When did cover gigs balloon to 3 hours?

[DaveParker39]

Sharing the show with multiple bands is typically a big bother—in stage setup and backstage logistics. And those gigs invariably pay less. My band’s gigs have been going from four hours to three hours over the years. I’m good with that, and the audience still gets a lot of songs.

If the option was 4 hours or 2 bands I would also take 4 hours. We'd probably do an acoustic set or something for a bit though.

 

[DirtDog]

Never known anything other than 9-1 cover band gigs with three, sometimes four 45 minute sets. Been at it for close to 40 years. Once in a blue moon we’d have an opening act for the first set. Usually a favour for a friend.

 

[Rib 13]

I've been a cover band player since the 80s......its always been 4 sets with a 15 or 20 minute break in between

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I had never done any band or group music before; at my church we have a rotation so when you are up, they assign you a practice and sometimes a day or two before practice they send out the chord charts. we run through the set and take notes on the changes and then you are on your own with practice. Sunday we just get together an hour before service and end up playing through both morning and afternoon services.

Does this seem reasonable? the only issue I am having is that often times the key we are to play in is not something i can find or go listen to - I need to hear a song to really get the spirit of how it should be played. some days they change the key based on a whim and just reissue the charts. Is this just standard practice, or the result of all of us just being volunteers?

Our worship leader changes keys to half the songs anyway, without charts. Hahahaha

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I had never done any band or group music before; at my church we have a rotation so when you are up, they assign you a practice and sometimes a day or two before practice they send out the chord charts. we run through the set and take notes on the changes and then you are on your own with practice. Sunday we just get together an hour before service and end up playing through both morning and afternoon services.

Does this seem reasonable? the only issue I am having is that often times the key we are to play in is not something i can find or go listen to - I need to hear a song to really get the spirit of how it should be played. some days they change the key based on a whim and just reissue the charts. Is this just standard practice, or the result of all of us just being volunteers?

Sounds to me like you guys got it easy. Hahahaha

There are times I wish I was still the drummer

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I just want to know how you guys memorize enough songs for that. At church they give us like 4-6 songs and between my day job and the kids I just kind of learn how the song goes and bring chord charts.

You get given a list. You usually have about 2 weeks or so to learn it. 30 - 50 songs. Most cover bands don't rehearse either. And, the set list (if there is one) is handed to you at the gig.

 

[lunarpollen]

I just want to know how you guys memorize enough songs for that. At church they give us like 4-6 songs and between my day job and the kids I just kind of learn how the song goes and bring chord charts.

Before I joined my current main band, I used to wonder the same thing... I didn't know if it would ever be possible for my brain to hold enough songs to fill a 3 hour slot, but I was determined to give it a try. It helped that a lot of the songs I was already familiar with as a listener and music fan, even if I had never tried learning how to play them. It also definitely helps when the music is catchy...

If you think about how many songs you've become familiar enough with throughout your life to instantly sing along with, it sort of makes sense that you also have the capacity to learn to play the bass parts to a huge amount of songs. And even if you learn a song well and then don't play it for several months, when you come back to it again it is super easy to reawaken your memory of the bass part with just a couple of tries. It's good to have at least weekly 2- to 3-hour band practices, and rotate through different songs of your repertoire from practice to practice so you don't become too rusty on any of the material.

Personally, I really enjoy the 3-hour gigs, even more so than the 2-hour gigs... I think currently when we play gigs where we're the only band, maybe 75% of the time it's a 3-hour slot, and 25% of the time it's a 2-hour slot.

 

[ryco]

4+ hours was pretty standard for bar, lounge T-40 gigs 60-90s WA.
Usually 4 45 minute sets with 15 minute breaks between and a 1/2 hour at the end. 9p-1:30am
Here in Oregon it's 9p-2a $75-100 a man a night.
In AK '80s it was 6-7hour sets 6 days a week. 9-3 or 9-4am.

Now semi-retired we play 2hr sets pretty much for tips and we don't bother taking a break.

 

[retslock]

So, I've been doing the church gig stuff for years, so I've been out of the loop. When did the cover band set expand to 3 hours? It used to be an hour and have two or three bands. I'm a glutton for punishment, apparently, because I've got two different bands with two different three hour sets, playing lead guitar on one and bass on the other.

