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Dude, you just can't cover...

#121
tbh, i think as musicians we completely forget the fact that we are there for entertainment... we are not hired to make a clone version of any song... simply to provide entertainment to those in the bar that evening (assuming its a band playing covers)..
So nothing is off limits, and the only people to be satisfied really are the audience...
 
#122
Presentation is everything, I think it just depends where you are and what type of audience your anticipating. I think as a band that is half the battle right there, adjusting your playlist and anticipating what the audience is gonna like. Too many bands just make a playlist and force feed it night after night.
 
#123
I don't think ANY band is off-limits unless you can't play the song properly/do it justice. The topic is: should I play Led Zep's "Thank you", Floyd's "Brain damage" or ELP's "Mars the War Bringer" in a bar ?

In my personal experience only one band can pull off Floyd songs in a regular bar gig: Pink Floyd (excluding tribute bands, obviously).
 
#124
I love covering Beatles songs verbatim. We do "Birthday", "In My Life", "Don't Let Me Down", and a handful of others. My other band has covered the Soulive covers of "Eleanor Rigby" and "Drive My Car". They're all easy to cover if you're half-way decent. The lack of heavy overdubbing and odd studio effects means that they're easier to play live than, say, Pink Floyd.

Speaking of Floyd, no band should cover "Money" without a sax! I've seen that at least 3 times before, and it's been a flop each time.

Many Zeppelin songs require virtuosic drums, abnormal vocal range, and like 3 simultaneous guitar parts due to studio overdubbing. Most cover bands just don't have these elements. (For that matter, even Zeppelin had trouble covering Zeppelin songs at times... live as a 4-piece, many of their songs sound stripped-down and thin...)
 
#129
No song if "off limits" as long as you can do it justice. With that said, my band played Hotel California, Limelight and Stairway to Heaven in the same night at a club....no one danced but cheered at the end of each song and we got many compliments throughout the night (while on break) and we are a power trio with a female singer.
 
#136
I'd like to weigh in on this on, but with the disclaimer that it's just my opinion and it isn't any more right or wrong than anyone else's
It's a fine line between covering a song and getting all the parts/notes right - and covering a song and capturing the energy that made the song good to begin with.
You can cover anything and if you play it decently enough, the customers at the venue will be ok with it. (always gonna be some that aren't)- but to have the ability to mix the chemistry of your own band with the nuances and energy of the song, that takes real work. Bands I've been in have played passable versions - but I have yet to nail something that sounded close to the recording magic.
 

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