Set List Geekery

That Mike Portnoy spends a lot of time putting together set lists is common knowledge among Dream Theater fans, but something about this quote makes me think of him running complicated algorithms through some fan-developed database program:

That is something that I personally spend a ridiculous amount of time and energy determining. I will send out a master song list to the band and crew to learn/program at the start of the tour with a few songs I've picked from each album...I then change up the sets each night depending on the city. I do a tremendous amount of research for every single show....looking at what was played in that particular city the last two or three times through the years and I will write a set that hopefully doesn't repeat anything to make each time a fan sees a show a unique experience. I also take into account if we are playing two or three shows within driving distance of each other, to make those shows different from each other as well. It's a ridiculous, obsessive compulsive process that I don't think anybody else in this business does for their fans, but somehow I make myself insane doing it. It's like trying to solve the ultimate puzzle each and every day!

Via Blabbermouth