Dream Theater

I will not be seeing them as was the case with the last tour. Closest two concerts to me in middle America are 8 hours in one direction and 7 hours in the other. I cannot make that happen. Boo!

That's too bad, sorry to hear you can't make the trek.
I had a similar issue when I lived in Jacksonville, FL. Closest show was always Orlando. I have driven as far as the Shithole known as Cleavland to see this band,

Dream Theater are not off to a good start post-Portnoy when it comes to touring the US. They are skipping major markets, and only playing a paltry 20 date US tour. You would think they would do a 40 date US tour and play everywhere to promote the new line-up.

I think it's a management thing. I don't think the record company expected the band to come out better than ever. I sure didn't.
If it's true that greatness is defined by how one handles adversity, well the core members of DT are legendary.

Sadly, I'm in the same situation. I live an hour away from Kansas City. I'm really disappointed that they didn't add a Kansas City date this tour. The last time they came to KC was in 2007 for the Systematic Chaos tour. The Uptown Theater was packed. I took my son, 14 at the time, to his first DT show. It was amazing, as usual. The last 2 tours they haven't come anywhere close to the middle of the country. I really don't understand why they keep neglecting their fans in middle America.