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Bands alternating every song. Would this work?

#21
Well it's creative and cool sounding, but I think it would work best if done something like CMT Crossroads where both bands are actually playing each others songs during the whole gig, maybe a musician or two sits out on songs it doesn't make sense or whatever.
 
#23
Closest I ever came to that was a corporate affair, our band on a stage at one end of the room, play a set, then the band at the other end of the room (Gatlin Bros.) play a set. Tag teaming songs MIGHT have worked, but building momentum and continuity would clearly suffer.
 
#24


the big bands did it all the time - at the Savoy every night - 2 bandstands and the bands battled to be the hottest dance band

house band & traveling band (would rotate out every couple of weeks)

thought you had an original thought - nothin; new....
 
#27
Bass Viking said:
A friend of mine is in a cover band, we'll call it Band A. They will be playing at a club in a few weeks. Another cover band, Band B, is also on the bill that night. One of the members of Band A came up with the idea of both groups being on stage at the same time and taking turns playing one song at a time. He has these ideas that the non-playing group would cheer on the playing group, collaboration between the two bands on some songs, the ending of one song transitioning seamlessly into the start of the next one, they could throw in duelling drum solos at some point, etc.

I've never seen or even heard of such an arrangement. Have any of you ever witnessed such a spectacle? Did it work? Or was it a train wreck?
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Check out the DVD of Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire concert where they were both setup on stage - they flipped a coin which band would go first then each band did their whole set and then did a set with both bands playing together.

With that said ... even though they pulled it off and it was pretty cool ... I can't see alternating songs as a good idea for your two bands... but who knows, it could be cool.
 
#29
Last time I saw James Brown play live, he had two distinct bands on stage. ABB is *almost* two bands...:)

I saw Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt do a concert like this (back and forth) last year. Worked pretty well, for two solo artists who are icons themselves.

Worst you could do is give it a shot and not have it work...:woot:
 
#31
Think about this: even if *the bands* pulled the changes off flawlessly, are you willing to gamble your bands' reputation on the *audience* keeping things straight?

In other words, what happens when people love band A but hate band B, and vice versa; post their op's all over Facebook; and a war of confusion breaks out?
 
#32
Check out a series on PBS called "Legends and Lyrics" where they get three famous songwriters on stage and each takes a turn playing/singing one of their hits. That's another place where I've seen this sort of thing and it worked really well. (still can't picture it working with two cover bands in a normal venue though)
 
#33
Bass Viking said:
A friend of mine is in a cover band, we'll call it Band A. They will be playing at a club in a few weeks. Another cover band, Band B, is also on the bill that night. One of the members of Band A came up with the idea of both groups being on stage at the same time and taking turns playing one song at a time. He has these ideas that the non-playing group would cheer on the playing group, collaboration between the two bands on some songs, the ending of one song transitioning seamlessly into the start of the next one, they could throw in duelling drum solos at some point, etc.

I've never seen or even heard of such an arrangement. Have any of you ever witnessed such a spectacle? Did it work? Or was it a train wreck?
Click to expand...
Don't do it! Bars hate long waits between tunes they know. VERY bad idea. Dead air is your worst enemy. Switch off sets, sure...songs? NO!
 
#34
If you set it up with stages at both ends of the room and alternate ends, it might be great. The people who like to hang back and avoid dancing would have nowhere to hide. They would either hate it, or drink a lot and make the bar happy. Or maybe they would just get going and love it. It would take some doing, but it would be the sound version of a light show.
 
#35
Bass Viking said:
A friend of mine is in a cover band, we'll call it Band A. They will be playing at a club in a few weeks. Another cover band, Band B, is also on the bill that night. One of the members of Band A came up with the idea of both groups being on stage at the same time and taking turns playing one song at a time. He has these ideas that the non-playing group would cheer on the playing group, collaboration between the two bands on some songs, the ending of one song transitioning seamlessly into the start of the next one, they could throw in duelling drum solos at some point, etc.

I've never seen or even heard of such an arrangement. Have any of you ever witnessed such a spectacle? Did it work? Or was it a train wreck?
Click to expand...
Tip: checkout fashion rock, and use the same format. Of course if not well planed and executed, it will be a trainweck.
 
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#37
Recorded a live show that approached this. It was extremely planned out. It was something like five bands all with various members who all played on the headliner's record. She played a set with various players stepping on and off and stepped off herself to feature the other player's songs. It worked out well, and was a beautiful night. I don't think it would be quite as much an enhancement for a covers night.
 

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