Ordering your sets

[Depth_Charge]

I'm playing in a female led Rock covers band, covering songs from the 70's to current, a few moshy tunes (Paranoid, All Over You), a couple of acoustic ballads (What's Up, Big Girls Don't Cry), a few dance tunes (Hot Stuff) and a lot of balls out rock n roll songs.

How do you guys in similar bands order your sets?

[Questor]

"Birds of a feather flock together."

Organize by genre, era, whether or not the guitarists use a capo (and group by the capo'd fret), link by key (i.e. if a song starts in G but ends on a D then the next song starts in D, G, A or Bm), etc. The "link by key" can be fun if the song modulates. For example, "Come Dancing" (by the Kinks) starts in G but ends in Eb so the next song would start in Eb, Ab, Bb or C.

We usually play songs in groups of 3 or 4, so that we can change it up for the next group of songs. One full set is 12-14 songs for us.

[tycobb73]

Here's our set from last night, but we're more varied than you are. We do anythng from the 50s to now, including country. We also have a male who can sing, play guitar, and play keys and our other male guitar player sings too. So that really open things up. The main thing though, the crowd started chanting "more country." So we threw the set list out the window and the singer called them off one by one.

The main thing I like when making my setlists is start big and end big. If people are going to dance, you're going to get them at the beginning on the set. Also, most people leave at the end of a set. You want their last impression favorable in a big way. We try to keep the first set a little softer and older as the crowd gets younger as the night goes on. In the US, your biggest crowd is there at the third set usually so that should be your best. As far as slow songs, it works both ways. My wife won't let us leave until we dance to a slow song. My single lead singer doesn't like it when bands play slow songs. I didn't make this set list, but she did a decent job. I almost think the 4th set is better than the 3rd set, which shoudn't be the case.

First Set:
· Johnny B. Goode
· Before He Cheats
· Call Me
· Sweet Caroline
· Faithfully
· Hurts so Good
· I’m the Only One
· Harder To Breathe
· Should I Stay or Should I Go
· Mustang Sally


Second Set:
· Hit Me With Your Best Shot
· Here for the Party
· Sweet Home Alabama
· Celebrity Skin
· ***You Really Got Me***
· ***Sweet Child of Mine***
· Kryptonite
· Kerosene
· Hate Myself for Loving You
· Rock and Roll All Night


Third Set:
· Save a Horse
· Keep Your Hands To Yourself
· Talk Dirty to Me
· When You Say Nothing At All
· Take It Off
· The Middle
· I Want You to Want Me
· Jenny Jenny
· ***TNT***
· ***Since You Been Gone***

Fourth Set:
· Mas Tequila
· I Love Rock and Roll
· U + Ur Hand
· Alcohol
· Girlfriend
· Sedated
· Hella Good
· ***I Touch Myself***
· ***Shook Me***
· Fight for Your Right (encore song)

Additional songs if needed:
· White Wedding
· I’ll Stand By You
· I Love This Bar
· Wicked Games
· ***Friends in Low Places***
· Margaritaville
· Who Says You Can’t Go Home
· Picture
· Bitch
· I Will Survive

[LumpyGravy]

Originally Posted by tycobb73

Here's our set from last night, but we're more varied than you are. We do anythng from the 50s to now, including country. We also have a male who can sing, play guitar, and play keys and our other male guitar player sings too. So that really open things up. The main thing though, the crowd started chanting "more country." So we threw the set list out the window and the singer called them off one by one.

The main thing I like when making my setlists is start big and end big. If people are going to dance, you're going to get them at the beginning on the set. Also, most people leave at the end of a set. You want their last impression favorable in a big way. We try to keep the first set a little softer and older as the crowd gets younger as the night goes on. In the US, your biggest crowd is there at the third set usually so that should be your best. As far as slow songs, it works both ways. My wife won't let us leave until we dance to a slow song. My single lead singer doesn't like it when bands play slow songs. I didn't make this set list, but she did a decent job. I almost think the 4th set is better than the 3rd set, which shoudn't be the case.

