Charged with making set lists...opinions?

[TerenceE]

So the guys have decided it’s my
Turn to make set lists and I’m struggling so I’m looking to the fine folks at TalkBass for help

The songs are....
(In no particular order)

My name is - Eminem
Let’s dance- Bowie
I feel good - James brown
8 days a week - beatles
I want to hold your hand - Beatles
Play that funky music- wild cherry
Just what I needed - the cars
You wreck me- Tom petty
Friends in low places-Garth brooks
Roxanne - the police
About a girl - nirvana
Fishing in the dark-nitty gritty dirt band
Somebody like you. - Keith urban
Pretty woman - Roy Orbison
Thinking of you - harlequin
New Orleans is sinking- the tragically hip
Runaway - del Shannon
Every rose gas is thorn- poison
Bad guy-billy eilish
Pokerface - lady gaga
I think we’re alone now - Tiffany
Take on me - a-ha
Talk dirty to me - poison
Abcdefu- gayle
Superstition- Stevie wonder
So what- pink
HOW bizzare - OMC
Mrs Robinson - the Lemonheads
Kiss - prince
7 nation army- white stripes
Are you gonna beMy girl - jet
Burning down the house- talking heads
You’ve got another thing coming -Judas’s priest
Hash pipe- Weezer
Shine- collective soul
I shot the sheriff- bob marley
TNT- AC/DC
Santeria- sublime
Runaround- blues traveller
hysteria- def leopard
Le grAnge- Zz top
Should I stay or should I go - the clash
Stand by me - Ben e king
Born on the bayou - ccr
18 - Alice cooper
Have you ever seen the rain- Ccr
Tush - zztop
Folsom prison - Johnny cash
Roadhouse blues- the doors
Last kiss- pearl jam
Big balls - AC/DC
Keep yornhands to yourself-Georgia satellites
Have you ever seen the rain -ccr
Bad moon rising-ccr
Here for a good time -trooper
Tangerine- led zeppelin
Hook - blues traveller
Highway to hell - AC/DC
I want you to want me- cheap trick
Whistle - flo rider


3x45 min sets. I feel like there’s room here to get rid of some of the classic rock that’s been beat to death by every cover band ever as we only need 40ish tunes. The venue is a rock bar with age range from 19-80 so we can get away with anything.

I’m new to making set lists. I understand there needs to be a flow to it. And that once people are on the dance floor you want to keep them there. And I’d like the third set to be all hot dance tunes. But should I slow it down mid set so people can grab a berr and stuff wth say friends
In low places or something everyone sings along to?

Any input would be awesome

Thanks in advance peeps!

 

[theduke1]

Not sure where you are located, but the band I play in we run our first set between 1 1/2 up to 2 hours because of the DUI laws and folks do not stay out late around here. that said, run the list just like you posted it, the mix looks good to me
Best wishes
Duke

 

[JRA]

it's difficult for me to advise because one band's "play that funky music" is meant to be killer and the next band's version is used as filler, but in general, i think like this:
- killer opener(s) and closer(s) to each set.
- slow dance/ballads are typically followed by another killer tune (even though the ballad was itself a killer).

IME, the "flow" stems from the set (or that part of the night) where most attendance/participation is expected, e.g., could be the middle set.
- some general recognition, via song choice, that we'll build up to that point, whenever it is.
- generally maintain that level to the end vs. bye-bye/goodnight music at the end (appropriate in some venues, with some crowds).

there are always exceptions, but playing a joint regularly affords some reasonably accurate guesses about how your audience is likely to respond. i always assume that our audience wants to have fun, bottom line, so that also affects song choice!

killer tunes = when we play the tune: the crowd goes nuts!

filler tunes = tunes we play wonderfully, but they're more useful leading into a proven killer tune.


TL;DR --- you've got fantastic choices in front of you, it's always a "best guess" process, have some fun with it, good luck!

 

[MrLenny1]

Your plan sounds goods to me.

 

[Gluvhand]

I understand not wanting to play the same old same old but it’s a “Rock” bar and you want to cut out some of the rock? For that bar, leave it in and augment with the pop/dance stuff. Or not.

 

[Ostie]

Doesn’t matter cuz everybody likes different tunes and there’s something for everybody there. Except maybe the 80 year olds.

 

[Gluvhand]

Doesn’t matter cuz everybody likes different tunes and there’s something for everybody there. Except maybe the 80 year olds.

The 80 year olds were in their 30s and 40s in the 60s and 70s. They’ll know and dig the classic rock if played at a reasonable volume.

 

[Oddly]

Nice selection of tunes there, for sure...something for almost everyone, I'm sure.
I'd follow @JRA 's advice regarding flow. He's the man.

 

[Stewie]

That’s a solid list of choices, admittedly, I’m not familiar with some of the newer ones, but based on your choice of stuff I do know, that’s a darn good list

 

[Al Rivera]

I would begin by filling in the ending songs for each set,then the beginning songs for each set,then fill in the rest.
Doing a set list isn't as easy as most people think.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

I prefer to put songs in groups like “upbeat dance” or “slow and steady with lots of people sitting and listening” and then just call them as needed. I have seen and played on many gigs where the set just didn’t match the room, and nothing was going to change the situation.

I mean you can always call audibles from the list though.

 

[Gearhead17]

Don't forget to group some songs together due to tunings. If you play a bunch of Eb songs, then shift into standard tunings, you will have to have a pause in between or a vocal solo/longer drum intro. Also, try to find easy areas to pause and talk to the crowd (Hi, we are called "", you can find more on our website...") The talking to the crowd part can give your band time to tune, switch guitars/basses, get some water, kiss your significant other.....

