Actually I see very little skin peeling. Just because we disagree does not mean we're plowing or bullying. We're just trying to give him some advice. If mentioning that he should be practicing instead of wasting his time on the forum, it may come across as harsh, but there's some truth to it (no offence, Blue).
The thing is, memorizing and learning songs is all about experience. Once someone has played for a number years (in my case 35), the memory has developed so that songs are remembered quicker. They say that New York waitresses have the best memories in the world. That's because it's developed over time.
Plus, patterns are learned. After learning (and forgetting) literally thousands of songs, it would seem that there's not really all that much new in rock & roll. Most stuff is still 3 or 4 chords. A lot of bass lines these days aren't all that complicated.
Most cover band set lists only have 3 or 4 complicated songs that someone who's been playing for a while might not know. Their set lists usually don't vary much. In my experience, even the most unique bands aren't all that unique. Very rarely have I been handed a set list where I haven't played most of the material at one time or another. That pretty much includes most genres. (Okay, Jazz might be a little elusive to me.)
Original bands you can put your own spin on, so you can either play or not. A recording, a chord chart and a week should be enough to get down a 40 minute set. If you've been a player for a while, and the BL doesn't mind a music stand on stage, eventually you'll have developed enough skill to get through a chart without mistakes right from the start with no practice or rehearsals.
In general (don't pounce on me if you're the exception) if someone has only been playing for 2 or 3 years, they are not going to know as many songs and have a lot less experience in different genres. It will be a lot harder. After 5 or so years, playing in 5 or so different bands, learning and remembering songs becomes second nature.
Another thing is you get out of it what you put into it. If I had a gig with an 'A' list band, I would be cramming 6 hours a day everyday until the show.
