Songs that you hate to play

Handsome_Chris

Bad Company - Can't Get Enough

Free - All Right Now

These songs can do one as far as I'm concerned.  I've heard, and possibly played them, too many times.

What are your bugbears?

Tannin

My bugbears? People who read a thread and straight away copy it with another one on the same subject.

thecolourbox

Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton. I used to have to accompany my dad who sings at various local charity concerts and stuff and he always seemed to want to do that song as his "serious" number. So I had to play it with a serious look on my face and not yawn my face off in boredom, and not roll my eyes and cringe at the many awful lyrics phrases he was singing. Urgh

Musicwolf

I play in 2 bands.  One band plays all the standards (inc Mustang Sally, Brown Eyed Girl, All Right Now - you get the picture), the other band trys to avoid all of these.  We still want to do stuff that people enjoy, just not stuff that has been done to death. This second band also plays to a much higher standard.  Band number one I'm the big fish in the small pool, band number two I have to work hard to keep up. There is only one song common to both bands.

With both bands being so different I have no wish to try to make either something that they are not.  I just enjoy them for what they are.

Rather than calling them 'Band One' and 'Band Two' I may start calling them 'The Band With Lots of Bookings' and 'The Band With None'.

Rowby1

Wonderful Tonight.

It got to the point where I’d do a Les Dawson on the guitar line just to make my contempt for the song completely clear.

thecolourbox

Rowby1 said:

Wonderful Tonight.

It got to the point where I’d do a Les Dawson on the guitar line just to make my contempt for the song completely clear.

I genuinely wouldn't hear anything different to the actual thing if you did. Really hate h that one too but gladly never had to play it

Majorscale

Brown Eyed Girl, American Pie, Dance The Night Away….

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

TheBigDipper

I used to play in a '70s proggie covers band. We had a policy of supporting everyone in the band when it came to choice of material. Sometimes there would be something you didn't like personally, but you'd support it because the others wanted to play it. Which is how I came to be playing "Afterglow". What a dirge... 

Oh, and I hate playing Brown-Eyed Girl, Mustang Sally and Dirty Old Town, too. 

Handsome_Chris

Musicwolf said:

I play in 2 bands.  One band plays all the standards (inc Mustang Sally, Brown Eyed Girl, All Right Now - you get the picture), the other band trys to avoid all of these.  We still want to do stuff that people enjoy, just not stuff that has been done to death. This second band also plays to a much higher standard.  Band number one I'm the big fish in the small pool, band number two I have to work hard to keep up. There is only one song common to both bands.

With both bands being so different I have no wish to try to make either something that they are not.  I just enjoy them for what they are.

Rather than calling them 'Band One' and 'Band Two' I may start calling them 'The Band With Lots of Bookings' and 'The Band With None'.

Oh FFS! Is this the sad reality of cover band life.  I'm trying to move us away from your band one type stuff, to your band two type stuff.   I think that some songs just need to be laid to rest, or at least be able to die with dignity,

Musicwolf

Handsome_Chris said:

Musicwolf said:

I play in 2 bands.  One band plays all the standards (inc Mustang Sally, Brown Eyed Girl, All Right Now - you get the picture), the other band trys to avoid all of these.  We still want to do stuff that people enjoy, just not stuff that has been done to death. This second band also plays to a much higher standard.  Band number one I'm the big fish in the small pool, band number two I have to work hard to keep up. There is only one song common to both bands.

With both bands being so different I have no wish to try to make either something that they are not.  I just enjoy them for what they are.

Rather than calling them 'Band One' and 'Band Two' I may start calling them 'The Band With Lots of Bookings' and 'The Band With None'.

Oh FFS! Is this the sad reality of cover band life.  I'm trying to move us away from your band one type stuff, to your band two type stuff.   I think that some songs just need to be laid to rest, or at least be able to die with dignity,

I'm sure that you can be successful with type 2 band - as long as you look at everything from the perspective of the audience rather than the band.  Find songs that are;

Loved by the audience

Less well covered

.

.

.

.

.

which you enjoy playing

Never, ever, keep a song that repeatedly isn't working because you like playing it.  There's a place for playing songs that only you like - and that's at home.

The problem with getting gigs can be that, for things like parties, people judge you on your set list (unless they've already seen you).  You inevitably get the "I like your set, but can you play 'Sex on Fire'?

Lestratcaster

Usual suspects, Sweet Child O Mine, Wonderwall, Sweet Home Alabama etc cos I'm a tutor and have to play it with so many students, sometimes in the same day!

Roland

Musicwolf said:

... songs that are;

Loved by the audience

Less well covered

.

which you enjoy playing

That’s my approach. There are plenty of well known and well liked songs which many covers bands don’t play. Usually that’s because they’re not guitar led songs, or because they’re a little more complicated than the usual. 

Handsome_Chris said:

What are your bugbears?

Songs which other band members don’t play properly. Mangled bass lines and wrong chords are common culprits. With the current band I enjoy Nina Simone’s Feeling Good as a cool down song at the end of the evening. However, in a previous band, we had a bass player who couldn’t handle the bass line.

pintspiller

The Chain by Fleetwood Mac

Handsome_Chris

pintspiller said:

The Chain by Fleetwood Mac

I thought that would be a delight to play?

grappagreen

Chasing Cars - the band play it as people love it but jeez....

MikkiMcMurderer

Happy, makes me very unhappy 

PolarityMan

blood and thunder by mastodon....the rest of my band love it but its such a fucking terrible song. The original is horribly out of time and the riffs, especially the chorus one is mega derpy. 

PolarityMan

Roland said:

Musicwolf said:

... songs that are;

Loved by the audience

Less well covered

.

which you enjoy playing

That’s my approach. There are plenty of well known and well liked songs which many covers bands don’t play. Usually that’s because they’re not guitar led songs, or because they’re a little more complicated than the usual. 

Handsome_Chris said:

What are your bugbears?

Songs which other band members don’t play properly. Mangled bass lines and wrong chords are common culprits. With the current band I enjoy Nina Simone’s Feeling Good as a cool down song at the end of the evening. However, in a previous band, we had a bass player who couldn’t handle the bass line.

I hate this too, we used to do a version of wicked game pretty close to the HIM version. Its a piss easy song to play but because the bassist at the time thought it was "too easy" he just butchered it terribly..even though the fucking thing is pretty much jsut straight bth, 3 chords, driving rhythm..

I really hate the kinda elitism guitarists have when they think they need to be playing right at the edge of their ability all the fucking time or its not worth doing. Im convinced a lot of people dont actually listen to the music they are making as a band while they play and jsut listen to their own instrument....in fact I know they do as our drummer IEM setting on the PA are basically ALL THE FUCKING DRUMS at 100% and a tiny bit of vocals..despite the fact the drums are already the loudest thing in the room.

Anyway..rant over..I hate blood and thunder. 

midlifecrisis

dont worry be happy by bobby mcferrin and crazy by gnarls barclay. both decent songs but i find they dont fit our style and rest of the set.

HAL9000

Handsome_Chris said:

What are your bugbears?

Sinister experiments creating Insect/mammal hybrids.

Musicwolf

HAL9000 said:

Handsome_Chris said:

What are your bugbears?

Sinister experiments creating Insect/mammal hybrids.

'The Bug-Bears' sounds like a great name for either a Rockabilly band or 60's style Beat Combo.  I'm laying claim to it.

You can keep 'The Insect Mammal Hybrids' for a Prog Rock or Jazz Fusion ensemble.