Devising The Perfect Set List?

[Mahesh]

I have come to be of the opinion that the selection of the songs, deciding their order and feel; creating the right set list is an art. I've regretted too many times when I did not give enough attention and thought over this and then ended up not having a good time on stage at all. The transition between songs in terms of emotion, energy and playability has to be just right. I'm having an opening set day after at a local venue and I'd love some general advice on how to go about getting the set list right. I've noticed the key changes between songs has a good impact on how well I connect with the song. At the same time, having too many songs on the same key (especially when it's a singer songwriter acoustic set) makes for a stale or stagnant output. 

 

Your views on this would be just great. Thanks

[justsoulin]

I'd maybe look at how some of the greats do their acoustic sets such as on MTV Unplugged .... eg

 

[Mahesh]

Hey Justin,

Good choice of example that is one of my most favorite treasures on the hard drive. I think I can only speculate on what the artist is logically trying to do with the set list when I watch them. I want to have a solid and confident thought. It does help though.

Tom, all originals. No covers. Possibility one cover sneaking in. Just one.

[john]

Hey Mahesh

This makes me think an article or two on playing gigs would be a good idea. I have drafted hundreds of set lists, and not just for my own bands either.

Firstly, a gig is all about energy in the room. Yes it relates to energy in your songs and your performance but if you are background noise you will have to really, really work to even stand a snowball's chance in hell of dictating the energy in the room and the direction it goes so, rule 1 - get their attention.

Knowing your fans is useful, but honestly, you want to approach all gigs in a similar way... You enter the arena, you grab the audience, you don't let go until the end. 99/100 most people will be strangers to your music. If they are more fans, yes you can use this to your advantage, but your mission with every gig is to convert more into fans. You do that with the strength if your music and it's performance. You do it by looking them square in the eye, no flinching, and demanding their respect.

There are many ways to get attention. If there is someone to introduce you, work with them, feed them what you want in your intro. This is setting you up so you can hit the ground running.

Choose an ear catching song. Generally this has above average tempo and energy. Your performance too should be more animated. Work hard to engage people with direct looks (none of your usual eyes closed stuff!) work the room. Pick people in various parts of the audience, perform too them. Move with one you look at. All it takes is a few seconds on each, Max 10 seconds, minimum 2. This takes some practice to achieve while not screwing IP your performance such as timing or forgetting words. The best way I found to practice is to set up 6 or 7 objects in front of me, and then practice TO them. Treat them as the people in the audience. Also try this while videoing your performances. It gives you a better idea of how much time you devote to bring lost in yourself and how much you lavish on your audience.

Make your first song a statement they won't forget.

After song 1 say something brief but friendly. A few words to say hello is ideal. Hello Bangalore! Let's crack on... Start song 2. This keeps the tempo and energy you have just fed the room at the higher level but saying hello is definitely useful.

Song 2 not and high tempo as song 1, not quite as intense

There after think of it like a roller coaster ride. You are laying out an emotional track. As part of that you fix the start and end points, and you know the gist of what Is to come in the middle section.

So, set up "chains" that is song 1 and 2 ho together pretty regularly. Maybe even song 3. At the end you maybe have the last 3 songs selected, plus 2 for your encore... But be aware... What happens if you do not get an encore... So don't put your best songs in the encore. Put good songs. If you have enough songs, make the last two songs (not encore) higher tempo. Same goes for the final encore song.

In the middle section I recommend dividing your songs into groupings of two and three songs that flow together, that compliment each other, that work together well.

Now look at those song groupings and decide what groups work better earlier in the set, what ones later. Try not to put two really slow songs together. Think of it like a staircase, the general trend is up (energy) if you have a 3 song grouping think - mid tempo, higher tempo, slower tempo. For two songs think mid tempo, higher tempo. By doing this you ensure contrast (by putting slow after faster songs) and an upwards trend by putting faster songs after mid tempo or simply not as fast songs. This helps craft an overall feeling of building energy.

By having groups if songs, generally arranged slow to fast you can easily add, move or remove groups of songs knowing they go together. This way you can easily respond to the mood of the room.

Put your slowest song after one of your fastest mid section songs about 3/4 of the way through.

Practice 4 - 5 cover songs, 1 slow, 2 mid tempo, 2 faster tempo. Generally add them later in the set unless you feel you are struggling to connect to the audience. If that is the case be prepared to play more of your covers. If you are not struggling to connect, or trying yo play longer, keep it to 2 or 3 covers. By knowing 5 covers that are gig ready you have choices at the last moment to select the most appropriate cover song. Don't put cover songs next to each other in your set list! You are an original artist.

Ok, now a few other tips.... Sing alongs. People best remember things they feel a part of (other than simply awesome happenings!) so interact! Step one is to do as suggested by looking at different individuals. Step to is get them clapping along, get them singing along. A few friends or fans spread in the audience really, massively helps. If your friends ho to your gig, ask them to follow interactions like " ok in this song I want you all to join in the chorus I want you to clap like this and sing these words... C'mon, practice it with me" so your friends spread amongst the audience do what you say. They will encourage those around them (yes labels use street teams to do this). After they try it once encourage them to do better, encourage competition... "C'mon, I know you can do better! When I played this in Mumbai the other day everyone sang along, it was awesome! But you guys are my local audience, I know you can do better than a Mumbai crowd. Let's go again." You can even invoke this approach with different areas in a city, or naming different venues! Perhaps try it 2 - 4 times through before playing the song. Now when you play the song you stand half a chance of the audience taking part, even if it is the first time they heard your song! Pick a hooky song to do this with.

As Tom says, talk to the audience a little. I would recommend keeping each section short but friendly, perhaps keeping one longer getting to know you section of talk after the fastest song, before the slowest song.

If playing with other musicians highlight excellent solos or other performances and introduce the band in your second last song of the normal (not encore) set.

It pays to work out a few performance tricks you can roll out as needed.

Make sure you have someone selling your EPs and collecting fan email addresses for your fan list.

Remember to mention your last gig briefly, and your next gig or gigs, radio or TV appearances etc.

Remember to direct people from the stage to where they can buy your EP and sign up for your newsletter... Don't let them miss it, highlight it. One neat trick in a dark club is to make sure the person selling your Merch and signing up fans is visible from stage... When you talk about them, highlighting them to the audience, produce a torch (needs to be bright with a good tight beam) and point it at them! Give their first name... That helps loads as it makes them approachable. Ideally the person selling the Merch should stand up, wave, smile, bow, laugh.... They should not cry, hide, or look angry!

There are loads more suggestions, I could detail a thousand... But I won't lol I have other important things to do! Lol

I hope this helps!

Cheers

John

[justsoulin]

You know this is very similar to DJ'ing. It always appears that experienced DJ's know what they're doing, but that's a big variable. A resident DJ of a club may find a setlist that works and if you go every night or week, it's repetitive, bringing in a few new sounds to keep it interesting over a month. But at it's core, he knows certain songs will light up the energy. A floating DJ will have a few energy songs but the rest of the set will be determined on the night, due to reaction. Some DJ's who've managed to make a name have a setlist and play it regardless, as people will dance to whatever they play, their hardcore fans, which will get others going. The wedding DJ doesn't care, he knows he'll play what at what time with requests mixed in.

 

So as Tom says, audience participation and reaction will be key based on where you're playing and which night. People want to live it up on a Friday while maybe they want to be entertained on a Wednesday.

 

I think it's a good thing to have 2 or 3 good 'uns that are varied to kick off, and gauge the reaction of each, but hook them in early. It's hard to sell them with a good song halfway through the set.

 

Let us know how you go on.