Simulation Theory tour discussion

[Hat]

Nope since this is the only safe space for moaners because the subreddit is horrendous

 

 

I’d say the subreddit is pretty moany

[Luigi.]

Out of curiosity - what would make y’all happy regarding the upcoming tour? I’m talking the big one in spring, not lil gigs where they’ll play whatever.

 

Edit: like bare minimum, not in an ideal world

Decent length setlists with heavy/raw songs in the US. The setlists for the Drones arena tour and amphitheater shows were horrendous. Aside from those three shows that had B&H and TAB.

[kueller]

Out of curiosity - what would make y’all happy regarding the upcoming tour? I’m talking the big one in spring, not lil gigs where they’ll play whatever.

 

Edit: like bare minimum, not in an ideal world

 

I want energy and randomness. I've come to not give a shit about flow anymore, I just want to see a set that they can put their all into. Cigale is a good example. It was all over the place but didn't matter, it was fun because how different it was.

 

I don't care about rotation either as I've said. Playing a good variety and a good number of songs the same every night is better than shuffling an average shorter set. I'm tired of the one (if any) rarity and then the same huge chunks of songs that work the same as they've done the past decade almost.

 

And I want this to carry on in the US.

[kueller]

I also want better crowds in the US but that's not entirely on the band.

[heyjackk]

So any videos of TDS? I think that’s all that anyone cares about from this show.

 

 

Could only find this one so far that's like half the song. Still sounds great from what's there.

 

Matt playing the synth line between the chorus and second verse is a cool touch.

[JimmyP117]

 

Could only find this one so far that's like half the song. Still sounds great from what's there.

 

Matt playing the synth line between the chorus and second verse is a cool touch.

 

Matt sounds good in that clip. Glad he gave the opening A4 a go.

[TheSmallPrint02]

Why is it that they never play songs that have titles which perfectly fit the gig name?

 

For example, no Bliss at Blizzcon. No Stockholm Syndrome at Stockholm Ericsson Dome. Now no Reapers at Reeperbahn.

[JimmyP117]

Out of curiosity - what would make y’all happy regarding the upcoming tour? I’m talking the big one in spring, not lil gigs where they’ll play whatever.

 

Edit: like bare minimum, not in an ideal world

 

 

I'll hold out hope for the upcoming tour but for the first time since '07 this might be one I skip. This makes me sad.

 

Bare minimum would be:

 

-18/19 songs (which is still shocking for a band their size) per gig. Jams don't count.

-a 'semi-rare' slot. Nothing too extreme...MotP or B&H for example.

-the return of a dedicated piano section. Please, Muse?

-a genuine shake up of the set structure; the Mercy, Uprising and Knights encore was done to death last time. Hoping the inclusion of the ST songs will help with mixing up the order at least.

 

Might as well throw in the wishful thinking:

 

-they keep one of the by request rarities in for each gig: rotate between Assassin/MM/Showbiz/SFA/Eternally Missed etc.

-instrumental breaks for Matt are inevitable so something different there would be good...Forced In? The Gallery?

-Less likely but maaaybe a revival of a piano-based song like Hoodoo/RBS?

 

Given how expensive ticket prices are these days there has to be something more than just 'new album songs plus the hits' for me to keep on seeing them.

[Rustyy]

Out of curiosity - what would make y’all happy regarding the upcoming tour? I’m talking the big one in spring, not lil gigs where they’ll play whatever.

 

Edit: like bare minimum, not in an ideal world

 

Energy and fun. If it’s new album and the hits, I may be ok with it if it’s a fun night. Other than than - new album, hits, and one “rarity” is really my minimum I would say (a bliss, TAB, would do)

[Clunge]

TDS sounds pretty 'dece live.

[Clunge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uAv-wPXGl8

 

Fullish song.

[forevermusic]

Dark Side sounds decent in its live iteration. I'm partly disappointed they didn't rock up in the Back to the Future clobber they wore in the promo vid for it tbf.

 

Maybe for the proper promo shows they'll do a longer than 60-70 minute slot and throw in at least one thing that isn't from the same old hit parade.

[Spiralia-statica]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uAv-wPXGl8

 

Fullish song.

 

I didn't find the full song. Thanks for that 😊

[shostakobitch]

the dark side sounded good but there’s a couple of things to work out. i feel pain for chris because i think he may have needed more time to rest but seeing as he is doing the tv gig early this upcoming week too i suppose there is no way out now...

