Not to steal Thregtz thread I was bored and just wondered what everyone else thought of adding a particular song to our set list.
The song is Mean Streets an old VH song. I was never a big fan of VH but the song is OK.
Assuming our other guitar player can play the intro whih I think he can I personally don't think this is a good song for a bar...to me this is one of those songs we are playing because someone in the band likes it not that anyone in the audience will (I'm sure there might be one or two)
But it just doesn't seem like the type of song to get people dancing or anything just seems like they will sit there with there mouths open and stare.
Any of you guys play this live I know it's pretty old? What do you think?
Personally and I'd rather play Gold on the Ceiling by Black Keys it's new and you can dance to it. Yes it's extremely simple but so what I think it would go over ten times better than Mean Streets.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
I personally don't think we can say which of the two is better, to be honest. It's not about one song being better than the other, it's about what you're trying to do. Your audience will determine a lot, and it all depends of the kind of groove you're creating. Building a good setlist isn't just about piling up good songs, it's about creating a vibe, and we have no clue what kind of atmosphere you're making. :D
We have different kinds of bands over here. Some of the type, as you said in a different thread, with 3 solo's per song, and some entirely different. There's generally an underlying theme. What's your underlying theme? Sometimes you can get a few songs in your set for people to catch their breath before they get energetic again. My answer stays the same: look for what you want to do, and then see which gets it done better.
Personally, I'd prefer the VH song. I find the Black Keys to be extremely boring, and would lull me to sleep before getting me up. It seems like a song for lounging (which is a bit like relaxing, but more expensive). I'm not into alternative music though, so to each his own then.
Mean Streets is fine for bar work so long as you drop the look-at-me-I'm-wonderful shred-fest in the first 30 seconds and start from where the main riff comes in.
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I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
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Ok thanks for the reply's wasn't expecting that but it's good I don't dislike the VH song just thought it wouldn't fit.
Lion - we are pretty much a classic rock band who want to keep a good mix of new and older songs in the set, but we don't have a lot of songs that people will get up and dance to (I dont want to be a dance band by any means)but if they don't dance they don't drink if they don't drink the bar doesn't make money and the band doesn't get a second show. Plus the VH song is pretty old and not one of their hits to begin with. I'm not a Black Keys fan by any means either but I would think there would be a better chance getting people up dancing with that song than the VH.
Alan - Yea kind of feel the same way but I still don't see this as a big hit in the bars.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
I love Mean Streets, but I don't see it going over in bar band deal. If they want to do something from that era, I'd say ...And the Cradle Will Rock, Everybody Wants Some or Unchained would work a little better. We do You Really Got Me and Ain't Talkin' Bout Love and people seemed to dig them, but there was definitely no dancing going on.
Jeff that's what I'm thinking we used to do Ain't talkin Bout love and I'd rather do that but I don't see that going over to big either.
Lion - This isn't about one song being better than the other it's like apples and oranges but in this case the "better" means which would go over better in a bar setting
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Cnev, for what it's worth I would stick it in the first set.
We bill ourselves as a party band and have songs people can dance to all night, except for the first set when we put in two or three of what I call "muso" songs. These are songs that won't get people dancing, but people that really like to watch the musicians play, will enjoy them.
We find they go down really well in set one while people are sobre enough to really watch and listen, and they stand out in a set that otherwise, is full of well known songs that get the dance floor full. So, if it was me, I would welcome a song like that.
I have a huge amount of respect for Alans opinion, but in this instance I would disagree with him and put the show off guitar parts in :D
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
Al I see your logic but I think we already have too many of the "muso" songs as you say.
In our case I'm not sure they are muso because they are the more difficult songs or that they show off anything. I think they are just alot of songs that won't get people dancing and the band liked to play.
I think we are still searching for an identity, dance band, party band whatever. We haven't played enough shows yet to get a good feel especially since only two have been in bars.
Getting people to dance on just about every song would be great but I'm not sure we could pull that off with the kind of music we'd like to play (that's where the compromises come in)similar to what threegtz mentioned in his post about the state of live music.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
I don't really like van halen...... never a fan - I would feel the same about the intro as Alan......... whats the point of it? Nothing to do with the song - just a chance for EVH to show off (again).
Would it work in a bar setting? I guess if you were in a biker bar and were really digging that kind of thing, that is where I found my "classic rock" band really got a great reception. I really liked being in that band despite quarrels that eventually led to the end of it (well it carried on after me but I didn't pay attention).
together we stand, divided we fall..........
It really does depend on where you are playing and who your audience is. I'm not gonna dance no matter what you play, but that doesn't mean I'm not having a good time. Apparently dancing is a big yard stick here. When we had our drummer with us, we would fool around and play "Super Freak". We giggled uncontrollably as we played it but it had a groove. I can't help wondering the response it would have gotten if we played it in a bar. Back to my point, I would enjoy "Mean Street" better but you wouldn't know it cause I don't dance. I suppose that's why you need a mix.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
It really does depend on where you are playing and who your audience is. I'm not gonna dance no matter what you play, but that doesn't mean I'm not having a good time. Apparently dancing is a big yard stick here. When we had our drummer with us, we would fool around and play "Super Freak". We giggled uncontrollably as we played it but it had a groove. I can't help wondering the response it would have gotten if we played it in a bar. Back to my point, I would enjoy "Mean Street" better but you wouldn't know it cause I don't dance. I suppose that's why you need a mix.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Fleaa - Never a big VH fan myself and yea we do/will play our share of biker bars so I can see it going over OK in those shows
But talking about these two songs is really starting to make me think about what music we should be playing. I don't know what group we'd fall into other than classic rock but we don't really have an identity.
We have very few real dance songs in our sets and the practical side of me thinks we need more Mustang Sally type songs BUT I don't want to play alot of Mustang Sally songs.
I had been in a bit of a Foo Fighter phase and wanted to play one or two of their songs and we decided on one of these Walk, Rope or Dear Rosemary but as much as I love them I don't think these will go over any better than Mean Streets other than they are much more relevant and new.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Cnev, I know what you mean about not wanting to play many mustang Sally type songs. I dislike them too and find that they become so boring after a while to play.
We take those types of songs but really make them our own, and try to rock them up a lot, but there's only so much polish you can put on a pile of mud :D At the end of the day, it's so difficult to find the balance between what is fun and challenging to play, and what people want to hear.
I guess as you gig around more it'll become obvious to you which your stronger and weaker songs are, and what type of music gets the best response.
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
When I was in a classic rock band people loved to listen to us - but they hardly danced. We always used to end with a few songs that got people dancing - Chuck Berry was one of them - don't get why but people loved to get up to those old rock n roll ones. The thing about the dance songs though is and this is what I felt at the time - I liked those okay, enjoyed playing the rock n roll ones ( did no particular place to go - maybe Johnny be good I think) but I didn't want to make that a huge part of what we did. We kept them in because people reacted so much to it. Anyway people dancing isn't always a good way to judge whats going over, I went to a Radiohead concert and no-one even moved.
together we stand, divided we fall..........
Fleaa aah yea I know what you mean but that's what I'm afraid will happen if we start playing songs that we like people will sit there like it's a rock concert and it isn't it's a bar and they want to make money.
You can play all these great rock songs and whether they are difficult or not people will just sit there and stare, you may get some applause when you are done but if they ain't moving they ain't drinking and you won't be getting a second call at that bar.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
