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No set list, I'm not playing.

TRichardsbass

TRichardsbass

Inactive
Commercial User
Jun 3, 2009
3,330
398
Between Muscle Shoals and Nashville
www.facebook.com
Disclosures
Bassgearu, Music Industry Consulting and Sales. Tech 21, NBE Corp, Sonosphere.
#1
Did a fill in gig yesterday. Band Leader sent a set list, but didn't use it at all.

I play in another original band and the leader never uses a set list.

This is the worst and wrong. From now on I am not playing with anyone unless they have a set list and use it. Doesn't kill spontaneity (this is originals by gosh) and makes it possible to actually choreograph some of the show.

Worst part of last night was that I got the call one day before and had to figure all the songs out off of YouTube. So I learned only the songs on the set list she sent, in the order she sent. Then opens with a song no one in her band really knew, and of course not me at all.

Also, did the songs in an order not even close to the set list. Thank The Lord that none of the songs were that hard.

Is it me or do musicians today have no clue...
 
#2
Yea I hate playing without a set list, I like to know what I am doing and what is coming next.

A band that I fill in with a few times a year never has a set list and don't rehearse before a gig, they just shout out what's next, fortunately I know most of the material so it's not a big deal. This is in stark contrast to my main band that gigs every week with a set list that is sent out to everybody the day before the show and never play anything unless we know it 100%!
 
#3
I'm with you!

I've done a few sub gigs like this.
NEVER.
AGAIN.

It can be frustrating enough to learn three sets of material in a short amount of time (with little, or in some cases, no rehearsals), but to have a BL shout them on the fly takes all the joy out of playing the gig.
 
#4
My full time band never uses a set list but that is my band and we know all the songs and adjust the show to the audience and we have a huge song list to pick from.

However, I had a similar experience recently doing 3 fill in gigs with a band - 1 in June, 1 in July, and 1 in September.

For the first gig, I had to learn 30 songs in 1-1/2 days. Only 1 of those songs I ever played before. There were several, very quirky original songs they gave me to learn along with covers. First, they gave me songs in the original keys on the CDs and then inform me they do some of them in other keys, which meant I had to spend extra time transposing them and could not play them along with the CD. They gave me a set list and I learned all the songs on the list as best as I could in a short notice. I requested a rehearsal and they rushed through the songs, changed the keys on some again along with some of the arrangements. I was not happy about this. We did the gig and they skipped quite a few songs I wasted my time learning and added some songs I never learned or played before.

For the second gig, they asked me to learn about 6 additional songs I did not learn the first time, including a couple more originals. The same thing happened at the gig and they once again skipped over quite a few songs I wasted my time learning.

For the third gig, they sent me a set list with about 6 more songs they wanted me to learn with a short notice. I told them
that they never gave me copies of those songs and even if they did, I did not have time to learn additional songs. The gig set was cut short due to the band before us going over their time and we only played 1 set. So, after 3 gigs, there were songs that I spent a lot of time learning and never played with them at any gig.

Since I had all my parts written out in the order of the set lists each time, it sure was pain at the gigs when they jumped around the sets and many times would start a song without telling me what it was and I sure did not know all the names to their original songs.

To answer your question - yes, musicians today have no clue...
 
#5
For me it all depends on the band. I do fill ins a lot. If it's a 9 piece horn band that plays some high production stuff, I want a list and I want to stick to it. (I probably will have a couple of charts depending on how long they gave me to get ready, and those charts are in order.) But if it's a band that plays Dead and jam band music, they are usually more relaxed. They aren't trying to play it like the recording, and they don't care if I do either. So just call the ball and I'll fall in when I "get it". No harm done.
 
#6
Now that I've learned the 2-3 hours worth of material I need to know for cover gigs, I can handle having no set list, but I still want one.

Nothing more annoying than spending the whole night trying to figure what the singer is saying between songs so that I know what's about to be played.

Half the time it never gets relayed to me and if I'm not paying attention I have to work it out on the first chord. Fun.
 
#7
I play in an all originals band, and while I know all of Our material quite well, I still like to have a set list in hand at least a day before the gig. IMO- it gives Me somewhat of a road map of what to expect, and how to be well prepared for the gig. As with most gigs, things can always change on spot, but at least You have something to keep things going and moving along the way it should.
(Again,IMO) There is not much that looks less entertaining and unprofessional, than a band who appears ill-prepared and has no idea what song they're gonna be playing next (players, chit-chatting between songs about what the heck they're gonna play next).

I could sum it up with this, "Hey, lets take a trip and leave the GPS and or road atlas at home". Sure You'll get where You wanna go at some point, but it will be a hard trip and take forever because of getting lost or stopping to ask for directions.
 
