My rant about concert setlists
 

Just the other day I bought tickets to see bon jovi in concert at about 135.00 canadian. It got me thinking about how expensive it is getting to see my favorite people in concert. What is infuriating me is how people like Bon Jovi Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac show a blatant lack of respect for the fans by playing the same songs tour after tour with no attempt to play rare or unrelased songs. I fee like it is "going through the motions" for them. I understand that they have to play some hits or chances are the tours would not be successful. But tthey could still perform som lesser known songs. I have had the pleasure of seeing Melissa Etheridge perform over two nights and the difference in the set lsits was nine songs between both nights. If only more artsists would take chances with their set lists considering how high the prces are getting.:mad:

Just something I wanted to get of my chest.

Matt

I hear you loud and clear. That's why I had no desire to see Ms. Nicks this past go 'round. I don't understand the lack of variety. It makes them look like lazy fools just trying to make the cash so they can go home. What happened to the art of performing? It cracks me up to hear veteran artists crack on younger artists and how the state of the music industry doesn't care about the music anymore, yet they go out on the road without much respect for the music themselves. Resting on your laurels must be the chic thing these days.

yes there is a lot of going through the motions
through many years of concerts
id say thats the number one reason
i dont attend as many as before
unless ive never seen them
then im on it :nod:

I'm not sure this conversation is even worth continuing if Bon Jovi is part of it.
Let's keep this about serious music and talented songwriters.

Well, he's got a nice ass. That has to count for something.

Bon Jovi puts on perhaps the best concert I have ever seen.

Is he Springsteen ? No. Thank God. I hate Springsteen. He is actually a pretty skilled songwriter if you like great party songs and anthems. And he is adorable. And has one of the cutest butts ever. He has more energy in his left foot these days than Stevie does in her entire body.

Funny, I don't mind his lack of variety as much. In my experience it is not as rote. Though, I have only been going to his shows the last three tours. I saw him in Vegas recently (last March) and he played one obscure song and the title track off an as yet unreleased album. Plus two covers. I'd crap my pants if Stevie or FM ever did that.

Well, bless your heart.

I know it sucks to miss your favorite artists in concert, but sometimes you've just got to take a stand for the sake of your own wallet and not bother patronizing artists who only patronize you, and for hundreds of dollars. Fortunately, there are enough great artists out there who do mix things up to keep things interesting for both themselves and their fans, and who don't necessarily charge an arm and a leg to see them.

If Fleetwood Mac opens with the unplugged Chain next year that goes into dreams im gonna fuccking barf!

Okay, since there's no unreleased titletrack in there, I will pee my pants.

Very well said. I agree, and yet, I cannot bring myself to b*tch and complain about it, as it would be most hypocritical of me. I will shell out to see SN and FM for as long as they tour. Yes, I am bored by the setlists, but I am addicted to simply being in their presence. And so I go to the shows, time after time, even though I know the setlist by heart, the in-between-song banter, and every little spin and smile and glance. Because at each show, there is something new and something (at the risk of sounding cheesy) exciting for me - I shake Stevie's hand, she says a few words to me, I stand at the stage right at her feet for the entire show, I get the ribbons off her mic at the end. This past summer, the fact that her voice was stronger and she appeared so happy was worth the price of admission alone. I have not been disappointed at one FM or SN show I've been to in the past two years. But - I was part of that live play-by-play the night she opened in Vegas the first time. I was disappointed that night, because I'd been really hoping there would be a whole new show. But, as many people know, I got over it - and shelled out for the Two Voices tour, and would have gone to a Gold Dust show if one had come near my home...

it doesn't matter to me what these guys play. None of it will work. They're too old. It's a lost cause. Just release some old stuff. :] :]

:laugh:

John or Mr. Locklear?

