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Songs to Get the Audience Moving

#2
I've been doing a lot of wine bars and like that- 30/40+ yr olds- they seem to LOVE stuff like Dreams(Fleetwood Mac) & Time of the Season(Zombies). Any Bob Marley(we do Could you be loved & No woman, no cry)goes over well too. Know your crowd- I'm sure these tunes wouldn't do diddley for a punk/metal/whatever show.
 
#10
Paradise City... Absolutely kick arse song, and everybody knows it. It's hard to not get into that song, wether it's singing along or dancing.

Honestly, most Gun N' Roses material works. A lot of Velvet Revolver stuff does as well. Get Out the Door is a great example. Nice solid song, high energy without being heavy, and has a simple vox line. Fall to Pieces is good too.
 
#11
Catbuster said:
Paradise City... Absolutely kick arse song, and everybody knows it. It's hard to not get into that song, wether it's singing along or dancing.

Honestly, most Gun N' Roses material works. A lot of Velvet Revolver stuff does as well. Get Out the Door is a great example. Nice solid song, high energy without being heavy, and has a simple vox line. Fall to Pieces is good too.
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Get Out the Door is a great example of what I'm looking for. Thanks, Catbuster! Any others like that you can think of? I also like Give a Little More from Maroon 5. That's another example of what I'm looking for.
 
#15
michaelkoss said:
Get Out the Door is a great example of what I'm looking for. Thanks, Catbuster! Any others like that you can think of? I also like Give a Little More from Maroon 5. That's another example of what I'm looking for.
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"We Win" by Duff McKagan's loaded seems to be along those lines. "My Hero" and "Learn to Fly" by the Foo Fighters might also fit the bill. Both are short, high energy songs. They're personally some of favorites to play, and usually have gotten the crowd moving. If you don't mind punk, "Tomorrow's Industry" by Dropkick Murphys will usually wake up a crowd.
 
#16
michaelkoss said:
Stuff like Weezer and maybe some classic rock.
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Good call.

I'd love to do some Beatles but I'm not sure how many early to mid-twenty kids know them well enough.
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Skip it. This age group largely does not appreciate The Beatles, especially when they want to party. I know this from reading Talkbass and making a living as a mobile DJ for the last 10 years.

Smells Like Teen Spirit might be a good one too.
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Grunge hits. Hits. Pop Hits. I can't emphasize this enough: Hits. Recognizeable hits that make the little girlies wanna dance and get moist in the pants, and the boys follow suit like horny zombies.

Your target audience graduated from high school three to eight years ago, and their awareness of pop music goes back even farther, into their middle school years. Hit the Billboard Top 40 lists from those years. Look for the party rocker jams. And don't be afraid of the Brittany and the N'Sync either. Rock bands can do this stuff too, and with awesome results. Pop the bottom end, keep it danceable.

This age group doesn't have a lot of sentimental feelings for music much older than around the year 2000. You might find a few, but I'd focus on the stuff that was hot while they were in middle-to-high school right up until the present.
 
#18
Edward G. said:
It may not be right for your crowd, but I am dumbfounded by what 'Sweet Caroline' does to every audience of mine. I had to be nearly strong-armed into playing it, but it's truly unbelievable.
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Same story here, I laughed when they added it to the set list. 4 or 5 gigs later, it was my fav.

All the 20 somethings knew the words. All the girls danced. All the dudes followed the girls.
 

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