Live performances come with many important pieces that all have to fall into place. Everyone has to practice their song parts. We have to set up the stage efficiently and neatly. If you have a light/sound tech, they might need to take notes regarding each song’s necessities.
The most important thing? The setlist.
Nothing is more important than the live performance setlist. This is the single piece of the show that applies to everyone from solo artists to fully stocked bands.
Your song selection is the core of what you do. We would all love to play the songs we love the most, but really, that’s not entirely what performing is all about it. A cover band must perform songs that your guests wish to hear. You’re there to make them happy. You can love the songs you’re playing, but always remember that you’re picking the songs that made it to the top of the charts. Is that a cliche? Perhaps, in a way. However, if you’re going to cover Bon Jovi, Living on a Prayer is the way to go; don’t pull out a B-side from a lost recording that you imported from Japan. No one is going to know it.
The order of the list is important, too. Suppose you’re mixing up your list with different decades of music, or different genres from rock to dance. A good idea is to place the danceable songs in groups. Don’t throw off the groove of the crowd by going from dance to metal to funk back to dance and then off to hard-hitting rock. Single song changes like that will confuse your audience.
Medleys can be a great idea, too. Some songs have a great hook but are perhaps a bit overplayed or repetitive. You feel like you want to play it, but it might not keep people dancing or rocking for very long. Throw a few of those songs together in a medley and you only have to play a portion of each song. This is perfect for appeasing fans without necessarily slowing down your flow.
Speaking of flow…
Do consider the flow of the show. Don’t start with all of the slow songs and work your way up to faster and faster in tempo. Your setlist should start with a bang. Start with 3 hard-hitting songs first to grab everyone’s attention and present the message, “This is why we’re here, and this is what we do.” Group some anthemic singalongs, make groups of dance songs, or perhaps group songs by decade. Avoid placing ballads back to back. We don’t want our audience to nod off, do we?
Ballads ARE important.
Some cover bands feel like they should never play any ballads. Not true. First of all, ballads attract girls. Girls of all ages. You WANT girls to come to the gig. Why? You’re married? That’s not the point. You WANT them to come to the gig. Girls travel in herds. They bring their friends. Gals will text and call their friends to come out. They attract guys, so if the ladies show up the guys will, too. Rarely is that last tip played vice versa. If you have merchandise, it’s the ladies who are (statistically speaking) most prone to buying something. Ballads also give a break to all of the folks who are sweating off their supper on the dance floor. Give them a moment to simmer down before bringing them back up for the next round of fun.
Timing, timing, timing…
The average setlist is about an hour-long if you’re playing 3 sets a night. The 2-set gigs will have sets of approximately 90 minutes. When setting up an hour set, you’ll need approximately 12 songs. For some bands, this can be too few. Perhaps you play back to back without stopping. If you’re a band that has some banter between songs or has a front person who likes to work the crowd, you’ll cushion the space between songs. NEVER waste time, however. 10 seconds of silence on stage is an eternity. If you aren’t completing 12 songs in an hour, you might be wasting too much time between songs. Remember, people are there to hear music and the venue is paying you to play music. If you set up 3 sets with 12 songs each and by the end of the night you only played 22 songs then you have [absolutely] wasted too much time. When I’ve put a list together I’ve gone by the rule of 13 per setlist. (Isn’t this an unlucky number??) Well, if you’re superstitious avoid it. I consider it similar to the thinking in a baker’s dozen. Aim high and you can’t go wrong. Some cultures, by the way, don’t believe in the same myths. I’m Greek, the number 13 to the Greeks is wonderful.
Never wing it.
I’ve seen bands show up with a general list. This is the “master list” that contains everything they’ve played together but in no particular order. This is the single most disorganized idea ever and should be avoided at all costs. This idea… defies everything listed above. “But no one else does it” isn’t a suggestion for being unique. The reason people don’t do that is that it’s a bad idea. Avoid, avoid. Organize your list. Some venues will have different audiences than others. Each gig is different. Don’t wing it. Be prepared and you’ll look that much more professional.
Someone recently told me they saw bands doing this “cool thing” where they would just pass around a master list and have people check off the ones they wanted to hear. A cover band is not a jukebox. You’re there to perform, be prepared to do exactly that. Letting the audience set up your setlist for you is the worst thing you could do. This makes your band seem unprofessional and unprepared. This is not a “user-friendly”, crowd-pleasing concept. This is the mark of musicians who were too lazy to work on their setlist. If the audience is choosing songs, you’re still working from a slapdash selection in the end. Also… NEVER show the audience your list. This list is a surprise. People don’t pass around the script or print it in the program for a play. You wouldn’t show up to a WWE event if you knew exactly what was going to happen from start to finish. Your setlist is a gift to the audience. Surprise them. Don’t give them the impression that you don’t know which songs they will like so you’re asking for their advice. You’re the musician.
Similarly, I heard about a band placing their list on a big dry-erase board and asking people to vote on songs. No. Absolutely not. Keep the board at home.
Technological setlists.
There’s a fad going around today with many singers using phones or iPads as teleprompters for their lyrics. That, fad going around today with many singers using phones and tablets for lyrics. That in and of itself is a tragic thing that’s worthy of a separate discussion. Never do that. Ever. Just because it’s on a stealthy little device doesn’t mean it’s any different than having pieces of paper with lyrics on them. You’re using a teleprompter. Musicians don’t do that. Learn your lyrics and melodies and sing them. That’s your job as the singer. With that said… avoid putting your setlist on a device, too. What if something happens to that device? The battery dies, it falls off the stand and breaks, etc. Just having it up there with only the setlist on it isn’t as innocent as it sounds. The viewing audience might think that the device mounted to your mic stand on stage is still a teleprompter. Don’t use it.
Preparedness.
Your setlist should also be prepared and distributed to the musicians in the band by mid-week at the latest. They’ll know the songs, but each person needs a cushion of time before the gig to make some notes-to-self or run through the songs in order. Playing through the setlist at home is a form of dress rehearsal. This is very important for making the best of the gig.
Lastly, keep those pages hidden. Leave them under a speaker or put them away during your breaks. You’re not a jukebox, and as mentioned early no one in your audience should be previewing your show before the show.
Courtesy of Niko Lalangas.
Featured by Line 6!
Leave a Reply