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Set List Critique

T

turbo chicken

Feb 5, 2010
699
6
Dallas FtWorth Texas
#1
I've asked a few people outside the band what they think of the set list. I'm getting mixed results but most are wavering towards the "not good" side of the fence. Even I think it's a little odd, but i enjoy playing most of them.

We are a 5 piece band cover band. Drums, Keys, Killer guitar player (lead), 2nd guitar, and me

I'm the newest member clocking in at just about 2 months... first gig is on Saturday. This is my first band.

I'm more curious than anything as there is a pretty diverse set of individials here and I know I can count on TB to be pretty straight forward. My friends, family i think hold back on what they are really thinking.

This is the order in which we'll be playing the tunes as well.

1 set
Happy Hour Hero - Moe
Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
The Weight - The Band
These Old Shoes - Deer Tick
Cry Lonely -Cross Canadian Ragweed
Dixieland Delight - Alabama
Say it Ain't So - Weezer
96 Tears - Question Mark and the Mysterians
House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

2nd set
Light my Fire - The Doors
The Balad of John and Yoko - Beatles
The Cave - Mumford and Sons
Guitars and Cadillacs - Dwight Y.
Wagon Wheel - OCMS
Brown Eyed Girl/Squirrel etc ...
Billie Jean
Head Full of Doubt - Avett Brothers ... i think
Today - Smashing Pumpkins
Cant You See - Marshall Tucker Band

So ... gimme your un-filtered opnions ... :D:bassist::p:hyper::ninja::hiding:

Gig is here ... http://www.bryanstreettavern.com/ ... other than that that's all the info i got on the venue ...

this whole deal was set up as teh 2nd guitar players birthday bash ... it's more about going out and having some fun playing than anything else.

we aren't being paid... but if we were i'd be worried.
 
#5
turbo chicken said:
I've asked a few people outside the band what they think of the set list. I'm getting mixed results but most are wavering towards the "not good" side of the fence. Even I think it's a little odd, but i enjoy playing most of them.

We are a 5 piece band cover band. Drums, Keys, Killer guitar player (lead), 2nd guitar, and me

I'm the newest member clocking in at just about 2 months... first gig is on Saturday. This is my first band.

I'm more curious than anything as there is a pretty diverse set of individials here and I know I can count on TB to be pretty straight forward. My friends, family i think hold back on what they are really thinking.

This is the order in which we'll be playing the tunes as well.

1 set
Happy Hour Hero - Moe
Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
The Weight - The Band
These Old Shoes - Deer Tick
Cry Lonely -Cross Canadian Ragweed
Dixieland Delight - Alabama
Say it Ain't So - Weezer
96 Tears - Question Mark and the Mysterians
House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

2nd set
Light my Fire - The Doors
The Balad of John and Yoko - Beatles
The Cave - Mumford and Sons
Guitars and Cadillacs - Dwight Y.
Wagon Wheel - OCMS
Brown Eyed Girl/Squirrel etc ...
Billie Jean
Head Full of Doubt - Avett Brothers ... i think
Today - Smashing Pumpkins
Cant You See - Marshall Tucker Band

So ... gimme your un-filtered opnions ... :D:bassist::p:hyper::ninja::hiding:
Click to expand...

It does indeed depend on just who you are playing for. Who is your target demographic? I doubt that that a crowd of hipsters or frat tools would dig your set, but hell... Im so damn old and out of touch I might be totally wrong.

Personally, I love your set list, for the most part. Anyone who plays Alabama and ? and the Mysterians in the same set is ok with me.
 
#7
The problem with asking this question here, and the problem with the setlist is the same- it's geared toward musicians. Honestly, I haven't heard of half the songs you listed... so if your goal is to entertain drunk people for the night, I'm afraid you'll likely fail. I could, as always, be wrong, but in my area, I've found that if the song is about 1)Drinking, 2) Sex, or 3)Drugs, or any combination of those 3, it'll go over like gangbusters. Also, if there is plenty of swearing, that goes a long way.

What a lot of bands seem to do is pick out songs THEY like, which might work in some cases, but I'd say, in the majority of cases, forget what you like, and play what the audience likes. It sounds simple, and it is.
 
#8
afzoomie67 said:
Consolidate it to just one set?
Click to expand...

I think we have someone playing a few acoustic tunes between the two. Or there is a suprize dedicated song from Guitar player 2's girlfriend she's gonna sing or something like that.

added as much detail about the venue as i could whick is a link to the website... also there will be lots of friends/family of the band in attendance.

The tunes reflect the very diverse background and age of the members ranging from early 20's to 50's ... i contributed absolutely zilch ... we cept for House of the Rising Sun ... me and the keys player had that appifinay on the same day about 30 mins apart. We hadn't spoke of it previously.

see and I'm 30 in a week.. and i've heard/listened to all of the songs as some point... but i have a very eclectic taste in music ... so im the exception.

well im looking at the website ... it looks like we booked a "party" and also booked ourselves as "the band" for the night.

This is one time i don't mind saying ... "I'm just the new guy/bass player!"

looked at some reviews... the crowd being "mixed" is mentioned many times... looking at profiles of the people doing reviews on various sites ... i'm not worried as much now about he crowd
 
#9
I hope this is not for a dance crowd. Some of these songs I have never even heard and I am really up on all types of music old and new. For me, nothing against the songs, but some of the songs that I do know are not really dance material.
 
#11
Playing covers THAT eclectic is bound to alienate all of your audience at some point, lol. Most cover bands want to keep as many people connected, and on the dance floor, as long as possible. In sets like those, you're gonna have lots of sitters. I dunno, I am all for mixing things up, but wow, you guys are pushing the envelope.
 
#12
I'd say that if you're just planning to have a bunch of friends down to party then you'll be fine.
However, with a setlist like that you probably won't have much luck getting a dance floor packed with strangers. If you're planning on persuing playing in a cover band for money or just to keep busy I'd suggest picking either a genre, theme, etc....
 
#15
I just fairly recently got back into a band. Our set list is really short at this point. And yet a couple of your list are on ours, too.

I noticed Comfortably Numb and Can't You See. We do those. But I didn't notice any other familiar ones. We also do:

Some Day, Some Way - Jeff Healey
Badge - Cream
The Way - Fastball
All For You - Sister Hazel
Willie The Wimp - Stevie Ray Vaughn
Melissa - Allmann Brothers
Hell Of A Time - Randy Camacho
Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffet
Keep Your Hands To Yourself - Georgia Satellites
Drift Away - Dobie Gray

I've been trying to get them to add: Hard Times In The Land Of Plenty - Omar & The Howlers

There's got to be more songs than that. But that's all I remember off the top of my head.
 
#17
Yeah the lead player gets to have a little fun on that. But the rest of us kind of have an endurance test. There is a definite reason that that comes at the end of the set.

Unfortunately the lead player seems to get the veto on most songs nominated. I'm currently lobbying for It's A Good Day For The Blues - Storyville, Hard Times In The Land Of Plenty - Omar & The Howlers, Freedom - Jimi Hendrix, Whipping Post - Allmann Brothers, and a few others.
 
#18
That was the one song we got everyone to their feet and clapping at the end I even got chills on the 2nd solo... our lead player friggin killed it... We were even asked to play it again after we finished the 2nd set... our reply was "you only get that 1 time with the same crowd" ...

personally I like the simplicity of the bass line ... i jazz it up juuuuust a tad at the end and match the kick a little more but go back to super simple before we end the song...

that was our best song of the night saturday... IMHO

and everyone dug billie jean ... but who doesn't like a little MJ
 

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