Clichéd songs you feel you got to play, but don't want to

[Bassfinger]

Summer of '69.

 

I hate it. Its treacly and horrible, and has all the musical merit of a doorbell.  I feel like shouting "I was only one effing year old in the summer of '69."

 

Yet the crowd love it.

Edited May 27, 2022 by Bassfinger

[chris7273]

Yellow

Creep

knockin on heaven’s door (guns)

you really got me

7 nation army

 

[White Cloud]

Sweet home Alabama...

[Newfoundfreedom]

7 hours ago, chris_b said:

 

But. . . . you have a huge choice.

 

There are a massive number of hits and popular songs to choose from. You could play a different set for a week and not repeat a song.

 

The real problem is lazy bands or band leaders. If they chose to play the same limited list of songs then boredom can set in.

 

That was precisely my arguement in my last covers band. There are an uncountable number of songs in the world. It should be perfectly possible to string together a couple of dozen that everybody in the band likes, without being forced to play something that any member of the band can't stand. 

[Woodinblack]

23 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

There are an uncountable number of songs in the world. It should be perfectly possible to string together a couple of dozen that everybody in the band likes, without being forced to play something that any member of the band can't stand. 

 

Indeed - that is my take on it. you don't have to like everything you play, but there shouldn't be anything that someone in the band hates. OK, the crowd are always going to want wonderwall, but that is ok, there are a whole group of other cover bands doing that, and we are the only band doing timber, surfin usa and baker street in our area. 

There needs to be something different between you and the next cover band so that there is a reason to pick one band over another, and not just what level of massacring you do to sex on fire.

[Stub Mandrel]

17 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Rocking in the Free World was the reason I left my last covers band, or at least the straw that broke the camels back. I decided I would rather not play at all than play utter dross. 

 

I highly doubt I'll ever play in a covers band again. 

 

Lol! My brother resisted that song for ages,  then eventually acceded because it is the drummer's favourite. They found a blast to play. When they did it at a big gig  they managed to blow up the venue's PA 🤣

[Newfoundfreedom]

Just now, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Lol! My brother resisted that song for ages,  then eventually acceded because it is the drummer's favourite. They found a blast to play. When they did it at a big gig  they managed to blow up the venue's PA 🤣

 

Probably for the best. 😂

[FinnDave]

17 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

In an old glam/rock covers band we did Born To Be Wild, I hated it but it always went down really well.

Depends how you do it - 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

I don't have an issue with playing songs people enjoy. Also I don't mind playing songs with boring basslines that let other band members have some fun.

 

That said there are songs I don't enjoy, one is Feeling Good, because in one rehearsal I nailed a really fitting walking line for it, but I just can't repeat it.

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

When they did it at a big gig  they managed to blow up the venue's PA 🤣

 

I would certainly call that a bonus!

[Woodinblack]

5 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

That said there are songs I don't enjoy, one is Feeling Good, because in one rehearsal I nailed a really fitting walking line for it, but I just can't repeat it.

 

 I record all the practices in case I need to remember something that happened!

[SumOne]

I'd need to draw a line at Robbie Williams  'Angels'.

[paul_5]

Thing is, people know what they like and they like what they know. As entertainers we've got to do what the punters want.

[Dad3353]

7 minutes ago, paul_5 said:

...As entertainers we've got to do what the punters want.

 

I'm not sure that I agree entirely with that. 

[lownote]

On 26/05/2022 at 13:31, Nail Soup said:

In my now defunct punk / new wave covers band we said we wouldn't do Teenage Kicks, Pretty Vacant etc as they are too obvious.

But we did end up doing them and of course they went  down well with the crowd.

We do Teenage Kicks which is a farce because we're between 67 and 78 years old.  But we do it because apart from Honky Tonk Women it gets the best welcome from the crowd.

[Leonard Smalls]

3 minutes ago, paul_5 said:

Thing is, people know what they like and they like what they know. As entertainers we've got to do what the punters want.

