How to convince the guys to play their old material again?

[Metalton95]

Hey fellow SX-fans!
Symphony X came to my country (Denmark) for the first time on their European leg of the Underworld tour, and I MISSED it. But to be honest, I'm not even mad about it. After I saw the setlists for the tour, I realized they just played the ENTIRE Underworld album (and saved Legend as the final encore), without mixing the tracklist at all... Only "Out of the Ashes", "Set the World on Fire", "The Death of Balance" and "Sea of Lies" were added outside the Underworld tracks. So I just tried to make up a few different setlists consisting of a few songs from most of the albums, but then I thought "why would they even listen to one fan whining to them?" How do you (who also miss the old SX) think we could show our concern about the lack of the good old songs that made us become fans in the first place?

Ps. My example of a setlist (90 minutes) would be like this

Overture
1 Evolution
2 Church of the Machine
3 Underworld
4 Accolade II
5 Of Sins & Shadows
6 Inferno
7 Legend
8 When All is Lost
9 Absence of Light
10 A Fool's Paradise
11 Through the Looking Glass
12 Paradise Lost
13 Swansong

 

[EyeballKid]

Well, here's the thing: the band has seen more success since they've simplified their sound and focused on writing material that is powerful in a live setting. They are excited to be putting out new music that is well received and so of course they want to play it live - it was written to be performed live.

I love the old albums. I would certainly prefer if the band played some older songs (other than the same 3-4 we always get) mixed in with the newer songs. However, I loved Underworld and hearing those songs live was amazing. In the U.S. we only got half of the new album + Iconoclast + 3 Paradise Lost songs + Sins and Shadows. I really like PL, but they toured the hell out of that album and I've heard those songs on every tour since 2007.

That said, it's hard for me to think a band should do something differently considering they've had more success with their newer material. At the end of the day, I love Symphony X and I want them to be successful. I sure wish they'd throw more old/rare songs into the setlist, but if they don't I'll still go and see them.

 

[Kenneth R.]

It's not gonna happen, they've gone full-commercial, and that's how it is.

 

[Detective Beauregard]

I think it's highly unlikely that we're going to hear anything pre-Paradise Lost live other than the typical Sins, Smoke, Inferno, etc. Ashes and DOB surprised me on their latest tour, but I wouldn't expect any deep cuts or anything. Moving forward, I'd expect 80% of their set to be from their latest three albums. This way you'll know what to expect and won't be disappointed, but may be surprised if they few in a few classics.

I remember someone asked Jason once if they'd ever pull a "Dream Theater" and play "an evening with" 3-hour show(s)... he said "No, we'll never be that kind of band." I don't know if his comment was related to stamina or those shows being more production-oriented as opposed to Symphony X's "five guys rocking out" vibe, but it goes without saying that a longer set time would increase the chances of hearing older and/or epic tracks.