The only time I’ve seen them go off course on their own was at a Danzig show with Grumpy about 3 years ago. He finished up the set and said, “Well, that’s all we had on our setlist. Is there anything else you guys want to hear?” And after picking out some of our screams he was like, “What’s that? Snakes of Christ?” [looks over at his band and nods at them] . . . “Yeah, we can do that!”
I saw Reverend Horton Heat a few years ago. (I was front row and saw his setlist…)
He had one song off each album in order; album 1, album 2, etc…
Then (and it had this on the actual setlist)… “audience requests”.
He said ‘we’ll play anything’ - and he played about 10+ songs completely as to what the audience wanted.
Granted, no sequencers or samples needed. But still pretty damn cool.
Skinny puppy is a perfect comparison. They’ve toured three times in 2 years and on this last tour they had an almost completely different tone for the setlist. They played a handful of songs that either hadn’t been played live before or hadn’t been played in ages. And that approach to keeping their fan base interested is the difference.
And such a cool way to cover a wide catalog and give the audience something special and unique.
Perhaps (not Al would ever go for it) but with acts that need more planning/preparation, the VIP ticket buyers could all get a special request submitted online and they take the top 5 or something.
Sure, you’re never gonna satisfy everyone, but it would certainly reduce the proportion of guests that feel greatly dismissed and short changed.
Skinny puppy is a perfect comparison. They’ve toured three times in 2 years and on this last tour they had an almost completely different tone for the setlist. They played a handful of songs that either hadn’t been played live before or hadn’t been played in ages. And that approach to keeping their fan base interested is the difference.
Does any professional rock band regularly play songs that they didn’t know they were going to be playing before the show began?
Depends on the type of band. I’ve seen Ween many times and that’s one of the best things about their show is they’ll play requests or something they never intended to play when the show started. For a band like Ministry, that’s a little more difficult. However, at this point in his career Al should say fuck it and play stuff from every band he’s ever done. It would be great to see them finish NWO and have Al take a seat and play some Buck Satan stuff on the acoustic.
[reply]Skinny puppy is a perfect comparison. They’ve toured three times in 2 years and on this last tour they had an almost completely different tone for the setlist. They played a handful of songs that either hadn’t been played live before or hadn’t been played in ages. And that approach to keeping their fan base interested is the difference.
Great example…[/reply]
I second that; and they not only play from their whole back catalog but they also modernize the songs in a way that isn’t a bells-and-whistles “gee whiz, electronics sure have come a long way since the 80s” kind of exhibitionism (I earlier mentioned Front 242’s late 90s tours as a bad example of that). Listen for example to the version of “Rodent” that opens up their “…Solvent Seas” live disc, there’s additional vocal manipulations, slightly different percussive accents etc. and it’s essentially the same song but with just enough improvisation / innovation to make it seem a little more fluid and relevant to the present. Oh and with Puppy even the segues or braps between songs are interesting as well, moving things further away from “all the shows are the same” territory.
But maybe one of my favorites in this area - and long-time posters will see this one coming a mile away - is how Swans treat their back catalog live. Though they play the same setlist unmodified throughout a tour, you never know how the songs are going to get treated or what songs you’re going to get if you ignore setlist.fm and reports from other cities. They’ll take a piece from their crushing sludge-rock era and fashion it into a sort of ambient drone, or take a ballad and make it an aggressive stomp etc. Some listeners might find this annoying who want by-the-book renditions of songs, but I always find they manage to capture the atmosphere of the originals perfectly even when twisting them into new forms.
Does any professional rock band regularly play songs that they didn’t know they were going to be playing before the show began?
It depends on two things: the versatility of the players and the kind of music being played. Obviously, someone with backing tape tracks can’t get away with this. But if the music is restricted to the players, and the players are pretty good, yeah, they can pull this off. See: Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, etc.
[reply]Does any professional rock band regularly play songs that they didn’t know they were going to be playing before the show began?
It depends on two things: the versatility of the players and the kind of music being played. Obviously, someone with backing tape tracks can’t get away with this. But if the music is restricted to the players, and the players are pretty good, yeah, they can pull this off. See: Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, etc.[/reply]
And there’s always Elvis Costello’s Spectacular Spinning Songbook in which a few dozen songs are listed on a spinning wheel and an audience member is invited up to give it a spin. Then again, this is the man who was told not to play “Radio, Radio” on his US TV debut so he started with another song…stopped halfway through the first verse…and played “Radio, Radio” anyway. On live TV.