Richie has a flat, almost non existent butt.:(

Oh no. Poor Heather. :distress:

Well I think you are making an assumption that it's a blatant lack of respect...For instance when I got to a concert of a band that I like, but am not as into as say FM I don't want to hear songs I've never heard...sorry..call it what you want. Had Aerosmith hardly played many hits and a bunch of rarities at the show in 03 when I saw them, I would have been disappointed. The MAJORITY of people at the shows want familiarity...
I happen to have enjoyed the set lists of the FWM and Stevie tours recently...over and over again..show by show...I agree it doesn't hurt to change it up...but you have to realize that probably over half of the paying audience at a Fleetwood Mac show only know the hits.

Once again, as always, this is never an all-or-nothing proposition. It's entirely possible for band to play a concert that includes both a hefty portion of familiar hits and a number of more obscure tracks.

And it does demonstrate a lack of respect to longtime fans for a band to gear its setlists so strongly toward pleasing just the casual fans. It's the die-hards who buy all the albums and keep coming back year after year; showing those fans that you appreciate their support by offering something different is an important gesture.

It's not going to kill them to hear some songs they don't know. A good rock band that puts on good rock concert should be able to play anything at all and energize the crowd through their performance and passion for the music, whether or not the song is a well-known radio hit.

Fleetwood Mac have a lot of hits to choose from. There's no need for them to play all of them every single night. I doubt there are many casual fans who, if they went to a concert that featured "Rhiannon," "Go Your Own Way," "Gypsy" and "The Chain," would feel especially disappointed that they didn't get to hear "Dreams," "Don't Stop," and "Tusk." Lots of folks may be mindless sheep, but most aren't that mindless, and most are able to appreciate a good rock concert that doesn't completely pander to them.

With regard to Stevie and Fleetwood Mac......

It's all their own fault. Their tour style created the whole situation that they live with now. Other artists have started from the get go playing set lists that always mix it up. They set their fan base based on those expectations. Case in point- The Indigo Girls. Since the beginning, they've always changed their set list every night. Granted, they always play "Closer to Fine", but otherwise their set list changes for every performance. Everyone who goes to an IG concert knows they're going to get something different, so they don't expect to HEAR the same old thing.

Just think how vibrant and wonderful it would have been if FM/Stevie had decided to rehearse a group of 40/50 songs and then wrote the set list each night? It's not that difficult. When my band was still performing, we "knew" about 80 songs and created the set list for each show.

When I saw Page and Plant at the Hollywood Bowl some years back they played all kinds of stuff and didn't do "Stairway to Heaven". The whole place was sold out and I didn't see anyone complaining. This whole "gotta play the hits" thing is completely created by FM/Stevie. If she didn't do "Dreams" no one would notice. Especially if a great rarity took its place.

Which is why I've stopped going to multiple Fleetwood Mac shows per tour. I figure I've seen 'em once, I'm gonna see the same show if I go again, so why drop the cash?

I'd rather go see bands/artists like Little Feat, Allman Bros Band, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Santana...even the Rolling Stones...they change their set on a nightly basis. In Little Feat & Allman Bros Band's cases, they don't just switch a song here & there, but play a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT set night to night...they MIGHT play one or two of the same songs on consecutive nights, but rarely.

Are you going to the Opera Pacific production of "Tosca" at OCPAC? It will be the same set list as before, but we should go! It'll be fun! We can hum along to Vissi d'arte!

You have a really good point. And you said it well without coming across as an ass. good job.:thumbsup:

HEY HEY HEY, I AM A MEMBER OF THE HAIR BAND POLICE, AND I AM HEREBY ISSUING A "WARRANT" FOR YOUR ARREST!!!!!!:lol:

Very well said by you also. I feel the same way you do, but it certainly wouldnt offend me at all if there were new songs played:thumbsup:

You better carry a paper bag with you wherever you are.:eek:

well I was listening to the radio the other day and they were talking about Bruce Springsteen. Apparantly he has performed 122 different songs on his current tour. I bowed my head in shame when I heard that......

124, actually, but who's counting, really?

I want them to.

Why, do you have a vomit fetish?:lol: :lol:

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:



I think the Chain is a great opener.

It sure is. And we've got both The Dance and Live in Boston to prove it.

Next, please!

