So, I started getting back into the scene...

bearblastbeats

bearblastbeats

Senior Member
... and it's so funny with these old timey guys. I ask for a set list, he sends me a picture of the printed out paper.

It amazes me, because at SOME point they actually had this document... in Word...

Just send me the word.doc, or ready.. hear me out.. excel(?) maybe?
 
"don't worry about it, i'll just call out the songs as we go"

yeah, i agree...professionalism is more than just showing up on time.
 
I had a therapist who said he was going to send me some articles to read. A few days later, a fat envelope showed up in the mailbox. It took me a minute to understand. He had printed out documents that were on his computer. That he could have emailed.
 
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Otto said:
"don't worry about it, i'll just call out the songs as we go"

yeah, i agree...professionalism is more than just showing up on time.
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Been closely in that situation before. Nothing like changing the set for 45 minutes, on paper before we go on...

It's right up there with, when someone asks me to check out a band or something... Just send me the link dude.

Or even better, I asked a bass player to send me something they recorded so I can listen to them.. he responds "If you go on YT Music or Spotify, look up the (name of the band) Band. The album is called...., from 2014. Check out the song...... Kind of a countryish Fleetwood Mac type of tune. The bass doesn't come in right away, so be patient. Once it comes in, it's pretty driving, and it's very characteristic of my overall sound and style."

I ain't gonna do all the bro, sorry.
 
I recently did a sub gig where the set list looked like it had been written on a random sheet of paper in sharpie and then photocopied multiple times. And like you, I got a picture of it via text. 😅

Worked fine for me. I'm old. It was a fun gig. Lol
 
I bet that's the same set list they play every weekend, and whoever has the original file has no idea where it is....

My band leader's head would explode, playing the same set list two weeks in a row. We know that he's super busy and running out of time if he tells us to use the same setlist on two gigs the same weekend ;)
 
@bearblastbeats Please, could you post a VIDEO of your playing? Thanks!
 
Otto said:
"don't worry about it, i'll just call out the songs as we go"

yeah, i agree...professionalism is more than just showing up on time.
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I really can't agree that as a yardstick of professionalism... For some gigs/bands, sure... but personally, most of the highest level wedding/casual/party leaders I ever worked for - never, ever played from pre-determined sets. They were literal masters at reading the room, the dance floor, coordinating seamlessly with the banquet manager.... so the dance floor was always full when that was desired, that band breaks always coincided with food being served - always making sure the band was playing music that fit with that particular crowd on the particular day - rather then just forcing whatever the band had pre-determined to play upon them. It was pretty impressive - and you never knew how it was going to be... Some gigs would be pretty high energy throughout - while others would only occasionally get out of cocktail hour mode.

My point - there's lots of different approaches to doing gigs.... So while I get a leader being unprepared would be unprofessional. Just pointing out that in some professional circles, not preparing set lists would not be deemed that at all. (Actually on those gigs - asking for a setlist would be a red flag suggesting that the player may be the one not up to the gig.) There's just lots of different levels and niches in the world of professional music playing.
 
bearblastbeats said:
... and it's so funny with these old timey guys. I ask for a set list, he sends me a picture of the printed out paper.

It amazes me, because at SOME point they actually had this document... in Word...

Just send me the word.doc, or ready.. hear me out.. excel(?) maybe?
Click to expand...
Really? - this old timey guy doesn't see the problem.

If I get a picture of a document and I want to be able to edit the text - or change the font, look, or whatever. On my iPhone, I just view it in Pictures, hit the "text scan" button, highlight the desired text, press copy - then paste it into any kind of document I want.

If I have that printed set list in front of me - why bother searching for it's original document, when I can so easily just snap and send pic. Especially considering how easy it is these days for the recipient to transform it into what ever they want.

