How often do you change your setlist

[Nicko]

We've only gigged occasionally over the last few years and brought in a few new songs now and then.  We've picked up a bigger number of gigs this year, and some are returns to venues we've been to before. 

Is it acceptable for a covers band to play the same setlist if you go to a venue twice in as many months, or woud you expect a fairy wholescale re-write?

 

[T-Bay]

We played last Friday at a local pub and are rebooked for May, we will do about 50% new stuff next time. There are some that tend to stay put and others that we swap,in an out depending on how we feel and the venue.

[steantval]

1 hour ago, Nicko said:

We've only gigged occasionally over the last few years and brought in a few new songs now and then.  We've picked up a bigger number of gigs this year, and some are returns to venues we've been to before. 

Is it acceptable for a covers band to play the same setlist if you go to a venue twice in as many months, or woud you expect a fairy wholescale re-write?

 

I personally would not book our band into the same venue two months running, I always ensure they are well spread out.

One of the venues we play wanted to give us four gigs this year, I said it was too many and we eventually agreed three.

[Happy Jack]

You can change a set list?

[FinnDave]

Set list??

[casapete]

Set??

[steantval]

Gigged ?

[ead]

Ours evolves constantly.  We'll drop stuff, put new tunes in and then resurrect old ones.  We often play the same pub 3 or 4 times a year.

[stingrayPete1977]

14 minutes ago, ead said:

Ours evolves constantly.  We'll drop stuff, put new tunes in and then resurrect old ones.  We often play the same pub 3 or 4 times a year.

Same here. 

[casapete]

Being in a tribute band, we constantly have the problem of keeping it fresh whilst still playing the staple tunes everyone

expects to hear. Each year we jig the set around a bit, usually adding 3 or 4 lesser known songs and trying to keep the

others sounding as good as possible. ( It's a fine line to walk sometimes, with the old fans just wanting the hits and the

afficianados wanting some album tracks, but we just about manage it, I hope anyway.... )

[Lozz196]

When I was in a punk covers band we`d try and bring in some new songs but in reality the only ones people liked were ones they knew, as in, had been on Top of The Pops. We did get to having about 60 songs we could play, so just chose about 40 for each gig, alternating some of the not so well known/liked ones, the fillers I suppose.

[uk_lefty]

We always try to have one or two new songs to work on constantly until they're gig ready, then we bring in two more, it stops us getting bored and means we can do the same gig/ party/ festival thingy two years running while keeping the staples in but freshening up with some others. It also lets us see what is or isn't working so we can change mid set.

In other words, all the time! Keep your core songs that show who you are but play around with some others.

[jazzmanb]

Don't gig too close together in 1 venue ,,although you know they are the same and it gets repetitive ,it doesn't to the punters.They are probably checking the band to see the song again.Couple of new ones thrown in and swapped occasionally

We have a sort of set A and B which just involves a couple of different starts to the 2nd set to mix it a bit

[bassbiscuits]

I'm mainly gigging solo at the moment, so I try to add in between 4-6 new songs every set (though don't always succeed!)

But I also make sure i mix up the order of the remaining ones too, so i'm not always using the same opening song etc.

One of the bands I was in seemed to play the same set for years and it bored me silly. I imagine punters felt the same!

 

[PaulWarning]

we have a core of songs that always go down well, about 25, then change the others round, the thinking being that if people really enjoyed a song last time and you didn't do it be a bit like going to see a proper famous band that don't play their biggest hits

[Nicko]

16 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

we have a core of songs that always go down well, about 25, then change the others round, the thinking being that if people really enjoyed a song last time and you didn't do it be a bit like going to see a proper famous band that don't play their biggest hits

Yes, I think this is part of the problem.  We have a lot of songs that the band won't consider dropping so theres only five or six that we can swap out if we are doing 2 x 45 min slots. We have 30-odd songs and a couplle of new ones on the go at any time.  We lost our 2nd guitarist and had to drop about 10 others and it left a big hole.

[12stringbassist]

My old band were so well-drilled in our painfully static set list, that we didn't have to even look at each other.
That's nearly two years of my life that I won't get back...

[tauzero]

The club band I was in had a set list that remained static for my entire career with them (several years), plus a few subsequent deps I did for them.

OTOH, the covers band that folded a year back had coming on for 50 songs and we used 30+ of them in a gig, so we'd swap most of them round - we would keep a couple of songs in the same place though, as they made good end-of-first-set songs or they were flipping Sex On flipping Fire or Daf*ckingkota so they went in around the tail end of the second set.

Edited January 31, 2018 by tauzero
Oversensitive snowflakes

[Bluewine]

We played one of my favorite bars on NYE (we play there every NYE & Holloween) we are booked again in April. I can live with it. 

For me, it really depends on the venue. We played a new club for the 1st time on December 23rd with marginal success. We're back on February 14th. This club is fairly new to booking bands. The bands they have booked are known established credible bands so we're in good company. February 14th is cutting it a little short. Hopefully the place will start to catch on.

It use to be a Harley Davidson dealership and someone  bought it and sunk a ton of money into it and turned it into a bar/restaurant.

Blue

[Phil Starr]

I'd think you wouldn't want to go anywhere too close together in time or more than three or four times a year. 

FWIW my last band didn't really ring the changes. We'd go down well the first couple of times and then it was a yawn from the audience and eventually no re-bookings. It doesn't do to rest on your laurels and one of the reasons I fell out of love with them.

[Happy Jack]

14 hours ago, Bluewine said:

We played one of my favorite bars on NYE (we play there every NYE & Holloween) we are booked again in April. I can live with it. 

For me, it really depends on the venue. We played a new club for the 1st time on December 23rd with marginal success. We're back on February 14th. This club is fairly new to booking bands. The bands they have booked are known established credible bands so we're in good company. February 14th is cutting it a little short. Hopefully the place will start to catch on.

It use to be a Harley Davidson dealership and someone  bought it and sunk a ton of money into it and turned it into a bar/restaurant.

Blue

February 14th? Decorate the stage with roses and give all the girls chocolate.

Unless you're in Chicago, of course, in which case you line up the punters against a brick wall and mow them down with a tommy gun.

 

Edited January 31, 2018 by Happy Jack

[Geddys nose]

22 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

February 14th? Decorate the stage with roses and give all the girls chocolate.

Unless you're in Chicago, of course, in which case you line up the punters against a brick wall and mow them down with a tommy gun.

 

Guns or Roses ?

[Bilbo]

Every gig. Without fail.

[police squad]

On ‎29‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 23:43, casapete said:

Being in a tribute band, we constantly have the problem of keeping it fresh whilst still playing the staple tunes everyone

expects to hear. Each year we jig the set around a bit, usually adding 3 or 4 lesser known songs and trying to keep the

others sounding as good as possible. ( It's a fine line to walk sometimes, with the old fans just wanting the hits and the

afficianados wanting some album tracks, but we just about manage it, I hope anyway.... )

this is how my Police tribute works. We have learned a lot of songs, all the singles and a load of album tracks. Normally we play all the singles and some album tracks but depending on how long we're on stage, it could be most of the singles and my favourite Police song, 'Driven to tears'.

My pub band doesn't even talk to each other between gigs!! (seriously. I've stopped trying to organise them and no one else has stepped up)

[chris_b]

Last month I gigged with a guitarist who I haven't played with for nearly 13 years. I laughed when he sent the set list over. Bar 2 tunes it was the same list that I gigged all those years ago.

IME he is not unique in having such a slow turnover of songs.

I guess the moral is to choose good songs, play them well and only go back to the venue 2 times a year.