[PenguinHead]

It's really a shame they dropped those songs. They performed them so well, yet they never gave them a chance; they could have become well-known staples/classics. And I like the idea of opening the show with Eyes of the World, as they apparently did in the rehearsal shows.

I hate that they don't have the balls to shake up their shows. It's obvious from the clips that the audience were into the new songs. Why does the band cling to the predictability of opening with The Chain, then kill the energy with Dreams? Why do they dismiss that fans do want to see them play new songs? But do so-called "fans" really want to hear new songs?

I don't like hearing people express the band have to "open with this" and they have to "play that." A rock and roll show shouldn't be Vegas; it shouldn't rote and staid ---just to please a casual fan. You want ritual? You want the predicatable? Go to church! If you truly appreciate music and love a particular band, you wouldn't give a sh*t what they play, as long as they perfom well and the show is fresh and inspired. I've have friends take me to shows of bands I'm totally unfamiliar with, yet amazingly I can still enjoy it without knowing any of the songs.

When did their mentality shift; when did they start having revervations about selling their new songs in a live setting? All of their old songs were new at one point in time! It is for certain the music/entertainment industry and it's audience has changed significantly from a generation ago. It's become so heavily corporatized; and some of the audiences have followed suit, and there is a certain expectation that must be met. Thus, some older bands feel they must to be a juke box and pander to the masses, and new songs must be regulated to a small corner. Anything that is unfamiliar is an good excuse for a bathroom break. That's why the set list stays the same. That's why the few new songs get dropped or are played on one tour and never heard from again. And the distinct creativity in a new show is gone.

Elton John made a very ballsy move when he played a huge show just after his great album Captain Fantastic was just released. He came out and announced he was going to perform the entire album (he did do many well know songs after it). and his attitude was basically "take it or leave it...this is what it is!" I love that!

Most people don't realize how the music industry has changed so drastically in the last few year decades, and overall the victim is music and the true artists who perform it. Anyways....whatever. Destiny rules that I should be running to my garden and take a big dump.