stick to that.

Also, but this just me noticing, James usually sings in Under a Glass Moon "I argue with the clouds, beauty from their eyes" completely skipping "STEALING beauty" from the original lyric. Maybe it's just to deliver the line better and skipping the word makes his breathing easier, dunno.

[bosk1]

One very minor issue I have with Take the Time live: for whatever reason they chose to just sing the title as backup during the chorus, rather than doing it like on the studio version and sing "it's time to take the time", ascending... instead they just say "Take the time" in a descending way, and it makes a lot of difference, I like way more the studio version and I hope they'll stick to that.

Also, but this just me noticing, James usually sings in Under a Glass Moon "I argue with the clouds, beauty from their eyes" completely skipping "STEALING beauty" from the original lyric. Maybe it's just to deliver the line better and skipping the word makes his breathing easier, dunno.

Well, keep in mind that, in the studio, you generally record a song one line at a time.  That is, you sing one line, stop, redo if it isn't "perfect," rest, and then do the next line, etc.  That sometimes results in vocal lines that are near impossible to duplicate live, especially in a band's earlier years, typically.  And kind of similarly with backing vocals, they typically have many, many layered vocal parts in the studio, many of which are by the lead singer.  No offense to him, but I don't think JP could do the ascending vocal chorus line of he wanted to.    Now if they do the I&W songs to a click and have a backing track for the vocal harmonies, maybe that issue will get sorted out.

[King Postwhore]

bosk1 =

Thanks for the facts boss.

[gzarruk]

Your "not-answering" if it's coming to the US makes me think it IS coming to the US and you were told not to say anything until the dates have been posted.

And THAT gets me excited.

I'm sure they're waiting until the current tour is over before announcing a new tour. That would make sense and will prevent confusion.

The only bad aspect of it is that, if they, in fact, tour the US and other places with this IAW anniversary, they would've been touring for almost 2 years with little breaks in between. That would mean the next album would be pushed back for even 2019 I'd hate to wait that long for a new DT album, considering they'd probably never play another concert here  , and I get very excited for new music from them

[OpenYourEyes311]

Your "not-answering" if it's coming to the US makes me think it IS coming to the US and you were told not to say anything until the dates have been posted.

And THAT gets me excited.

I'm sure they're waiting until the current tour is over before announcing a new tour. That would make sense and will prevent confusion.

The only bad aspect of it is that, if they, in fact, tour the US and other places with this IAW anniversary, they would've been touring for almost 2 years with little breaks in between. That would mean the next album would be pushed back for even 2019 I'd hate to wait that long for a new DT album, considering they'd probably never play another concert here  , and I get very excited for new music from them

I totally get that, especially if they don't tour near you. But they've been going non-stop on a write-record-tour process since basically Falling Into Infinity with very little downtime. Even losing a key member didn't slow them down much. They've put out 10 albums in the last 20 years. If they want to slow down the "write/record" process for more "tour" process, I have no problem with that, and I think they've earned the right to do whatever they want to do. I'd only ask that with special tours like this (and, really, the Astonishing tour has been pretty special too), we'd get some sort of live release with it to tide us over until the next album.

[KevShmev]

Good info, bosk1.

Regarding songs they've never played with Mangini, I think The Bigger Picture is a good bet.  I remember JLB was a big fan of that one, and I think it will finally find its way in there.  Would be cool to see Surrender to Reason, too, but I'd be happy to see either or both.

Should be interesting to see which Astonishing songs make it on to the set with them going for a set list of the whole catalogue.  Our New World is the easy pick to survive, and I think A New Beginning and Three Days are likely choices as well.

[GasparXR]

Exciting! I do hope they come to NA for this tour.