Sorry but us "old timey guys" need to stand up for each other. :cool:
 
dcrigger said:
I really can't agree that as a yardstick of professionalism... For some gigs/bands, sure... but personally, most of the highest level wedding/casual/party leaders I ever worked for - never, ever played from pre-determined sets. They were literal masters at reading the room, the dance floor, coordinating seamlessly with the banquet manager.... so the dance floor was always full when that was desired, that band breaks always coincided with food being served - always making sure the band was playing music that fit with that particular crowd on the particular day - rather then just forcing whatever the band had pre-determined to play upon them. It was pretty impressive - and you never knew how it was going to be... Some gigs would be pretty high energy throughout - while others would only occasionally get out of cocktail hour mode.

My point - there's lots of different approaches to doing gigs.... So while I get a leader being unprepared would be unprofessional. Just pointing out that in some professional circles, not preparing set lists would not be deemed that at all. (Actually on those gigs - asking for a setlist would be a red flag suggesting that the player may be the one not up to the gig.) There's just lots of different levels and niches in the world of professional music playing.
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We absolutely read the room and pick songs on the fly. My guitar player and I will laugh while playing one song he will ask 'whats next" ?
We do have 5 sets written which the singer keeps by his feet but for reference. Last night we had a packed dance floor, and it moslty cleared for a medium tempo song so we took note and picked the higher enegy stuff and it was a blast. A strict set you live and die by. We've gotten good at reading the room, we do have some somgs we start the night with but after that, we just call them out to each other.
 
Guys, don't worry. I was only poking a little fun. It was easy enough to type every song into YouTube and create a Playlist. I don't expect everyone to be like me and have all their media files readily avaliable to be linked and sharable to be played through various social media outlets as well as having them easily accessible on windows applications.

Peace and goodwill
 
I think sometimes we underestimate how difficult it is for these blokes to even find a letter on a keyboard let alone attach a file to an email.

I got the exact same thing recently, a picture of a hand written list. What created work for me was that I didn’t have the artists names so of course 3-4 artists often have a version of the same song and I guessed wrong for most of them and then had to amend my YouTube playlists/iTunes when I eventually screenshotted my entire playlist so they could inspect. We don’t even get paid for this part 🫤
 
Duck Tape said:
I think sometimes we underestimate how difficult it is for these blokes to even find a letter on a keyboard let alone attach a file to an email.

I got the exact same thing recently, a picture of a hand written list. What created work for me was that I didn’t have the artists names so of course 3-4 artists often have a version of the same song and I guessed wrong for most of them and then had to amend my YouTube playlists/iTunes when I eventually screenshotted my entire playlist so they could inspect. We don’t even get paid for this part 🫤
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Yes. Exactly thus. They never put the artist down, or how they chose to play it. For instance, I like to cover a live version of crossroads that's slowed down to a more groove type rhythm. I had to take a SWAG on half the songs since it's only the song title.

Ah well.
 
Did you ever get a setlist from a band, say on a fill-in gig, and the song titles are abbreviations, half titles, or a couple of words from the chorus?

Example: "Magic Carpet Ride" is listed as "You Don't Know What." Or, "Like A Rolling Stone" is written down as "How Does It Feel?"

Good grief.
 
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To avoid confusion about different versions or titles while learning new songs we share a Spotify playlist.
Usually we stick pretty much to the original but may give it our own twist - we aren't music copy machines :p

Having done a lot of coding, I'm pretty apt with PCs, smart phones, etc.
However, I stil use paper for some tasks. Whatever works best for the job,
 
Anyone had a setlist but then someone starts calling loads of songs that aren't on the setlist?

Don't start me on arrangements that you're magically supposed to know that are different to the studio version.

On stage give me a set on white paper with big writing so I can read it from the throne. Nothing worse than a set list that's like trying to read fly sh*t
 
When someone asks for setlist I "Share" a Google doc with them. Ya, it's a test - only about half the people with whom I roll can deal with it (and they are not always the old guys).

We do have two band members who have the set list on the i-devices. Good for them, hope they remember their power supplies / chargers. I always bring paper copies for everyone just in case.
 
People ask me for a set list, I send them whatever pic is on my phone. It's probably a picture of a paper with text on it. The singer will likely change it within a month anyway.
 
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