Pawns & Kings Tour - Setlist Predictions

[maximzub]

First night in Hamburg...

1. Silver Tongue
2. Addicted to Pain
3. The Other Side
4. This Is War
5. Ghost of Days Gone By
6. Wouldn't You Rather
7. Isolation
8. Waters Rising
9. Sin After Sin
10. Metalingus
11. Pawns & Kings
12. Watch Over You (acoustic)
13. In Loving Memory
14. Blackbird
15. Rise Today
16. Cry of Achilles

Encore:
17. Slip to the Void
18. Open Your Eyes

I got 15/18. And then the next night, I got 14/17.

[Ubik]

First night in Hamburg...

1. Silver Tongue
2. Addicted to Pain
3. The Other Side
4. This Is War
5. Ghost of Days Gone By
6. Wouldn't You Rather
7. Isolation
8. Waters Rising
9. Sin After Sin
10. Metalingus
11. Pawns & Kings
12. Watch Over You (acoustic)
13. In Loving Memory
14. Blackbird
15. Rise Today
16. Cry of Achilles

Encore:
17. Slip to the Void
18. Open Your Eyes

Pretty nicely balanced with all albums represented! Would very much like Walking on the Sky to get its live due at some point.

[Mr.Vlado]

First night in Hamburg...

1. Silver Tongue
2. Addicted to Pain
3. The Other Side
4. This Is War
5. Ghost of Days Gone By
6. Wouldn't You Rather
7. Isolation
8. Waters Rising
9. Sin After Sin
10. Metalingus
11. Pawns & Kings
12. Watch Over You (acoustic)
13. In Loving Memory
14. Blackbird
15. Rise Today
16. Cry of Achilles

Encore:
17. Slip to the Void
18. Open Your Eyes

Pretty nicely balanced with all albums represented! Would very much like Walking on the Sky to get its live due at some point.

I like the setlist as well BUT I think it's kind of a dilemma that they have so many albums out and really want to do all of them justice - at least the fast lead singles/singles (exept for how me a Leader). Songs like Wouldn't you Rather or Rise Today are great but still single material (such as ATP, Silver Tongue, Isolation, Metalingus etc.) which they will probably keep playing. I dont say that I wouldnt play those songs at all but I would also love to hear songs like Come to Life, Ties That Bind, Find the Real sometimes or Epics such as Fable, Fortress etc live. There aren't really many spots left. Maybe you know what I am trying to say, maybe not, kind of difficult to explain

[Thomz87]

First night in Hamburg...

1. Silver Tongue
2. Addicted to Pain
3. The Other Side
4. This Is War
5. Ghost of Days Gone By
6. Wouldn't You Rather
7. Isolation
8. Waters Rising
9. Sin After Sin
10. Metalingus
11. Pawns & Kings
12. Watch Over You (acoustic)
13. In Loving Memory
14. Blackbird
15. Rise Today
16. Cry of Achilles

Encore:
17. Slip to the Void
18. Open Your Eyes

Pretty nicely balanced with all albums represented! Would very much like Walking on the Sky to get its live due at some point.

I like the setlist as well BUT I think it's kind of a dilemma that they have so many albums out and really want to do all of them justice - at least the fast lead singles/singles (exept for how me a Leader). Songs like Wouldn't you Rather or Rise Today are great but still single material (such as ATP, Silver Tongue, Isolation, Metalingus etc.) which they will probably keep playing. I dont say that I wouldnt play those songs at all but I would also love to hear songs like Come to Life, Ties That Bind, Find the Real sometimes or Epics such as Fable, Fortress etc live. There aren't really many spots left. Maybe you know what I am trying to say, maybe not, kind of difficult to explain

I think Wouldn't You Rather, Isolation (to me that's like 8x to much "isolatiooooon", kind of boring), Addicted To Pain and Rise Today could be cut out in favor of an epic like Fable of the Silent Son and a random one like for example Bleed It Dry, One Day Remains or Wayward One. The thing is, if you going to see them for the 10th time or something, over half of the setlist just stays the same. This they could mix up a little bit.

