November Rain in a covers band

Danny1969

In my experience there are people who want to dance and people who want to watch and listen to a piece of music. There's room for everything at some point, it's not like the set list is laminated and once set can't be changed. 

We do Brightside, uptown Funk, Shut up and Dance etc but we also do muso numbers like Hotel California, loads of Floyd, Muse, Radiohead, KOL etc. 

You pick your songs for the gig like players for a match. If you are trailing a bit and the audience isn't digging Fake plastic trees then tell Brightside to get off the bench and warm up. 

So learn the whole thing as convincingly as you can. You won't use it every gig but there will be times when it fit perfectly. 

stickyfiddle

Neilybob said:

No to the trimming! If it's November Rain it's got to be played in its entirety! Including legs wide apart, outside the church O⁠_⁠o

Yes but only if you can deliver it with the guitar unplugged...  

RocknRollDave

stickyfiddle said:

FarleyUK said:

I should also add - we have a residency at a biker bar, so the majority of us feel it would go down pretty well.

I'd say this is the perfect context to do it properly. Almost any other would be awful.

I'd also consider a way to segue it into something else at the halfway point in case people aren't into it

100% this.

That said, it's a really odd choice to cover. SCoM or nowt, IMO.

Doesn't help that I absolutely detest November Rain, in all its overblown, empty pomp. That said, I have to cover Sixx:AM AND Nickelback at an upcoming gig, so I am in no position to point the finger!

topdog91

The worst solo Slash ever recorded! Takes all sorts.

Anyway these discussions happen a lot in my bands. I'm Team "There was something special about the original and unless there is a clear compelling reason, that's what we should play".

Sometimes band members will say that song X is repetitive or boring; my take is that if you don't like the song enough to want to play it through, let's not do so. Who wants to hear a band who's not convinced by the songs they're playing?

mudslide73

topdog91 said:

Who wants to hear a band who's not convinced by the songs they're playing?

I find I can love stuff I've previously found lukewarm once I've learned it. As if the inner beauty has somehow revealed itself.

Moltisanti

that's a tough song to pull off live, even GnR doesn't sound great when they've done it.

I see it as one of those long epic tunes like Stairway to Heaven or Bohemian Rhapsody where if you do it, you do the whole thing and getting all the way through it is part of the challenge and becomes part of the show.

Tell your singer to pipe down, they're just salty because there's not a lot of vocals for a song that long!

rossyamaha

Champagne Supernova isn't far off the same length and no one has a problem doing that. All or nowt. 

DuploLicks

Just added another listen to the 2.1 billion on YT. Not sure what you’d shorten in it. People who don’t like it will just ignore it and people who love it will know you’ve short changed them and they’ll not be happy either. Play the whole thing

DuploLicks

This band give it a decent go & it’s almost 9 minutes. The (limited) audience are loving it, especially into the last section
https://youtu.be/FhHaPNyCsFk

what

The end section is the only reason to sit through the rest of the song in my opinion.

That said, it really depends on the audience - they might be like me and disappear to the bar, or they might love it

topdog91

DuploLicks said:

This band give it a decent go & it’s almost 9 minutes. The (limited) audience are loving it, especially into the last section
https://youtu.be/FhHaPNyCsFk

Ah, 7:30 onwards. The joy of the small gig! *facepalm*

supes

I love G'n'R but think it's an odd choice when there's so many great album tracks that don't get played at all.
At some point i've gigged every song on Appetite and none have bombed! 

That being said, you've learnt it now, so what's the point of changing it now? Our rule is if it works in rehearsal we try it live and see how it goes. If it's not working in rehearsal just move on. Nothing worse than spending hours getting a complex song "right" then dropping it because it bombed!

PolarityMan

Just do the bit from where slash gets up on the piano and it gets a bit groovier. The entire rest of the song is just set up for that part anyway.

FarleyUK

PolarityMan said:

Just do the bit from where slash gets up on the piano and it gets a bit groovier. The entire rest of the song is just set up for that part anyway.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to balance on the keys player's keyboards for that bit.

Whitecat

Do not trim.

Your keyboard player has an advantage in that the strings in that song were 100% synthesised... there isn't a real violin, viola, cello or double bass to be seen for miles on that record. So you should be able to do it note-for-note!

theatreanchor

I'd cut the whole song tbh.