 

i think the drumming could be a little lighter in the sense where some beats need space between them for that rolling interplay between the bass and synth lines in this song. the three parts should fit in between each other completely nested and synchronous. i think bass could benefit from more of a staccato execution as if it does not have that punch of the album it will disappear and it is a necessary component of disruption in this song. i hope the “save me from the dark side” lower harmony comes into the live performance as i believe it was sung as just an octave below matt’s vocal line rather than the painful, dissonant harmony of the album version. there is also a minor drum part in the second verse of the song that didn’t make it live and i hope it gets worked in.

 

i know it was the first performance so i am not mad or annoyed. these are just some final wishes.

[JimmyP117]

Interesting, I thought the 'save me from the dark side' falsetto was delivered really well like on the album version, didn't sound painful at all to me. Probably my fav part of the song.

[Citizen_Eraser]

 

Could only find this one so far that's like half the song. Still sounds great from what's there.

 

Matt playing the synth line between the chorus and second verse is a cool touch.

 

I’m 99% sure on the album version that part is guitar and bass also. So it would have been weird to me if he didn’t play it and instead left it to a synth.

[OriginOfAbso]

I’m 99% sure on the album version that part is guitar and bass also. So it would have been weird to me if he didn’t play it and instead left it to a synth.

 

Except on the studio version it keeps playing through the whole 2nd verse, while live Matt stops before the verse starts, then I guess it keeps playing on a track. So not sure.

[Jobby]

I also lurve that wee post-chorus bit Matt fills in. Almost Stockholm-y, just drenched in fx

 

Bare Minimum, They could’ve played tonight’s set with maybe a Map/ Butterflies rotation in the 4th song slot, and maybe ended the main set with some kind of New Born/Bliss/ Stockholm rotation instead of Mercy (I’d take NB or Bliss just because of how many times I’ve seen SS as much as I love it) and I would’ve walked away saying it was the best gig I’ve seen in years .. which I feel like isn’t crazy to wish for ?

 

It wouldn’t be crazy to ask for at a normal gig, though a smidge specific. I’d imagine the actual ST shows will include stuff most of those songs as rotations. This was just a label showcase promo show though, playing new stuff + greatest hits is kinda the point of them.

 

Decent length setlists with heavy/raw songs in the US. The setlists for the Drones arena tour and amphitheater shows were horrendous. Aside from those three shows that had B&H and TAB.

 

Depends how you define ‘decent length’. I think the length they were hitting on the Drones WT was good enough, just didn’t necessarily use the time optimally. Would check any expectations for ‘heavy/raw’ stuff at the door considering the direction this record’s going in. Only songs like that I’d expect in rotation would be SS, Psycho, Handler and maybe Reapers a couple of times. At small shows obvs anything’s up in the air though.

 

I want energy and randomness. I've come to not give a shit about flow anymore, I just want to see a set that they can put their all into. Cigale is a good example. It was all over the place but didn't matter, it was fun because how different it was.

 

I don't care about rotation either as I've said. Playing a good variety and a good number of songs the same every night is better than shuffling an average shorter set. I'm tired of the one (if any) rarity and then the same huge chunks of songs that work the same as they've done the past decade almost.

 

And I want this to carry on in the US.

 

Would agree with that, don’t think I’ve actually had many bad flowing gigs in person but fun definitely trumps it ultimately. Hopefully whatever setup they’ve got production-wise doesn’t restrict the band or their connection to the audience too much, if not the set.

 

I'll hold out hope for the upcoming tour but for the first time since '07 this might be one I skip. This makes me sad.

 

Bare minimum would be:

 

-18/19 songs (which is still shocking for a band their size) per gig. Jams don't count.

-a 'semi-rare' slot. Nothing too extreme...MotP or B&H for example.

-the return of a dedicated piano section. Please, Muse?

-a genuine shake up of the set structure; the Mercy, Uprising and Knights encore was done to death last time. Hoping the inclusion of the ST songs will help with mixing up the order at least.

 

Wouldn’t say 18/19 is anywhere near shocking tbh all depends on the length of your songs too. Not including jams? I’d expect between 16 and 18, same as Drones. ST songs seem to be shorter so far though so maybe they’ll have enough time for 19 or even 20 but let’s keep it calm for now. Don’t think you’ll get an active semi-rare slot since they don’t really operate like that, would imagine those songs are around but just rotated in for more common stuff. Can see a piano slot coming back for Algorithm at least, how much that gets rotated or if they’ll have another slot with it idk.