To some extent!

Some punters will only ever like what they know, they're usually the sort of punters who don't really like music and wouldn't go to a specific music venue. Last thing they'd want is new music they've never heard before - what they want is a nice easy sing a long and plenty beer. That's fair enough!

However, I wouldn't go to the sort of place where everybody stands next to each other, shouting in their mates' faces, due to being an equal opportunities misanthrope. 

Dedicated music venue with new bands? Yes.

Big packed boozer with covers bands, and large screens showing football at all other times? No.

That's why I play in a shouty punkfunk band - last thing we want is an audience!

[neepheid]

I am no fan of playing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" as I think it's a terrible song which doesn't go anywhere or do anything but I just get on with it.  People at our gigs like it, know it, sing and dance along to it.  I just have to take some satisfaction from that, because the song gives me nothing.

[ead]

6 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I don't have an issue with playing songs people enjoy. Also I don't mind playing songs with boring basslines that let other band members have some fun.

 

Pretty much where I'm at.  Some covers we do I'm really not fussed about but the band are there to entertain so it sort of goes with the territory.  Thankfully I also play in an originals band so have the ying and yang thing to balance it all out. 

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

 

 I record all the practices in case I need to remember something that happened!

 

Most bands I've been in do that. Usually the ambient sound is so bad I can't bear to listen...

[Woodinblack]

54 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Most bands I've been in do that. Usually the ambient sound is so bad I can't bear to listen...

 

The sound isn't great, but it is enough to help with what it is I want to know. Normally it is something I did wrong, I remember there was something but can't remember what it was!

[Newfoundfreedom]

3 hours ago, paul_5 said:

Thing is, people know what they like and they like what they know. As entertainers we've got to do what the punters want.

 

I'd go as far to say that I absolutely disagree with this on a fundamental level. If this was the case, we'd all still be playing classical. As musicians, we should follow our passions and instincts and create. People following what we do comes later, or doesn't at all. Either way, creativity is king. Rehashing what people already know is absolutely pointless in my opinion. 

[neepheid]

7 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

I'd go as far to say that I absolutely disagree with this on a fundamental level. If this was the case, we'd all still be playing classical. As musicians, we should follow our passions and instincts and create. People following what we do comes later, or doesn't at all. Either way, creativity is king. Rehashing what people already know is absolutely pointless in my opinion. 

 

Pays better though.  Apart from the miniscule number of people who "make it" in original music, there's FA money in it.  That's why I do both originals and covers.

 

It's also easier in the gratification department.  Instant enthused people, just play songs they like and already know.  Originals, you've got to build up a following, and even then you get a bunch (if you're lucky) of people watching and chin stroking rather than dancing.  It's a harder sell than ever in today's world of reduced attention span.

Edited May 27, 2022 by neepheid

[NJE]

I was in a really fun band that managed to avoid almost all of the usual stuff for a cover band. We played a lot of 90s dance music and some garage and found that the audiences knew it all (it was the kind of stuff you’d hear on Heart a lot) and found it refreshing.

 

I was listening to rock and grunge in the 90s, so it all passed me by and I was hesitant at first but it was so much fun to play.

 

Sadly that band folded and ever since I have struggled to get away from the usual dirge like Mustang Sally, Get Lucky, sex on fire, Dakota etc. I know people love those tunes especially after a few beverages, but I have just got to a point where I would rather not play than have to play those songs at low paid gigs. I have two kids and time is precious.

Edited May 27, 2022 by NJE

[Chienmortbb]

6 hours ago, lownote said:

We do Teenage Kicks which is a farce because we're between 67 and 78 years old.  But we do it because apart from Honky Tonk Women it gets the best welcome from the crowd.

Snap, usually song 1 set 2.

[Chienmortbb]

13 hours ago, FinnDave said:

Depends how you do it - 

 

Half decent but telecasters?