Set lists - do you change them often?

rico · April 2018

Just contemplating our set lists for some upcoming gigs, how often do you change things around? We typically have 30-40 minute sets and for the past few gigs have kept the same set which flows really well. Keep or move things around?

Original songs by the way.

Lestratcaster · April 2018

Depends if its a support slot or headline. Obviously headliner set have a longer one so can put 1-2 more songs in.

Usually its been the same set if its like a support tour which we've been doing but as we've released a new single we've had to take an old song out to fit it in. Sometimes we go off the crowd/venue/type of gig. If it looks like being full and a lot of rowdy kids we'll make sure we have the heavier songs in there. If it looks like being more pop and lighter we'll put the more singing type songs in (in a metalcore band).

merlin · April 2018

I rarely do the same set list twice in a row. I like to move things around and often judge and call tunes depending on how the audience is responding.

ESBlonde · April 2018

Commercial/covers type band. If we have a Dep singer or musician that tends to anchor the set to well known standards. Other times it evolves with a couple of new numbers each month. When it goes to three sets it gets all the older stuff interspersed too.

p90fool · April 2018

In my covers band we typically play a couple of one hour twenty minute sets and I rewrite them every week.

Weddings get older songs, pubs get songs mainly from the last ten years or so and the venue often dictates the way the set flows.

One local pub is the first one on the Saturday night crawl in that particular town, so we put some of the big dance stuff we'd usually save to the end in early there. This means the punters will often come back to us later in the night because they were having a better time with us before they went up town to meet their mates.

Both singers' lyrics are on tablets or they know them anyway, so we can change it up on the fly.

This weekend we're playing in a pub we play every month, so I'm throwing in some some curveball stuff we barely know, though our regulars will shout out requests for our more usual songs too.

It's a bit of a chore doing a new set every week, but I have every one saved and can just drag and drop songs wherever i want them. I used to post it on our Facebook group early in the week but it ends up being designed by committee that way - these days I don't let them see it until a couple of hours before the gig.

If someone has a sore throat or finger or whatever I'll modify it, but somebody has to be in charge, and it's me.

Roland · April 2018

ESBlonde said:

Commercial/covers type band ... it evolves with a couple of new numbers each month.

Similar here. We rotate songs in and out based on the venue, and any new songs we’ve learned. We’re currently running three 45 minute sets, with short breaks between them, and another 45 minutes worth of songs in the back pocket depending on what the audience responds to. Typically the new songs get tested in the first set before finding a “permanent” place, or getting dropped.

ESBlonde · April 2018

@Roland thats as we do in a similar manner. I have a Word Doc containing a table with all the known songs on it. The first narrow col is all but greyed out but is the running order. I edit that order and make everything else 99 and sort it into two sets (the phrase set one is allocated a running number of 1 and 'Set Two' is allocated running No 15 etc.)
Beside the title is the Key and lead singer (we have 3 potentials) as well as any other notes req'd and the original artist as a memo.

Sort and print.

Older example includes Col 2 as our internal song index

24	1	IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR	Barry	C	WILSON PICKET
88	2	KNOCK ON WOOD	Barry	F	WILSON PICKET
5	3	GIMMIE SOME LOVIN'	Barry	C	SPENCER DAVIS GROUP
4	4	IT TAKES TWO	Barry & Jemma	Bb	MARVIN GAY & KIM WESTON
99	5	RESCUE ME	Jan	A	FONTELLA BASS
6	6	MUSTANG SALLY	Jan	C	WILSON PICKET
88	7	EVERYBODY	Barry	C	BLUES BROS
21	8	LETS GO 'ROUND AGAIN	Jemma	D	AVERAGE WHITE BAND

Fez · April 2018

We have never played the same set twice even when we have had the same list for two gigs the singer has changed something on the fly but that's part of his or her remit to judge the crowd and the time available and adjust if necessary.

Roland · April 2018

We had a few on-the-fly changes last night. It always slows things down, and there’s the risk of losing the flow on the dance floor. When thing get going I like to come out of one number and straight into the next. That can’t happen when you have to confer.

Voxman · May 2018

Fez said:

We have never played the same set twice even when we have had the same list for two gigs the singer has changed something on the fly but that's part of his or her remit to judge the crowd and the time available and adjust if necessary.

Bet that keeps you on your toes! dude

Monkeybone · May 2018

In 5 years, we haven't played the same set twice. Even with set lists written up before the gig, our singer will add or remove songs on the fly.

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Set lists - do you change them often?

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