#9
I find it amazing that people have no idea of what they are doing to other people. It's incredible.

It's a common theme. I know the song.....so everyone else should, without preparation or forknowledge. Again, unreal.

In the band, when you so something that involves the other members of the band, you should consider them at some level.

You'd think it would be obvious, but for some reason its often not.
 
#10
Guy calls on Fri wants a fill in for Sat, tells me they play rock and a couple of country songs. I ask for a set list or just a list of the songs they play. He sends a list that has 20 country songs, 5 I have heard before, 15 songs I don't have a clue. I call him and tell him I will have to pass and he tells me not to worry, that I can follow the band. I told him if they give me the key, I could probably fake it, but not knowing where or when I need to start or stop could be a problem. He finally agreed.
 
#11
Put me in with those who really dislike not having a set list. The best, most well-received cover bands I have ever been in routinely had the drummer counting off the next song as soon as the last ended. You can't do that efficiently or easily without a set list. Also gives the band a chance to look at it and bring up issues like "my voice is a bit fried, I can't sing that one tonight" or "my wah-wah peddle is broke, maybe we should drop White Room" etc. etc.

The "sponteneity" argument has always been a non-starter for me. Any good pro can read a room even before the band plays note 1 and write an appropriate set list in advance 90% of the time. And sure, there are times when deviation from the set list is required, but the person calling the "deviation" has to know what the replacement song entails for each member of the band.
 
#12
We always use a set list, but our vocalist will adjust to the crowd as necessary. If we have a crowd dancing, we want to keep it that way so will keep playing dance tunes even if classic rock tunes are next on the set list.
 
#13
TRichardsbass said:
Did a fill in gig yesterday. Band Leader sent a set list, but didn't use it at all.

I play in another original band and the leader never uses a set list.

This is the worst and wrong. From now on I am not playing with anyone unless they have a set list and use it. Doesn't kill spontaneity (this is originals by gosh) and makes it possible to actually choreograph some of the show.

Worst part of last night was that I got the call one day before and had to figure all the songs out off of YouTube. So I learned only the songs on the set list she sent, in the order she sent. Then opens with a song no one in her band really knew, and of course not me at all.

Also, did the songs in an order not even close to the set list. Thank The Lord that none of the songs were that hard.

Is it me or do musicians today have no clue...
Click to expand...


In my main band, the leader is an old guy bordering on alzheimers....he is an excellent musician...but our band has over 70 songs in our 'set list' which we never go by. Ever. Even worse, he changes not only the tempo of songs but the style, structure and even key. It is very frustrating. A song that had a swing rythym before, he now plays as a calypso...if it had one solo, he adds another where we thought the 3rd verse was supposed to be. he changes the lyrics from verse to verse so that any harmony vocals I do become irrelevant.

Besides the alzheimers (I am only guessing that is what he has) he plays solo quite a bit, and also plays these same songs with other musicians from time to time....it leads to no continuity for OUR band at all!

But, I try to take something good out of it. It has made me one hell of an improviser, and even more important, an active listener. I have to rely on my ears and eyes (watching his fretboard to see where he is going next).

Besides that, we have a LOT of well paying gigs year round, and I love the type of music we play (it's something very few other bands play so we have zero competition) so all in all I put up with it.
 
#14
The White Stripes never used a setlist- everything there was raw and spontaneous. However, they were a two-piece band and had been playing together for a while and were tight, so it was acceptable there. I'd say it would even be acceptable in a three- or four-piece if you're tight. But in your case, where you're a hired gun, I think it's unacceptable. How can they expect you to play to a decent standard in that situation? People...
 
#15
I used to do occasional fill in gigs with a guy who always seemed to have a different band lineup every time I played with him. He would always call me on short notice with no rehearsal and no song list. They did oldies and classic rock and I was familiar with the songs even if I never played them before. Herein was the problem. I called this flying by the seat of your pants fill in work. He would go from one song to the next without telling me what the song was and sometimes just yell out a note and he would do lots of medleys such as an oldies medley or a Monkees medley and only play a verse and chorus of each song but I never knew what song was next, the keys, etc. It was tough. On a couple gigs, the other band members would tell me that I knew the songs better than they did and they were in the band. Imagine somebody just yelling out "A" or "E" and you have no idea what the song could possibly be.
 
#16
Richland123 said:
My full time band never uses a set list but that is my band and we know all the songs and adjust the show to the audience and we have a huge song list to pick from.
Click to expand...

Our band operates like this, and its alright. Id prefer to have a set list, but we all know our original material and sometimes forget to write one beforehand. Instead of waiting for our bandleader to call the next song, as he might be checking his tuning, I'll step up and call the next song and make sure everyone knows.
 

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