Fucking killed it plus the benefit of short gigs versus long gigs

PolarityMan

So we had a fucking excellent gig tonight. Was a bit nervous as bass player hasn't been able to make practice for 3 weeks but we totally killed it. Crowd was into it, shouting for more etc.  

Really on a high.

Now the interesting thing is that this is the first short set we've done for a while. It was a typical showcase type gig, 3 bands, cross genre's and we only played half an hour. Our more recent gigs have all been 2 x 1:15m affairs.

Now personally I reckon that while it's great to paly for longer, and get paid more. It's definitely harder to have that amount of material polished to the standard of a short and sweet 20 min set. I think you can also sustain a higher energy level throughout a shorter set.

All in all I really enjoyed the change of pace and makes me think we should get back into doing these kind of gigs again for a bit. Would be nice to get more than 4 songs in so 45mins might be optimal for us. What do you guys think? Especially originals bands....do you like short explosive sets or do you rpefer to play for longer?

Drew_TNBD

I love playing long sets. With TNBD as you know, our music is a bit of a build up... so short sets always feel too short - like we have to leave just when we're getting going.

I can see with your stuff though it'd be fine, as I recall your stuff gets to the point much quicker than we do.

Not to say we turn down 30minute sets. That's how our entire backbone was formed after all!

Teetonetal

Yeah, I've been doing 3 hr shows recently, and it's really hard work in the middle...

I miss showcase gigs, 3 bands doing 30-40 mins each is pretty cool.

english_bob

For originals bands on multi-band bills, the shorter the better within reason. If people didn't come specifically to see you there's a reasonable chance that they'll lose interest if you play too long. 20-30 minutes of your best stuff is the way to go.

Unless your best stuff is shite...

lloyd

Shorter sets for me with originals, it would be nice to have a room full of people there to see you, in which case I'd do more. But as above original showcase type affairs you're better off blasting out your best 30-40 mins IMO

freakboy1610

Teetonetal said:

Yeah, I've been doing 3 hr shows recently, and it's really hard work in the middle...

I miss showcase gigs, 3 bands doing 30-40 mins each is pretty cool.

Three hours???? What, are you Bruce Springsteen or something? Longest gig I ever played was 2 x 30 minutes sets!

Bod

We normally do a 3 hour set, but the times we've had to play a shorter set have been great.  We're able to cut the not-so-good stuff out. We've got 2 x 40 minute sets tomorrow night at a local rugby club Xmas bash, which I'm really looking forward to.

Teetonetal

freakboy1610 said:

Teetonetal said:

Yeah, I've been doing 3 hr shows recently, and it's really hard work in the middle...

I miss showcase gigs, 3 bands doing 30-40 mins each is pretty cool.

Three hours???? What, are you Bruce Springsteen or something? Longest gig I ever played was 2 x 30 minutes sets!

It's just how it is here, shows tend to be 1 band and run from 21:00 till midnight.

Can't remember the last time I did a multi band bill!

Jeremiah

Short sets all the way.

Better to leave the audience wanting more than to let them get bored.

I can hardly any think of any band/artist I'd want to listen to for more than around 25 minutes at a time, so wouldn't want to assume an audience would enjoy my music for any longer than that.

PolarityMan

Some  bands 25mins is only a couple of songs!

Deijavoo

I used to book our tours quoting that "we will play for 37 minutes and 42 seconds however we can adjust down to 31 minutes and 15 seconds if time is of the essence.".

I used to think we benefited from leaving the audience wanting more, maybe it was that they wanted us off quick. Maybe either would be true if we consistently got an audience. 

Monkeybone

A usual gig for us is generally 3 hours, with no breaks. We used to have breaks when we first started out but found it hard to get back in to the swing of things after the break. We only really play shorter sets if we're playing a festival, we haven't played a multi band gig for a while.

p90fool

Teetonetal;903630" said:

freakboy1610 said:



Teetonetal said:

Yeah, I've been doing 3 hr shows recently, and it's really hard work in the middle...

I miss showcase gigs, 3 bands doing 30-40 mins each is pretty cool.





Three hours???? What, are you Bruce Springsteen or something? Longest gig I ever played was 2 x 30 minutes sets!










It's just how it is here, shows tend to be 1 band and run from 21:00 till midnight.

Can't remember the last time I did a multi band bill!

Same here, we played from nine til half midnight last night, with a ten minute break. The original stuff I do is almost always 20-30 minute sets though.

dunstanmus

We play 2 1/2 hours straight through. I am 48. It is the most enjoyable thing I know. I don't complain my gear is too heavy either.

thomasross20

We did a 4 hour gig not long back and it was a slog. Agree on shorter sets being preferable. 

Fez

We don't mind playing multi band gigs so long as they are well organised it can be refreshing to play a short set. It needs to be worth turning up though so at least 30 minutes. 45 Minutes to an hour would be more like though. We usually play an hour then have a short break then 90 minutes and often a bit more after that. We are old guys so our demographic probably have a greater attention span.

On occasion we have gone and played just 2 or three numbers at an open mic which is great for dipping the collective toes in the water with a new member.

chickenbonejohn

I'm astonished at the length of sets people are talking about - 3 hours, 2 1/2 hours? Are these decently paying gigs with a proper audience? 45 minutes is my usual maximum, 2 x 45 minutes if my band is doing a well-paid rowdy late night festival gig. Always leave the audience wanting more, its about entertaining them rather than subjecting them to music. I don't mind having my set cut back to fit into a late-running schedule - the same money for half the work suits me. If asked to provide a long evening's entertainment, I usually get a good solo or duo support that can help provide a balanced evening's music, and charge accordingly. There's no point in knocking yourself out, and personally I don't want more than an hour of anyone, no matter how good they are.

DesVegas

At the moment i much prefer shorter support slots...

We are originals and only probably have around an hours worth of material anyways (band has been going for around a year but drummer works nights so can only get together every other week)

Play early, have a blast, then have a spliff and smooch backstage feeling like the king

thomasross20

chickenbonejohn said:

I'm astonished at the length of sets people are talking about - 3 hours, 2 1/2 hours? Are these decently paying gigs with a proper audience? 45 minutes is my usual maximum, 2 x 45 minutes if my band is doing a well-paid rowdy late night festival gig. Always leave the audience wanting more, its about entertaining them rather than subjecting them to music. I don't mind having my set cut back to fit into a late-running schedule - the same money for half the work suits me. If asked to provide a long evening's entertainment, I usually get a good solo or duo support that can help provide a balanced evening's music, and charge accordingly. There's no point in knocking yourself out, and personally I don't want more than an hour of anyone, no matter how good they are.

This makes a lot of sense, just reading it. I'm going to try and get our band to do shorter slots. 

Pubs can go ram it if they want a 3-4 hour slot for £100-200 between a band. 

Max we have is about 2 hours 45mins worth of song so we pad it out and have breaks for the 4 hour "events"

thomasross20

DesVegas said:

smooch backstage feeling like the king

I envy you (well, I'm attached but you get the drift) - I've never seen any of that going on. 

p90fool

The "work" part of gigs for me is loading in and out and setting up and breaking down the gear. I'll happily play for as long as our singers' voices hold out, so three hours is normal for us.

I don't see much point in packing up if the dance floor is full and the bar is in full swing. If you do the standard 2x45s round here the punters will finish their night somewhere else - I'd rather they finished it with us and the bar who are paying our wages.

Our repeat bookings seem to support my view too.