[reply][reply]Does any professional rock band regularly play songs that they didn’t know they were going to be playing before the show began?
It depends on two things: the versatility of the players and the kind of music being played. Obviously, someone with backing tape tracks can’t get away with this. But if the music is restricted to the players, and the players are pretty good, yeah, they can pull this off. See: Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, etc.[/reply]
And there’s always Elvis Costello’s Spectacular Spinning Songbook in which a few dozen songs are listed on a spinning wheel and an audience member is invited up to give it a spin. Then again, this is the man who was told not to play “Radio, Radio” on his US TV debut so he started with another song…stopped halfway through the first verse…and played “Radio, Radio” anyway. On live TV.[/reply]
Also They Might Be Giants, who frequently take (and take seriously) requests for truly obscure material. And Ween, although I suspect a lot of Ween’s “surprise” live numbers are far more calculated affairs than they’re meant to appear.
[reply][reply][reply]Does any professional rock band regularly play songs that they didn’t know they were going to be playing before the show began?
It depends on two things: the versatility of the players and the kind of music being played. Obviously, someone with backing tape tracks can’t get away with this. But if the music is restricted to the players, and the players are pretty good, yeah, they can pull this off. See: Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, etc.[/reply]
And there’s always Elvis Costello’s Spectacular Spinning Songbook in which a few dozen songs are listed on a spinning wheel and an audience member is invited up to give it a spin. Then again, this is the man who was told not to play “Radio, Radio” on his US TV debut so he started with another song…stopped halfway through the first verse…and played “Radio, Radio” anyway. On live TV.[/reply]
Also They Might Be Giants, who frequently take (and take seriously) requests for truly obscure material. And Ween, although I suspect a lot of Ween’s “surprise” live numbers are far more calculated affairs than they’re meant to appear.[/reply]
Let’s not forget Sparks…who played all 21 of their albums (at the time) on 21 consecutive nights. They’re one of my favorite bands. I try and catch them whenver they come through town.
Let’s not forget Sparks…who played all 21 of their albums (at the time) on 21 consecutive nights. They’re one of my favorite bands. I try and catch them whenver they come through town.
Wow, that’s great. I saw Killing Joke 2 nights in a row a few years back, i think they played their first 2 albums 1st night and 3rd and 4th on the 2nd night, plus extra tracks.
Whenever I read about that supposed act of rebellion by Elvis Costello and his “Radio Radio” song on SNL I just scratch my head. Granted I was only 5 at the time so can’t tell you what it was “really like” that year, but . . . good grief! Were we really that much of a nation of anal retentive stuffed shirts that anyone gave a shit about a stupid pop song with vaguely rebellious lyrics protesting radio? Until reading the story about that a few years back I never even knew what the song was about or that there was anything controversial about it. How did SNL even decide that is was edgy? It’s just a weird story altogether.
I hope I’m not mixing up multiple SNL music stories, but I think Costello was the sub when Sex Pistols were banned . . . . the gig was then offered to The Ramones, who turned it down saying “No! The Ramones don’t substitute for anyone!”
Wow, that’s great. I saw Killing Joke 2 nights in a row a few years back, i think they played their first 2 albums 1st night and 3rd and 4th on the 2nd night, plus extra tracks.
That’s rad! That formula would be amazing for a 2-nite Metallica run.
[reply]
Wow, that’s great. I saw Killing Joke 2 nights in a row a few years back, i think they played their first 2 albums 1st night and 3rd and 4th on the 2nd night, plus extra tracks.
That’s rad! That formula would be amazing for a 2-nite Metallica run.[/reply]
Metallica played 2 nights in Belfast a few years ago, their sets were nicely mixed on both nights. It’s cool how much they go out of their way to try to avoid playing the same sets in certain cities. A lot of people seem to hate Metallica, but they do make an effort for the people who made them, unlike Al.
A lot of people seem to hate Metallica, but they do make an effort for the people who made them…
You are right. People can say what they will about Metallica but huge respect for still playing fan favorites. ACDC is like this as well. Couple token songs from the new album that get played first and then it’s all the shit everyone wants to hear.
Skinny Puppy are indeed a great example. The last three tours have been a great combination of new and old songs, and they change it up each tour.
Nick Cave is another great example of taking requests (and of varying the set from night to night (I’ve seen him 2 nights in a row on the same tour)). When someone shouts something out he will often say “yeah, we can do that” or “sorry mate, that one’s too hard.” They basically practice a bunch of songs, make a basic set list, which most often consists of the first 2 and the last 2 songs they will do, and then pick and choose the rest of the set based on what they feel like at the time. And they dig deep into the catalogue at times. I’ve been surprised by songs several times. In interviews he’s said it keeps it more fun for him; at the beginning of the show he knows how they are going to open and how they are going to finish, and that’s it.
