is band culture changing?

[Muttleybass]

You kids don't know how good you had it. All we could do was just hang out in the dark.

You guys had dark??

 

[Caeros]

We play anywhere from 2-7 gigs a month depending on if we have tour or if we want to focus more on writing. We have a short tour of NY and PA going on this month and one gig in CT, then we're taking August off so two of our guitar players can go on a roadtrip while the rest of us rehearse and write. CT has a great and supportive punk scene so we actually find ourselves turning down more gigs than we play these days. You can only play the same songs for the same people so many times.

 

[Troph]

... You can only play the same songs for the same people so many times.

This is very true, and I think one of the reasons why partronizing local bars with recurring live acts gets boring really, really quickly.

When I lived in Memphis, I remember a local pub that had two or three rotating bands, but each stuck to a set list which rarely varied. After you'd been to a few nights of this, you didn't want to go back again. It was boring. The groups were tight, but it didn't matter. The only people who enjoyed it were the transient customers who'd never been there before and were unlikely to return.

The pub owner noticed crowds dwindling, and rather than getting new acts which he didn't trust, he just stopped the live music altogether. This was a bad decision, but I wonder how many others have done the same?

That's when I realized that bands who always play locally must change up the act weekly in order to remain successful. If you can't bring back repeat customers, you're just a liability to the venue (and to other bands).

 

[fishdreams]

This is very true, and I think one of the reasons why partronizing local bars with recurring live acts gets boring really, really quickly.

Couldn't agree more. Even with a strictly themed outfit such as a tribute band, we had 5 different 2.5 hour set lists to choose from, besides taking new tunes into, and old tunes out of rotation on a regular basis. Only the final 20 minutes were always the same, a sort of signature climax to an otherwise varying show.

I cannot imagine a regularly gigging cover band without multiple differing setlists.

 

[bluewine]

Couldn't agree more. Even with a strictly themed outfit such as a tribute band, we had 5 different 2.5 hour set lists to choose from, besides taking new tunes into, and old tunes out of rotation on a regular basis. Only the final 20 minutes were always the same, a sort of signature climax to an otherwise varying show.

I cannot imagine a regularly gigging cover band without multiple differing setlists.

Our gigs rotate around maybe a dozen clubs. We usually return every 2 months or so.

We are constantly adding new material and retire old material as well as changing up the set list.

We are using completely different material for summer festivals and fairs.

Blue