 

Agree on the structure. The second half of Muse gigs has consisted of a lot of the same songs over the last 10-12 years - your TIROs, Starlights, Uprisings, Knights, Madness, etc w/ the odd new song thrown in - leads to the gigs losing that initial excitement as it goes on. Move some up to the first half, move some from the first to the second and boom. We’ve seen PIB and Stockholm and, to an extent, Starlight move up a bit last tour, hopefully that’ll continue. Some alternate versions to freshen them up could do a job as well - looking particularly at Starlight. Rotating closers and encore closers even just with each other would be lovely but, alas, no point even suggesting owt other than Knights at this point.

 

Energy and fun. If it’s new album and the hits, I may be ok with it if it’s a fun night. Other than than - new album, hits, and one “rarity” is really my minimum I would say (a bliss, TAB, would do)

 

V similar to my mindset. Gimme as hit-filled, poppy a set and gig as you want, as long as the performance is there and the songs live up, otherwise it just won’t feel right. Would love something like Bliss to become more regular with it being kinda poppy itself. Maybe bring Panic Station and Follow Me back into the mix as well. IBTY a pipe dream.

[Clunge]

I think Follow Me would fit well on this tour.

 

Heck, let's get Endlessly back too.

[shostakobitch]

Interesting, I thought the 'save me from the dark side' falsetto was delivered really well like on the album version, didn't sound painful at all to me. Probably my fav part of the song.

 

i’m not talking about the falsetto whatsoever... i’m talking about the harmony underneath the falsetto.

[Jobby]

Heck, let's get Endlessly back too.

 

Sometimes, it’s just not worth the hope....

[Rustyy]

MK Ultra would work but alas I hold no hope

[kueller]

Would agree with that, don’t think I’ve actually had many bad flowing gigs in person but fun definitely trumps it ultimately. Hopefully whatever setup they’ve got production-wise doesn’t restrict the band or their connection to the audience too much, if not the set.

 

It's not bad but there were things that would probably get you some weird looks in the setlist thread. Stage production is big too.

 

Additional point. I wouldn't care if they stopped playing a single song from Origin of Symmetry if what remained they played with all their heart. There's a lot of songs that just always feel like they play on autopilot. Okay, maybe they gotta throw some of those hits out there. The Supermassives and Uprisings, cause they're a big band with a popular crowd.

 

But otherwise, I don't really want to see the band looking like they're playing songs because they have to. When they're having fun it shows, and the mood transfers to the audience.

[Jobby]

MK Ultra would work but alas I hold no hope

 

Y’know what, it’d be great to see them play stuff like MKU, IBTY, Endlessly etc. out of nowhere occasionally. Not even for the fact that they’re rare or fans like them or for variety’s sake or anything like that - just purely to see them really embrace their discography. It’s a shame that so many songs feel like they get instantly forgotten once their album’s era is over, unless they were kinda a hit or fans mass request them. I’m sure it’s not like the band don’t like them either, they’re just v focused on what they think people want. It’d be nice to see them bring shit back just ‘cos they wanna more often, kinda links in to what Kueller said above about seeing them genuinely enjoy a song instead of going through the motions sometimes.

 

Chris misses Escape? Fuck it, it’s not a song I’m actively fussed about but I’m not gonna complain. Matt loves Easily? Same again but go for it, it’ll be fun. It’s your discography, do what you want with it (but, y’know....use it).

 

Unless it’s something we don’t approve of like Guiding Light obvs ewwww am i right haha

Edited September 22, 2018 by Jobby

[JimmyP117]

I dunno Jobby, 18/19 songs is pretty lame for a band who've been going as long as they have. Perhaps shocking was the wrong word but...it was 21/22 on the T2L tour right? I realise Matt's voice is the likely issue these days though so I do feel bad sometimes moaning about it. 15/16 songs for a headline gig was very poor for the gigs last year though. I won't be going to any if that's gonna be the case for the next one.

 

Fully agree on the autopilot comments, Uprising really suffers from that one imo. I miss the days when it was played early in the set, I just feel it loses much of its power in the encore or towards the end of the main set.

 

100% in for MK Ultra making a comeback too.