Set List Issues

[EastCoastThump]

I always found it frustrating to argue about *whether* a song might work, when it's almost always quicker to just learn the song and try it.

Do you have a website where fans can request songs? You could also ask your regulars for feedback on songbook choices.

 

[mellowinman]

I always found it frustrating to argue about *whether* a song might work, when it's almost always quicker to just learn the song and try it.

Do you have a website where fans can request songs? You could also ask your regulars for feedback on songbook choices.

I don't know what kind of person, or musician you are, but here's something.

I get this obsession over a song sometimes, where I just really WANT to do it. Where I say, "we have four sets of material, and we can play all kinds of songs based on being popular, or 'dancy,' or whatever, so we can always have ONE song that we just LIKE TO PLAY."

But the obsession is more than that. The song gets under my skin. I hear each part of the song in my mind constantly. The bass line. The drum parts. The guitar parts. The lead vocal. Every single nuance, and it plays over and over in my mind, and I don't want it to stop.

I want to know, CAN I PULL IT OFF??? Can I make it my own? Can I give a great performance, and take three, four, or even five minutes of my life, and make it have some meaning?

And then the talk of whether it will go over stops sounding like anything more than meaningless chatter.

I'll give you a great example of how the wisdom of "what will go over" works.

We have set three set up to be the most "dancy" of all the sets. Two Prince songs. "Use Me" by Bill Withers. "Always on the Run" by Lenny Kravitz.

90% of the time, that set is MONEY for getting dancers out, and people love it.

On the night it was pretty dead, the few people we did have HATED that set, and asked us if we played any "real rock and roll."

One guy was about to become difficult, and then we played "Voodoo Child (slight return,)" and he was mesmerized by it, and said we were the greatest band he had ever heard.

So yeah, you can overthink this stuff.

I want to sing blues songs because they cleanse my soul, and express my pain, and passion.

Why is that so hard for people to understand??

This is a business?

I get up to a thousand dollars for shooting a wedding.

I'm lucky if I walk away from a particularly good show with $200.00 in my pocket, and that's NOT including expenses.

Business, my ass.

I play for fun and exposure. I put my best effort into entertaining the audience, because that's what we're there for.

And the best way I can do that is to play good music, and play it well.

 

[jive1]

Here's my take...............


Some of your songs would make great 'extras' to throw in for the right crowd, but may not work as a regular part of your set list.

I used to do Yer Blues in a band, and if there were enough hardcore Beatles fans in the crowd they would go nuts over it, and are usually thankful to hear that instead of the usual Twist and Shout. Everyone else's reaction tended to be "What song was that?"

Whipping Post is a great tune, and for the right crowd it would actually kill. I've done it before for some crowds, and they totally dug it in a very passionate way. For others, the song was too complex and too long for them to get into. I've had that song clear a dance floor a couple of times. Vocally, it's kinda like One Way Out. I used to sing that one. The right crowd would totally dig the ending, whopping and hollering as I did the drawn out vocals at the end. Others would be thinking "*** is with that Chinese dude?" (BTW, I'm not Chinese)

Those two songs would be great tunes for the right crowd, but I wouldn't play them at every show.

IMO, having heard you sing in your videos, you should have more high tenor songs in your set list. A guy who can sing high tenor well isn't easy to find, and you should work that aspect to set you further apart from other bands. You have some Aerosmith and Cheap Trick in there which seem to fit your range, but you should have even more stuff like that. Zeppelin, Boston, James Gang, Humble Pie, Kansas, Foreigner, Nugent, etc. I bet you could do a totally kick-a$$ version of Hair of the Dog by Nazareth. The material mentioned would still fit your format, give your guitarist time to shine, all while showcasing your vocal abilities and being stuff that the crowd can get into.

There's a bunch of bands which have a low-mid tenor, or a female that covers the high tenor tunes. But, a male singing those songs just has a vibe that a female can't get, IMO. Because of that, you should work that aspect to your band's advantage.

 

[mellowinman]

Here's my take...............


Some of your songs would make great 'extras' to throw in for the right crowd, but may not work as a regular part of your set list.

I used to do Yer Blues in a band, and if there were enough hardcore Beatles fans in the crowd they would go nuts over it, and are usually thankful to hear that instead of the usual Twist and Shout. Everyone else's reaction tended to be "What song was that?"

Whipping Post is a great tune, and for the right crowd it would actually kill. I've done it before for some crowds, and they totally dug it in a very passionate way. For others, the song was too complex and too long for them to get into. I've had that song clear a dance floor a couple of times. Vocally, it's kinda like One Way Out. I used to sing that one. The right crowd would totally dig the ending, whopping and hollering as I did the drawn out vocals at the end. Others would be thinking "*** is with that Chinese dude?" (BTW, I'm not Chinese)

Those two songs would be great tunes for the right crowd, but I wouldn't play them at every show.

IMO, having heard you sing in your videos, you should have more high tenor songs in your set list. A guy who can sing high tenor well isn't easy to find, and you should work that aspect to set you further apart from other bands. You have some Aerosmith and Cheap Trick in there which seem to fit your range, but you should have even more stuff like that. Zeppelin, Boston, James Gang, Humble Pie, Kansas, Foreigner, Nugent, etc. I bet you could do a totally kick-a$$ version of Hair of the Dog by Nazareth. The material mentioned would still fit your format, give your guitarist time to shine, all while showcasing your vocal abilities and being stuff that the crowd can get into.

There's a bunch of bands which have a low-mid tenor, or a female that covers the high tenor tunes. But, a male singing those songs just has a vibe that a female can't get, IMO. Because of that, you should work that aspect to your band's advantage.

I can't believe you think I could even touch, much less nail, Dan McCafferty! Dude, that made my entire MONTH!

Sadly, I don't think I can.

I'm more of a mid-high tenor than a full tenor. I don't know how I'm hitting the Robert Plant and Steven Tyler, but I will say I'm only hitting their lower and middle stuff. If I came out trying "Black Dog," or "the Immigrant Song," or "Back in the Saddle," I would set off neighborhood cats for miles around, I assure you!

I used to get by on "Stranglehold," by the Nuge, but my band gets pretty bored playing it.

(I love the bass line in that song!)

James Gang, or Humble Pie? Oh man. I will have to consider that!

As for "Whipping Post," I might force the issue, but I might not, either.

Thanks for the feedback, though, man. I do need it, believe me!

 

[jive1]

I can't believe you think I could even touch, much less nail, Dan McCafferty! Dude, that made my entire MONTH!

Sadly, I don't think I can.

I totally think you can, and it would sound awesome.

Here's the move right here:
Do Sweet Emotion, and when you hit that last note before the jam at the end, you then immediately go into Hair of the Dog, and at the end of the tune, hit the drum fill to go right into the jam of Sweet Emotion to end the tune. I absolutely guarantee the crowd will go nuts over it. I know that I sure would. The bar staff will need to come out with mops to clear the sweat off the dance floor.