First Set:
· Johnny B. Goode
· Before He Cheats
· Call Me
· Sweet Caroline
· Faithfully
· Hurts so Good
· I’m the Only One
· Harder To Breathe
· Should I Stay or Should I Go
· Mustang Sally


Second Set:
· Hit Me With Your Best Shot
· Here for the Party
· Sweet Home Alabama
· Celebrity Skin
· ***You Really Got Me***
· ***Sweet Child of Mine***
· Kryptonite
· Kerosene
· Hate Myself for Loving You
· Rock and Roll All Night


Third Set:
· Save a Horse
· Keep Your Hands To Yourself
· Talk Dirty to Me
· When You Say Nothing At All
· Take It Off
· The Middle
· I Want You to Want Me
· Jenny Jenny
· ***TNT***
· ***Since You Been Gone***

Fourth Set:
· Mas Tequila
· I Love Rock and Roll
· U + Ur Hand
· Alcohol
· Girlfriend
· Sedated
· Hella Good
· ***I Touch Myself***
· ***Shook Me***
· Fight for Your Right (encore song)

Additional songs if needed:
· White Wedding
· I’ll Stand By You
· I Love This Bar
· Wicked Games
· ***Friends in Low Places***
· Margaritaville
· Who Says You Can’t Go Home
· Picture
· Bitch
· I Will Survive

Damn, you can please anybody with that set, also educate people.

[nsmar4211]

Tycobb, I like your band already...and may just have to swipe a few of your song choices (we do several of the same ones..). Great advice! .

We also have an eclectic pack of songs for our band!
Our guitar player picks the songs usually as we go because he's good at reading the crowds. We start with a strong one (for some reason last night it was White Rabbit.....fine by me since it's one of *my* songs that shows off bass). Singer says the band name, the welcome to wherever, and then we go into another strong song. If the crowd is dancing, another. Then a slower song (not necessarily a slow dance... but a more laid back song, like One of Us or What's Up or Kiss Me type). and so forth and so on. We try not to do two songs in a row in the same key, and if they are in the same key it's not the same feel as the previous one. Also, in the first 4 or 5 songs, the guitarist likes to have the singer do a solo piece so he can check sound (we have a couple the singer and I do and sometimes we'll use those if she's not feeling like playing solo right then).

It really depends on what crowd is there..... if there's a lot of kids around we don't do Bitch for example. If it's an older crowd we pull out Friend of the Devil or Jolene or Maggie May or something. If someone asks for a particular artist and it happens to be one we do, we'll do it (long as it fits ...). Lots of fun when someone tries to be a smartbutt and call out a band they don't think we do.... like Collective Soul...and we just happen to do one! Good for the tip bucket too..

Try not to do too many of something similar in a row...doing all your ballads means everyone will snooze...too many heavy ones in a row and people tune out......etc. Personally, I'm not very good at setlists yet and rely heavily on guitar players judgement. Am getting better though...more and more frequently I can narrow down what'll be next to a few songs . Just try not to pull the "okay what are we doing next" arguement for 7 minutes (saw that tonight with a group)...having one person in charge of calling out the songs if you don't go precisely by a setlist will eliminate the dead time!

Personally, I have my own setlist, done alphabetically of every song we can do (even if we don't). Next to it is the starting note and any capo notations or quick reminders for me (like, this one you play tamb on, this one switch to bridge pickup, etc). If there's a drawn up setlist, it goes up by the front mics and I'll glance at it towards the end of the song for the next one. But having a master list helps out when the premade set list isn't quite working due to crowd changes .

[Depth_Charge]

Originally Posted by tycobb73

The main thing I like when making my setlists is start big and end big. If people are going to dance, you're going to get them at the beginning on the set. Also, most people leave at the end of a set. You want their last impression favorable in a big way. We try to keep the first set a little softer and older as the crowd gets younger as the night goes on.