Other than that - very solid setlist!

[Blackbird]

That's kind of the problem I believe. The amount of people coming to those shows that aren't hardcore fans is pretty high, and those people usually are most familiar with the most popular songs (i.e. singles or songs that otherwise got a lot of exposure), and they EXPECT to hear these songs live. If AB (or any other band for that matter) don't deliver in this regard, they probably have to expect attendance numbers dropping for upcoming tours.

Of course this problem gets bigger the more albums they put out because that also means they have more singles they have to play, and subsequently less space for songs they don't play regularly. For hardcore fans like us, this can actually make it less attractive to attend their gigs because we'd heavily appreciate these surprises, but then again, we're hardcore fans, so... we'll probably go anyway.

It definitely makes it less likely that I'll attend multiple gigs in quick succession though. I did this in 2019 (attended three gigs in the span of a week in Germany) and it was great, but the fewer songs they rotate and the fewer surprises they throw in there, the less it's worth it.

[thatfunkodad]

That's kind of the problem I believe. The amount of people coming to those shows that aren't hardcore fans is pretty high, and those people usually are most familiar with the most popular songs (i.e. singles or songs that otherwise got a lot of exposure), and they EXPECT to hear these songs live. If AB (or any other band for that matter) don't deliver in this regard, they probably have to expect attendance numbers dropping for upcoming tours.

Of course this problem gets bigger the more albums they put out because that also means they have more singles they have to play, and subsequently less space for songs they don't play regularly. For hardcore fans like us, this can actually make it less attractive to attend their gigs because we'd heavily appreciate these surprises, but then again, we're hardcore fans, so... we'll probably go anyway.

It definitely makes it less likely that I'll attend multiple gigs in quick succession though. I did this in 2019 (attended three gigs in the span of a week in Germany) and it was great, but the fewer songs they rotate and the fewer surprises they throw in there, the less it's worth it.

I'm also watching the evolution of the set with a lot of interest. They're 2 shows in. Give them a bit to knock the rust off after not performing live for 2 years, plus working out the new songs. Once they get those things worked out, I'd hope they'll start changing up the set a little more than just 1 song a night. My guess is by the time the close things out in London next month they'll be firing on all cylinders.

[maximzub]

Just checked some of Alter Bridge's old setlists. The fifth shows of both the Fortress and The Last Hero tours had live debuts of new songs (Waters Rising and Island Of Fools, respectively). Katowice might be in for a surprise on Monday.

[maximzub]

A retrospective look at my predictions for what songs they would play for the Pawns & Kings tour.

From One Day Remains:
Open Your Eyes
Burn It Down
Metalingus
Broken Wings
In Loving Memory

From Blackbird:
Come To Life
Before Tomorrow Comes
Rise Today
Blackbird
Watch Over You
White Knuckles

From AB III:
Isolation
Ghost Of Days Gone By

From Fortress:
Cry Of Achilles
Addicted To Pain
Lover
Waters Rising

From The Last Hero:
Show Me A Leader
Crows On A Wire

From Walk The Sky:
Wouldn't You Rather
Native Son

From Pawns & Kings:
This Is War
Dead Among The Living
Silver Tongue
Sin After Sin
Stay
Holiday
Fable Of The Silent Son
Pawns & Kings

How many songs that I predicted didn't make it in? White Knuckles, Show Me A Leader, and Crows On A Wire. 3. Pretty good!

How many songs did I not see coming? Shed My Skin, Brand New Start, Slip To The Void, Coeur D'Alene, The Other Side, and My Champion. 6. Wow! Only that many?

So I was quite the psychic back in October, wasn't I? I'm especially glad that I guessed what songs they would play from Pawns & Kings 100% right. (Fortress and Walk The Sky too, but that's beside the point.)

Okay, time to predict the setlist for the AB VIII tour now....