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Originally Posted by dissention
Nothing beats the excitement of seeing a live show where everything is unique to that particular show. If other bands can do it, why can't they? I suspect it's because they just want the money.
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It's got to be more than just a monetary decision, though, because there are artists out there who both mix up their setlists and bring in big bucks. Springsteen's tours with the E Street Band being one example. It's something about their approach to performing on a more fundamental level. For whatever reason, none of them think of touring as a dynamic musical experience, a chance to try out new things and stretch themselves creatively. But perhaps that does tie back to the money thing: it's almost as though they see a concert as a product that they're hawking, and they think everybody wants the same product.
Now it doesn't really surprise me that Stevie or Mick would feel this way. And John I'm sure doesn't care one way or the other; whether they play the same songs every night, or mix it up every night, or play a "Happy Birthday"/"Mary Had A Little Lamb" medley, as long as John's up there playing the bass, he's happy as a pig in ****. It's the fact that Lindsey buys into this whole stagnant setlist thing that boggles my mind. Lord knows he puts enough time and effort into crafting all of these songs, you'd think he'd want to take advantage of the chance to give them all a good work out on the road.
Maybe he's just completely out of touch and doesn't know any better. Somebody told him thirty years ago that this is what you have to do on a tour because this is what people want, and for whatever reason, he's never questioned that. He seemed very genuinely surprised that the Soundstage audience was going so completely ape**** over unreleased songs like "Someone's Gotta Change Your Mind" and "Down On Rodeo," or when Stevie sang a few bars of "Frozen Love." Who knows, maybe that experience opened up his eyes a little bit. Maybe that's what encouraged them to take the baby step of adding a whopping three new songs to the setlist on the second leg of the tour.