Should you play Mustang Sally?

[dave_bass5]

And you still can't seem to get pass the cliches.... That said you don't see stand up comics doing covers.

Of course i can but i actually like playing MS and like the reaction it gets.

Look at all the "What songs should my covers band play" threads on here and you will also see the same old songs popping up, maybe not MS but the same old Blues/MOR rubbish.

Same old crap, different genre's.

 

[S.B.]

Play it when requested which is a lot. Depends on gig...blues bar not so much, weddings or gigs with age 50ish people..everytime. I do play in a cover band. To me part of the fun is getting into it with the audience. In our set list there are some songs we do for the art, songs we make our own twist to, and other cover standards. Like to think what we do we do well. As long as I have fun, feel creative and can play, Im playing !

 

[BassyBill]

I do the "struggling artiste playing original music to tiny audiences for no money" and also the cover band thing, too. Both can be musically satisfying and enjoyable and I wouldn't want to give either up.

 

[pklima]

Or perhaps we're too quick to accept lowest-common-denominator entertainment and to dismiss anyone who objects with lazy name-calling.

Oh please. It took some of us years to accept lowest-common-denominator entertainment. We look back with regret on all the wasted years and wish we were quicker about it.

Though I still have never played or even heard "Mustang Sally".

 

[MJ_Sotti]

We've found "Night Moves" gets the mustang sally people off you're back.

No what gets big response for us? "Clocks"

 

[kiwi60]

I was in a blues band that had often had MS requested, to which the lead vocalist replied one day 'we won't play that F.....g sh!t for any one.
Needless to say:
1. The band never had another gig at that bar.
2. The band broke up shortly afterwards and reformed the next day with a new vocalist who had no problem playing what the crowd wants.

And to me, thats the bottom line - as a covers / blues we were being hired to entertain, not to push our own agenda.

These days I'm with a jazz band and we're NEVER asked to play MS

 

[btp]

Exactly. You are NOT making art; you are entertainment.

The thing about these classic songs is that you've gotta step up and play it like you mean it -- channel your inner Wilson Pickett, so to speak. Have you heard a live, original recording? It's stunning -- no wonder it's a classic. These songs are only lame or stale or half-assed if we approach them with that attitude.

As for Jumping Jack Flash, check this: Doctor Decade: Jumping Jack Flash - YouTube
That song rocks with just a solo guitar, if you dig in and play it.

 

[rekesbass]

I'm in a cover band... we've played all the songs mentioned and threw in a little "brown eyed girl" for good measure...got paid(well),got a second(or third and fourth etc...)gig and got to sleep that night...no harm no foul

 

[4-string]

Our cover band doesn't do requests at all, problem solved.

We play songs we enjoy playing first of all, and there are plenty of crowd pleasers to play beyond Mustang Sally, Creedence etc. that even feel good to us. We would probably get more gigs if we didn't have this approach, but we can all live with that.

The day one of my band mates wants to play one of these, I'm out. I understand those who put up with it to keep the gig, but I would rather be a bedroom player. YMMV.

What I don't get is that people insist on the same songs every single time they go out to hear a band - don't know what that is all about. I think it is important that the majority of the tunes are recognized by the crowd, but thankfully most people know more than a couple of songs. We get lots of positive feedback when we play something they know, but haven't heard in a long time.

 

[Marginal Tom]

I'm firmly in the camp of "If an audience member requests Song X and we even kinda know it, we'll play it." It may just be one verse, chorus, instrumental break, repeat and tag it, but we'll do the best we can. We're there to entertain the crowd, put money in the bar owner's pocket and get more gigs, not to play our favorite songs while the audience heads down the street to see who else is playing.

 

[mongo2]

Mustang Sally is one of the most popular songs we do. The bar crowds around here love it ("Ride Sally Ride") and we like playing it and making it sound fresh each tme...great song...so we do it every night...sometimes twice if there's been a crowd turnover or a request.

 

[mellowinman]

We proudly end every show with Freebird. It's easily one of our best songs, and it never fails to go over. We play it with conviction, and make sure and do all the parts. Most people think you play the verses and chorus and then "just jam out for five minutes."

It's a great song, with great structure, and one of my all time favorites to play.

There is no song that "no band should play." Play what you feel; keep it real.

 

[gweimer]

I'm firmly in the camp of "If an audience member requests Song X and we even kinda know it, we'll play it." It may just be one verse, chorus, instrumental break, repeat and tag it, but we'll do the best we can. We're there to entertain the crowd, put money in the bar owner's pocket and get more gigs, not to play our favorite songs while the audience heads down the street to see who else is playing.

I was in a band briefly that never used a song list. Most of our night was determined by that exact scenario. I had to learn, on the fly, "Hotel California" at one show.

 

[El Barbero]

I don't really care about being heard or enjoyed by an audience that just wants to get drunk and bellow along to a chorus they know. I'd rather have a small (even tiny) audience that actually likes music.

This is the part where you get to call me a snob.

But what do you do when your audience (that really likes music) want MS to be played because they like it. Like it or not MS is made up of music and a LOT of people of all ages like it. Or did you really mean an audience that likes only the same music as yourself.

 

[NoiseNinja]

But what do you do when your audience (that really likes music) want MS to be played because they like it. Like it or not MS is made up of music and a LOT of people of all ages like it. Or did you really mean an audience that likes only the same music as yourself.

If I want someone who is payed to fake it, I'd rather get a whore. Does that make me a good lover?

 

[kevteop]

But what do you do when your audience (that really likes music) want MS to be played because they like it. Like it or not MS is made up of music and a LOT of people of all ages like it. Or did you really mean an audience that likes only the same music as yourself.

Actually I realised the other day that if I slaughtered everybody in the world who doesn't like the same music as me, it would be a much nicer place to live.

The people who ask you to play Mustang Sally are the same people who watch all those televised karaoke competitions we're plagued with now. Don't encourage them.

 

[gweimer]

If I want someone who is payed to fake it, I'd rather get a whore. Does that make me a good lover?

Nobody is talking about paying for a fake performance. We're talking about putting as much effort and sincerity into a well liked cover as any original. Nobody wants to pay, or will stay, for some shoe-staring, experimental, psychedelic meandering.

Performing music means that you wish to PLEASE your audience, whether it's all originals or a night of Tony Orlando covers.

 

[4-string]

There are quite a lot of stuff to be found between Mustang Sally and psychedelic, shoe-staring originals.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Actually I realised the other day that if I slaughtered everybody in the world who doesn't like the same music as me, it would be a much nicer place to live.

The people who ask you to play Mustang Sally are the same people who watch all those televised karaoke competitions we're plagued with now. Don't encourage them.

Ah, so you want the bard bands of the world to reform people's musical taste. Well, good luck with that.

 

[gweimer]

There are quite a lot of stuff to be found between Mustang Sally and psychedelic, shoe-staring originals.

Oh, I'm in complete agreement. That's why we should play songs in the context of the group. There are thousands of songs that make for a good show.

I guess it gets down to this - as a musician/performer, you are obligated to entertain your audience in whatever manner that means. You should play with that intent and that sincerity. You don't HAVE to play "Mustang Sally", but if you do, you'd better do a good job of it. You can bet that Wilson Pickett probably performed that song more than any of us, and it put food on his table.

If you aren't at a gig hoping to entertain, stay home and let those who want to be accepted take the gigs.