stage shows

So I happened to see a band the other night (they took to the stage after the band I came to see played). They were really good: all of them had command of their instruments/voices, their songs were highly emotive and interesting and so on.

Buuuuuuut I had one issue, a pet peeve of mine, because I've been involved in these situations, namely please make a set list before you go on stage! I guess the idea behind no set list is to give off a vibe of "we're really laid back," and "we're so good that whatever we decide to play will work," etc. And several years ago I saw Chick Corea's Electric Band and he seemed to have that approach. And, hey, if you're at Chick's level you can make this approach work (though Chick was almost a comedian in between songs which added to the show and made his laisez-faire approach to the next tune really work).

The issue is most people really aren't there. So if you don't have legions of fans worldwide I'd give this advice: make a set list. It has 2 main beneficial side effects:

1. The set you're playing will stand a better chance of having some well-defined, good shape. Calling out the tunes you want to play next can yield good tunes, but all minor key, sad songs might get bunched up where you don't want them. Also it's a good idea to consider the energy that needs to be projected at the opening and closing of sets.

2. The performance should be a performance and not a rehearsal on stage in front of people. Others may not be so bothered by this, but I find it highly annoying to have to hear the discussions of what song would be good to do next, etc.

There's another possible benefit, too. The band I saw the other night attempted a cover and failed, started over, and stopped again. They proclaimed, "We didn't write this," though they did have a chart for the tune in front of them. It seems that a set list might concretize the fact that all the tunes need to be at a performable level.

OK, point made...