People are so weird...asked to fill in..than gig is cancelled after asking for a setlist.

If that's the way this guys like playing their gigs, calling out random tunes (I'm guessing depending on crowd's petitions or the mood of the moment) and you like playing gigs with a setlist with no modifications without pleasing the crowd's petitions or because of the mood of the moment. Then you don't fit well in the band, even for a fill in. You like yellow, they like green. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just different ways of working.

 

Sounds like you dodged a bullet.
I'd say there are plenty of players who would have taken that gig and got through it just fine, but if that's not how you roll then that's absolutely your right.

 

Spoiler alert!….

…Musicians are flaky.

 

Wow, you got a list? I usually get a text with a couple examples. What’s with people?

 

Yeah, if you want me to sub, I’m going to need a set list and keys noted.

 

Pretty weird that you were too much trouble for asking questions.

Gig cancelled...worth it to show up at the gig and laugh/glare?

 

I've been working for a while with a band that ignores the setlists. Lists are sent out in advance, I review those tunes. Sometimes texts show up a day or two before the gig with new tunes we've never played before. On the gig the list has been forgotten as early as the third tune of the night. When we followed the list for the entire first set on our last gig I was astounded.

The second set we jumped around a bit but at least this time the vocalist didn't say "Hey, let's play this new song I just wrote"

Disclaimer: I don't mind that the band is so loosey goosey because everyone can improvise well and knows how to generate danceable grooves. Gigs are plentiful, audience response is positive, the hang and money are good, but I'll be quitting when something better comes along.

 

To be fair, he never said he needed a set list that was immutable and can't be modified to fit the mood of the audience. He simply asked for a list of 100 songs to be whittled down to likely candidates from the 60-70 he was familiar with or to be told which songs he DIDN'T know so he could prepare those without spending a week learning 30 songs (for free) and then playing two of them.

It's not difficult to give someone a list of 40-50 songs that are the usual songs played. It's 2 1/2 hours. Not 6. Sounds like a lazy band to me. I wouldn't want to sub for them either. And I often sub 4 hour gigs with zero rehearsal. It's just helpful and professional to not expect me to learn 100 songs on my own time to only play 20 of them.

 

If you were in my area I'd wonder if we'd been asked to do the same gig.

Had a request to fill in this weekend. I did one with this group in the past, seems like it's always a rotating cast. Been asked back a few times but mostly nights where I'm already booked or just too last minute to make it work. Was asked last week about this weekend, I agree and asked for the set list and details to be emailed - it's mostly cover stuff, a fair percentage I knew already, but also some originals and the group recently released a new album so I knew I'd have some brushing up to do. Didn't hear back so I sent my email address again in case it was needed. Radio silence. Works for me, I'd like to have my Saturday free since I'm gigging the next three in a row, but some form of a response would have been nice.

On the set list thing, I've played with a few guys in multiple bar band type groups. The first is much more of the "call em out" type, the more recent group the membership prefers to have a list planned out with substitutions as needed. The blending of members between the two groups can make for some interesting nights. Some guys are cool with calling it as we go, some guys are easily flustered.

 

I'm convinced a good band knows their music and the venues well enough to tailor a setlist to the crowd.
The only time a dance floor should be cleared is when the band planned it to slam the bar.

I've seen too many dance floors cleared by bands that were busy trying to communicate a change in the setlist.

 

I have a theory about certain older musicians, and by older I would say 55 and up. I am 50 myself. They all know the same 100 or so classic rock songs all of which were made before 1980. I don't mean that they know them well, but they know all of them well enough to slog through a bar gig without train wrecking. They have played these same 100 or so songs in every band they have ever been in for the last 30-40 years. They will act completely dumbfounded when you tell them you don't know how to play one of these 100 or so songs. If you ask them to learn one song that is not on their list or worse yet made after 1980, They will give you 800 reasons why the band shouldn't do that song. Does this sound like anyone you know?

 

Depends on the band. Some are just sloppy and clueless. With others it’s part of their overall product strategy.

I know a a few cover bands (mostly wedding and event) that only go in with a very general idea of a set list. They know a lot of songs and change up the sequence on the fly depending on the audience response. Some crowds want 80s pop while others really take off when you throw in some 50s doo-wop and rockabilly. You can just never tell. It’s one reason why DJs got so popular. They come in with a full disk library and have several hundred or more songs on tap they can switch up on a moments notice. Even Van Halen built their early reputation as a band that could play anything. They were known for their ability to play entire gigs just taking request calls from the crowd.

My feeling is, if you’re going to be working in a crowd pleasing cover band, why not? Even with blues bands, the “set list” is often little more than whatever the singer or lead instrumentalist feels most moved to do next. Half the time it’s not even called. The artist just starts and the band falls in about three beats later.

 

I don't understand why you're so sure that your request for a setlist was the reason the gig was canceled. Isn't it possible that it was canceled for other reasons?

 

This is how it goes as a fill in.

You will get the calls based on your ability to roll with whatever gets thrown at you. If you really know 60 plus of their tunes (2/3 of the 100 song list) you should have just said "Cool, see ya at the gig!"

The approach to this kind of fill-in spot should be close to jam-nite mentality. Close enough for Rock & Roll... If you are really uncomfortable with a tune they call out, just shake it off. If they insist on playing something you don't know, they deserve what they get!

You apparently knew more than enough of their material to support the gig and it sounds like you're aware of their habit of having a loose program.

If they cancelled the gig because of you, it wasn't because you were being difficult asking for a list but rather that you must have given them the impression you would not be prepared. I think it's more likely that other forces were involved though.

 

My bet is that the timing is just a coincidence. Gigs get canceled unexpectedly for all sorts of reasons. It just doesn't make any sense that they would ditch a gig just because the fill-in bass player asked for a song list -- especially since you already know two-thirds of their full list, which is probably twice as many songs as will be needed for a 2.5-hour gig.

 

The gig was probably just cancelled and had nothing to do with your list request.

I get asked a lot to fill in or if I'd be available, and only a few actually happen, most end up cancelling their gig.