Originally Posted by nsmar4211

We also have an eclectic pack of songs for our band!
Our guitar player picks the songs usually as we go because he's good at reading the crowds. We start with a strong one (for some reason last night it was White Rabbit.....fine by me since it's one of *my* songs that shows off bass). Singer says the band name, the welcome to wherever, and then we go into another strong song. If the crowd is dancing, another. Then a slower song (not necessarily a slow dance... but a more laid back song, like One of Us or What's Up or Kiss Me type). and so forth and so on. We try not to do two songs in a row in the same key, and if they are in the same key it's not the same feel as the previous one. Also, in the first 4 or 5 songs, the guitarist likes to have the singer do a solo piece so he can check sound (we have a couple the singer and I do and sometimes we'll use those if she's not feeling like playing solo right then).

It really depends on what crowd is there..... if there's a lot of kids around we don't do Bitch for example. If it's an older crowd we pull out Friend of the Devil or Jolene or Maggie May or something. If someone asks for a particular artist and it happens to be one we do, we'll do it (long as it fits ...). Lots of fun when someone tries to be a smartbutt and call out a band they don't think we do.... like Collective Soul...and we just happen to do one! Good for the tip bucket too..

Try not to do too many of something similar in a row...doing all your ballads means everyone will snooze...too many heavy ones in a row and people tune out......etc. Personally, I'm not very good at setlists yet and rely heavily on guitar players judgement. Am getting better though...more and more frequently I can narrow down what'll be next to a few songs . Just try not to pull the "okay what are we doing next" arguement for 7 minutes (saw that tonight with a group)...having one person in charge of calling out the songs if you don't go precisely by a setlist will eliminate the dead time!

I've hilighted the main points. Thanks for the ideas, that is helpful. We often start with a "warm up song" rather than a strong one and build up to it, although I like the idea of hitting the crowd with a solid starter.

I'm guilty of a few of the "don'ts" you guys mentioned, so I'll be going through our list and making some notes.

And the reason we are ordering the sets is to avoid the whole "what are we playing next" BS that I too have seen some bands do (and had happen in one band I was in). Totally unprofessional!

Thanks guys

[Questor]

I'll chime in with another $0.02.

The difference between a good band and a great band is that the great band knows the demographic of the place they're playing; creates a set list to match; and then executes it with as little dead time between songs as possible.

I've seen technically proficient bands that played good enough songs but they took 2 or more minutes between songs to goof off. It wasn't the "ok dude what are we playing next" (which would have made them mediocre instead of good) but it was still 2 or more minutes between songs. Going straight from one song into the next shows an intimate knowledge of the material and an interest in keeping the momentum going.

[gdthomas]

One thing to think about is to place any songs that you have to change tunings together. Last band I was in we had four covers in drop d that flowed together well and it made things so much easier than having to tune up and down or switch gear.

[nsmar4211]

Questor reminded me of something.....
Even when we don't have a written setlist, we try to keep the dead time down to nothing. At the start of the night, the guitarist calls out the first two songs before we start so everyone knows whats up. He also usually picks the next song before the current one has ended and will either go right into it or tell us while we're closing out the current one.
Many of our songs start with a guitar lead, so often what he'll do is start the song, and we figure out which song it is by the lead and come in on our parts. I.e. "guess the song" . This works best when you make sure the bass player can actually hear the lead being played . I struggled at first with it (and sometimes still do), so what we ended up doing was at rehersal, he'd play the first few measures and then stop and ask me which song it was-a quiz! We did find a few songs that sound the same to me in the beginning, so we worked out the visual cues- which capo it was or whether or not a effect was used (flanger or whatever), etc.
He'll also look at us (me and singer) to make sure we're on the same page, if he's getting the deer eyes (deer in headlight), he'll call it to us, looping a lead if he has to. So doing a show without a setlist can be done, it just takes cooperation between band members and working out some cues beforehand .

[Questor]

To nsmar's point and to reinforce mine, I've heard several top notch musicians comment about a band's "tightness" (or lack thereof) being a measure of their polish / professionalism.