The difference though, is that Nick Cave has said time and again that he loves playing live, whereas Al has said the opposite many times. If it’s just a part of the job, and a part that you don’t particularly like, then I guess it’s a lot easier just to go through the motions and do the same thing every night. But it sounds boring to me.
As for the suggestion that the band couldn’t do it… It’s not that hard to learn a few more songs. When we play live we change up the setlist often. And we are amateurs, who make music in our (limited) spare time; we don’t practice often, and it’s not difficult. These are, as many have already noted professional working musicians, who should be able to learn a few songs with a fair amount of facility. As for the samples, again, as noted, it’s super easy nowadays (especially with Ableton, as already noted above).
The most likely reason the setlist doesn’t change and doesn’t represent “old ones” is the one Al gives: he doesn’t want to. Either because he likes these particular songs, or because it’s easier not having to (re)learn others, or because he thinks more people want a hard metal type show, it seems like it’s all down to him.
Got the skeletons cd. Love the everly brothers cover and the for some reason the elvis cover reminds me of ju ju bone. Decent release though. Gotta say i like the live version of NIB better than the studio cover. Also i think the biker songs are the weakest on the album but still good.
I’m really digging Skeletons. “With a girl like you” is my favorite.
That’s right, Kids! He’s creating SHIT!!!
That’s what the donor page tells me at least.
But, hold on! There’s PERKS!!!
For $156/ year you can get on a pretty sweet email list which is apparently better than the $39/ year and $78/ year email lists.
For $1,200.00/ year you can get a postcard!
For $12,000.00/ year you can fly yourself to LA to have dinner with the guy, or even hang out backstage (if I’m not mistaken, I think SMM is playing an extended residency at Madison Squre Garden)!
[email]
Yep, he’s finally showing his true colors…if Al Jourgensen has any integrity left, he’ll do a tour featuring the best songs off the 1st 5 albums…no more just one fix & NWO or even Thieves: that stuff is played out, man & anything from the last 3 LPs is an abomination so there it is…FUCK THIS ASSHOLE, AL FUCKING JOURGENSEN, FUCK YOU DICKWAD…YOU FUCKING SUCK!!!
That’s right, Kids! He’s creating SHIT!!!
That’s what the donor page tells me at least.
But, hold on! There’s PERKS!!!
For $156/ year you can get on a pretty sweet email list which is apparently better than the $39/ year and $78/ year email lists.
For $1,200.00/ year you can get a postcard!
For $12,000.00/ year you can fly yourself to LA to have dinner with the guy, or even hang out backstage (if I’m not mistaken, I think SMM is playing an extended residency at Madison Squre Garden)!
How do you feel about consuming shit that is palatable? For instance: think of Sharknado quality schlocky material…Rocky 4 comes to mind. That movie is an abomination yet it has incredible replay value: ya can make fun of it & have a blast w/friends while smoking cheeba & eating the house down (disclaimer: beer must be plentiful).
I feel the same way about Relapse…its probably the worst album I own but one can still enjoy it in a way that is mentally challenged & we all know around here how fucked up I am so Relapse is right up my alley!
[laugh][laugh]
I understand comparing “Relapse” to “Sharknado” for that “so bad it’s good/ cheese-laden-cheesy-balls-of-cheese” aspect, but I feel that isn’t exactly on the money. I LOVE “Sharknado” (the first one) but “Sharknado” was made with intent. They made it to intentionally be ridiculous, stupid, and over-the-top . . . and it was amazing.
“Relapse” wasn’t made as a joke. And musically, it is an absolute juggernaut. It has some of Mikey’s best playing ever. But the whole album is wrapped in a blanket of the WORST LYRICS EVER (and an atrocious cover design too). I do like it that, “fuck yeah, Bloodsport is on TV!” vein.
“Relapse”, I have said, is NOT an album to listen to with your brain (it will haunt your dreams with the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel stupidity). It is an album you listen to with YOUR BALLS. It is the big-dumb-testosterone cock rock metal album. On that level, it really can’t be beat.
But if you’re the type that wants something intellectually inspiring, you’re not gonna get it with “Surgeons they cut to heal you, Axe murderers cut to kill you. I’m filthy rich and I’m horny, but you just fucking bore me.”