They need to take a cue from Blondie on how to construct a show that shows respect for the die-hard fans. They played rarity after rarity after rarity last night. Rifle Range, Will Anything Happen, Under the Gun, 11:59, Die Young Stay Pretty, Detroit 442, etc, and even threw in some covers of Roxy Music and Mott the Hoople. AND - *gasp* - played plenty of their hits like The Tide Is High, Maria, Heart of Glass, Dreaming, and Rapture.

It stopped being a good opener after the chain was broken. Retire that song, please.

Playing the same sets is conservative. It appeals to the masses, not the die hard fan. It's like "classic rock" radio- all they play are the standard icon hits from all these artists- (Creedance-Proud Mary; Clapton-Layla; Rolling Stones-Satisfaction, etc, etc). These bands had great albums- tons of songs, but all we hear are the meat and potatoes. It's conservative, banile and appeals to the masses (and advertisers).

Whoa. Thank God they won't. I'd love to part with a bunch of their songs in favor of new ones, but I would still die if I didn't hear the Chain. They don't have to open with it (although I think it's a great, great, opener). But they shouldn't drop it, it still sounds outstanding - even more outstanding really. Seriously, I think I'd die if I didn't hear the Chain. DIE!
And, wait - is that why you don't want it to open, because "the chain was broken" once? :laugh: Is the song a lie to you now? A horribly perpetrated sham? :laugh: Do the words just ring hollow in your ears, because they broke up for awhile? :distress: awww.....:xoxo:

and, wait, you just saw blondie?!:blob1:

PLEASE PLAY SOME NEW SONGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! QUIT BEATING A DEAD HORSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If they'd add
Green Manalishi
Oh Well
Rattlesnake Shake
Hypnotized

I'd pay to see them.

Most definitely. It's all one giant lie. I won't pay to have lies sung to me by lying liars.

Last night in Jersey. I drove all night to get home and I can't fall asleep, even though I'm tired as hell. My awful review is on my LJ. Debs looked fecking hot in tight black pants and a black leather jacket, and the set was remarkable. :thumbsup:

:laugh: :xoxo:


Wow. It seems like you see them all the time. :laugh: Which I hope is true. :D
Do they play on the East Coast much more than here? She lives in NY doesn't she? Anyway, It seems like I rarely hear about shows out here.
Very cool, I'll go read review. I probably won't know a lot of those songs, but it still rocks that she did them. And, lets be honest - Even I have definitely heard the hits enough.

You would?! Why would you want to hear Lindsey Buckingham, who can't play the guitar, & Stevie Nicks, who can't sing, perform Rattlesnake Shake or Hypnotized?

I wish it were true. :laugh:

Yeah, they do more shows over here. This show was a warm-up to their big UK tour. And she does Jazz Passengers stuff in New York, which I'd love to go to sometime since I haven't seen them in years.

Their show last night just proved that the ****ty "hits" argument that's always being argued in defense of the Mac is ridiculous. A band can play the hits while still going out of their way to satisfy the die-hard fans.

I never liked it as an opener. I never thought it was exciting in the opening slot. I always preferred the upbeat, rollicking numbers like Monday Morning & Second Hand News in the opening slot. Once when they opened with Second Hand News, it actually cured my migraine.

Plus, I don't like the way they play Chain any more. Quelle surprise, right?!

Yeah, your review brought home that they did really rare songs, and also listened to their fan suggestions, which is immensely cool. I mean, if FM just once took their fan suggestions, played a few of the most requested that they don't usually do (like at least three or four) - the whole show would be a much revived animal.
I think the Mac hits parade is tired, and especially Stevie's solo, but I also think that FM and their fans are a very different animal then Blondie and their fans, and that Stevie's voice and possibilities also play a factor.
So, I would not directly compare what is possible for Blondie to what is possible for FM.
However, I would still say that so much more is possible with FM.
Actually, **** on what I just said, I just plainly agree with you. :laugh: (but Stevie really wouldn't be able to perform some songs - but she could still do other rare ones, I'm sure.)
Anyway, nice review.