The bass gig they eventually want me playing upright on a few of the songs, and thankfully the keyboardist owns one he'll let me borrow. But I've only screwed around on one that happened to be around, no real performance experience there.

I've got my work cut out for me. Oh, yeah, full time job, kids, and all the accoutrements that come along with that, too.

Three to four hours gigs for one band has been common in Australia for a long time. The days of three bands a night are over except for festivals or sponsored events. Two bands still happens but also not that common.

 

[Dominic D]

4 hours have been standard around here for decades. I know the older guys have said it’s been that way since at least the 80s.

 

[edwinhurwitz]

Decades ago. 40 tunes that will include some longish jams or about 50 regular length tunes. Used to start around 9:30ish and last to about 1:45. 3 or 4 sets depending on the atmosphere.

I played in an original band that would play 3+ hour sets, but each set would be 5 to 8 tunes. We had a lot of through composed stuff and a lot of sections for improvisation. The longest we played was one 4 hour set that started at 1AM (our drummer ran off to see Clyde Stubblefield play at a frat party across town without telling us, so we got a late start. Wish I had gone along with him!).

 

[Rocker949]

Four hours has been typical for me with some exceptions.

 

[petermwright]

In the UK, 90 minutes is pretty normal. Maybe 2 hours. No idea why the disparity.

 

[MrB64]

You're working, and that's a good thing. I love that bands can get gigs these days.

 

[_Obra_]

Almost all of bar managers where we play do not want to have sets (actually they do not want pauses between sets), so we play 2,5h without brake.

 

[grocker]

Around my area, the norm used to be a 4 hour show (9P-1A ect...). We would usually do 3 one hour sets with 30 min breaks in between. The crowds and club owners hated that, but I wasn't the band leader so I didn't mind. Now the norm is 3 hour shows. My band usually plays 2 80min sets with a 10 min break in between.

Our band has been doing that 90 first set stuff, we actually got fired from a restaurant because the crowd wouldn't leave and the waitresses complained to the Manager they couldn't turn tables/Tips!!. So we were told by the Mgr they like crappy bands there so people leave and more can come in to eat.
First time I ever had a band I was in be told your to good to play here. So ridiculous.

 

[someguyfromNC]

Here it’s usually 9 to 1. Sometimes 10-1. People I know play Sunday mornings it’s usually 2 sets of an hour to hour and a half.

 

[LHbassist]

I've been playing 'cover' gigs since the early 70's. ALL of the clubs in New York City, and surrounding areas were minimum 4, 5, or typically six sets long.. usually 40 on, 20 off, as per the then 802 union requirements. Last call- with the band playing, was 4 a.m.! Exceptions were playing special events, or original music at places like CBGB's or Kenny's Castaways etc. You were likely to not get paid much, or at all doing some of those.
Even non-union gigs, with local rock and rollers were run that way. I was in one house band that did SEVEN sets on a Saturday, if there were enough people in the audience. Fast forward to now, and 2,700 miles away- there is one house gig here in Reno, Nevada, that is SIX sets long. I'm 72 now, not 24 like back in my Woodside, Queens -commuting at major off-peak hours on the subway up to and back from the very dangerous mid seventies- Bronx - I'd wait 90 minutes for a train, then change for another at Times Square- and another 90 minute wait, plus the travel time itself. Got home at 10 a.m. the next day sometimes. All just to play my bass. So, to me- cover gigs never could 'balloon' to three hours. A three hour gig now, is welcome compared to these bigoted slave driving club owners and local agents that hate musicians... and think we have it 'easy.'
I'm doing this weekend both days- 2 p.m., to 6 p.m. three one hour sets. It's fine with me.

 

[Biggbass]

4 hours- 3 sets is the norm for us...always has been.
that's roughly 32-36 songs depending on song lengths.
Consequently, we have approx 120 songs on our master song list to rotate set
content and customize sets for the venue, or keep it fresh for venues where we play regularly.

 

[DuluthDank]

I think I'd rather sit behind a desk for 4 hours than perform that long.