This helped me: determine what songs are definite hits, secondary hits, and filler songs. Get everything on a spreadsheet, assign each song a number based on those categories and add in the time lengths. This way, you know how long your sets are, how many hit songs you have per set, and it keeps it even throughout the night. Make three solid sets with hits, secondary hits, and filler.

Filler songs in the middle of sets followed by hits are a good way to do it.

No matter what, give it a try and see what happens. Every crowd is different, and you will figure out better ways to do this in the future.

 

[mambo4]

One consideration, passed down to me from My father:
Don't stick a bunch of tunes in the same key next to each other
try to change keys with each tune selection

 

[Ostie]

I don’t mind making the list. It’s all the second guessing from the band that drives me nuts.

 

[drumvsbass]

I will give a few of my trade secrets to win over the DJ's. In every set have at least 1 dance floor hit that has an extendable solo/dance section 3/4 of the way into the set (or 1 or 2 songs from the end if you have a particular set ending sequence that is hot) This is in case your set is ever running short. Also, in any dance song, find places to vamp, if the dance floor is full, it pays to have a strategy to keep it that way in the middle of a song. If your front person has a shtick, use it there. Have bunches of 3 songs by genre (3 country, 3 rock, 3 RnB etc) 9-12 minutes to the bunch, rotates the dance floor. Where do people go after the dance floor? To get drinks. Then sit down, then when their favorite genre is back on, they come back to the dance floor, the cycle continues. It's a nice idea to keep the dance floor packed all night with EVERYONE in the bar, but if you give groups of them cues as to when to go get drinks, the venue will be much happier. Ballads are not included in the 3 song rotation rule unless it's the last songs of the night, they should otherwise be treated as single anomalies within the 3 song bunches. The more you can make these 3 song bunches into medleys the better. Within the bunches a good idea to have the tempo generally increase from one song to the next, the intensity of the mood from one song to the next increasing etc. For the first and last 3 try to keep as universal as possible, start big end big. There has to be a dip in the intensity in the set somewhere in the middle (unless your a metal/punk band but even Meshuggah breaks it down sometimes) I like to put it in the second half of the set, before the end sequence to make the end seem like a bigger event. You may find different results putting it near the beginning to have more of a journey to the end of the set. Just because it's covers doesn't mean you can't put together a larger story creatively by the collection of songs. And for god sake check the keys of songs, an entire set of songs in Gmaj (or related keys) is a marathon for the ears.

 

[MLC_BassPlayer]

I prefer to put songs in groups like “upbeat dance” or “slow and steady with lots of people sitting and listening” and then just call them as needed. I have seen and played on many gigs where the set just didn’t match the room, and nothing was going to change the situation.

I mean you can always call audibles from the list though.

This.

The band I am in does not use set lists. We have a "song" list and the band leader just either calls them out as he sees fit or starts playing the intro, and we just fall into it. Works really well most of the time...

 

[micguy]

\

Doesn’t matter cuz everybody likes different tunes and there’s something for everybody there. Except maybe the 80 year olds.

80 year olds love the Rolling Stones. Heck, 80 year olds ARE the Rolling Stones.

 

[LBS-bass]

Agree with JRA's advice with one caveat: Jumping out of the gate with something killer is great IF you know you're going to have people there at the beginning of the night. If you think it's going to be a sparse crowd at first, my go-to strategy is to get the band warmed up with something simpler - a couple of easy tunes that showcase who we are as a band while giving all the instrumentalists an opportunity to relax and find their comfort zone.

For me that's important because I have people in the band who deal with anxiety, and if you stress them early in front of an empty room they'll lose confidence. But if there are friendly people there to hear and cheer us from the very start, we'll kick off in high gear. Otherwise we save the killer for the larger crowd, a few songs in when they start to show up.

You can plan two contingencies for the room if you don't know. Or you can always play your opening "killer" song again toward the end of the night, if you don't want to waste it.

Otherwise, I have nothing to add. Good luck with the show!

 

[bassicmike]

I will give a few of my trade secrets to win over the DJ's. In every set have at least 1 dance floor hit that has an extendable solo/dance section 3/4 of the way into the set (or 1 or 2 songs from the end if you have a particular set ending sequence that is hot) This is in case your set is ever running short. Also, in any dance song, find places to vamp, if the dance floor is full, it pays to have a strategy to keep it that way in the middle of a song. If your front person has a shtick, use it there. Have bunches of 3 songs by genre (3 country, 3 rock, 3 RnB etc) 9-12 minutes to the bunch, rotates the dance floor. Where do people go after the dance floor? To get drinks. Then sit down, then when their favorite genre is back on, they come back to the dance floor, the cycle continues. It's a nice idea to keep the dance floor packed all night with EVERYONE in the bar, but if you give groups of them cues as to when to go get drinks, the venue will be much happier. Ballads are not included in the 3 song rotation rule unless it's the last songs of the night, they should otherwise be treated as single anomalies within the 3 song bunches. The more you can make these 3 song bunches into medleys the better. Within the bunches a good idea to have the tempo generally increase from one song to the next, the intensity of the mood from one song to the next increasing etc. For the first and last 3 try to keep as universal as possible, start big end big. There has to be a dip in the intensity in the set somewhere in the middle (unless your a metal/punk band but even Meshuggah breaks it down sometimes) I like to put it in the second half of the set, before the end sequence to make the end seem like a bigger event. You may find different results putting it near the beginning to have more of a journey to the end of the set. Just because it's covers doesn't mean you can't put together a larger story creatively by the collection of songs. And for god sake check the keys of songs, an entire set of songs in Gmaj (or related keys) is a marathon for the ears.

Great stuff, this.

 

[lokikallas]

Start with the mellower drinking songs, move on to the danceable tunes, end up with the harder rockers.