"Must Know" songs!

[Pax]

If you bill yourself as a solo acoustic act, what songs/songwriters must you know how to play?

I realize a lot of things factor into it (i.e. your style, the type of music, the venue, etc.), but generally speaking, what is a short list that you should be expected to know?

Same qustion if you bill yourself as a blues rock band.

 

[chucke99]

I'd hate to go see a blues band that played the same tired old songs that you hear at all the jams. Same with any band, actually. If I go to see a rock band in a club, the last thing I want to hear is them playing all the standards. I want to hear songs nobody else is covering. But then, I'm an abberation, I suppose.

 

[Marc Roy]

I'd hate to go see a blues band that played the same tired old songs that you hear at all the jams. Same with any band, actually. If I go to see a rock band in a club, the last thing I want to hear is them playing all the standards. I want to hear songs nobody else is covering. But then, I'm an abberation, I suppose.

I'm the same. Unfortunately, most cover bands around here slag the same ****. You've seen one, you've seen them all (with a few notable exceptions). You can pretty much tell what the band is going to play before they even start the song.

 

[small axe]

i would suggest redemption song by marley, wish you were hear, rocky racoon, walk the line and other songs like that that i cant think of...i play acoustic alone and mix it up a lot

 

[Dickie Fredericks]

I use backing tracks for my solo gigs. I do a wide variety. Im not sure there is a list of specific songs you must do.

 

[Marc Roy]

I use backing tracks for my solo gigs. I do a wide variety. Im not sure there is a list of specific songs you must do.

Come to Ottawa and step into any bar with a live band. "The List" must get passed around town, because they're all butchering the same tunes. Even the blues bands seem to renegate themselves to only playing the standards.

 

[Pax]

Solo with voice or solo instrumental?

Voice & solo

 

[Pax]

I'd hate to go see a blues band that played the same tired old songs that you hear at all the jams. Same with any band, actually. If I go to see a rock band in a club, the last thing I want to hear is them playing all the standards. I want to hear songs nobody else is covering. But then, I'm an abberation, I suppose.

I don't disagree. I hate same old stuff, but some club owners expect you to play certain standards, and the audience requests need to be handled. I'm here to play for them as much as myself. Given that, what should one know?

 

[loudboy]

Margaritaville
Peaceful, Easy Feeling
Fire and Rain
Take It Easy
Brown Eyed Girl
Blister In The Sun
What I Like (Sublime)

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

mine

 

[Pax]

i would suggest redemption song by marley, wish you were hear, rocky racoon, walk the line and other songs like that that i cant think of...i play acoustic alone and mix it up a lot

Nice list. I have most of these down, but never feel like I do justice to walk the line. Frankly, given the voice to music that JC was, who can?

 

[Dickie Fredericks]

Come to Ottawa and step into any bar with a live band. "The List" must get passed around town, because they're all butchering the same tunes. Even the blues bands seem to renegate themselves to only playing the standards.

Oh I gotcha brother. Almst every country band round here does the same songs.

I just started working with 2 guys to put a trio together doing a bit more variety based off the stuff I do in my solo sets.

 

[Marc Roy]

Oh I gotcha brother. Almst every country band round here does the same songs.

I just started working with 2 guys to put a trio together doing a bit more variety based off the stuff I do in my solo sets.

I love hearing a group do songs that we haven't heard in a while. I think people just get the idea that you have to play "the hits", as if no one in the audience will recognize anything else. What kind of material are you doing?

 

[The Golden Boy]

Solo Gig? You and a guitar? That's Easy!

Achilles' Last Stand.
**** Tha Police
Feelin' Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag
My War
Let The Bodies Hit The Floor
Genius Of Love
Lovin' You
Hound Dog
San Francisco Girls
Hocus Pocus
Higher/Rockstar Medley
Draggin' The Line
Take It Easy
We're Not Going To Take It
Bernadette
and wrap it up with Eternal Flame.

 

[A-Bone]

Solo Gig? You and a guitar? That's Easy!

Achilles' Last Stand.
**** Tha Police
Feelin' Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag
My War
Let The Bodies Hit The Floor
Genius Of Love
Lovin' You
Hound Dog
San Francisco Girls
Hocus Pocus
Higher/Rockstar Medley
Draggin' The Line
Take It Easy
We're Not Going To Take It
Bernadette
and wrap it up with Eternal Flame.

That is just about the most warped and exciting set list I have seen. I just might have to work these numbers up on my acoustic.

 

[stevel]

If you bill yourself as a solo acoustic act, what songs/songwriters must you know how to play?

I realize a lot of things factor into it (i.e. your style, the type of music, the venue, etc.), but generally speaking, what is a short list that you should be expected to know?

Same qustion if you bill yourself as a blues rock band.

Do you want to make money and book future gigs in the same venue?

Here's the link to a set list of a couple of chums of mine - though they do the 2 guitar 2 vox thing - but a lot of "typical" songs are on there.

http://www.thegangstersoflove.com/songlist.htm

This is their *partial* song list. They actually set a list out on the tables that tells people to feel free to request what they want. They usually play one song and from then on out, the audience chooses the rest. They're pretty successful (at least by local standards) because they always keep the audience happy this way (and they've been doing this together for 20 years).

I'd say, short list:

Jimmy Buffet
James Taylor
Neil Young
Eagles

Then the "moldy oldies" that must be done:

Sister Golden Hair
Horse With No Name

But there's a lot you can "arrange" that works well, obviously Beatles, Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, CCR, Violent Femmes - there's a lot of "staples" but most of them are on the link above (Brown Eyed Girl, Wonderful Tonight, etc).

For "Blues/Rock" I think that's a little more problematic, because it depends on how "rock" you want to go.

For that, SRV is a must. Almanns, etc.

But I consider early Aerosmith "blues/rock" (Train Kept a Rollin, Big Ten Inch, etc.).

And since so many blues/rock songs are covered as nauseum, I think it's better to know the songs, rather than a version by a particular artist. This is why Mustang Sally is done to death - there's no "definitive" version, so people enjoy it however you play it.

Steve

 

[Pax]

Solo Gig? You and a guitar? That's Easy!

Achilles' Last Stand.
**** Tha Police
Feelin' Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag
My War
Let The Bodies Hit The Floor
Genius Of Love
Lovin' You
Hound Dog
San Francisco Girls
Hocus Pocus
Higher/Rockstar Medley
Draggin' The Line
Take It Easy
We're Not Going To Take It
Bernadette
and wrap it up with Eternal Flame.

Love it! The challenge is on.

 

[Pax]

Do you want to make money and book future gigs in the same venue?

Here's the link to a set list of a couple of chums of mine - though they do the 2 guitar 2 vox thing - but a lot of "typical" songs are on there.

http://www.thegangstersoflove.com/songlist.htm

This is their *partial* song list. They actually set a list out on the tables that tells people to feel free to request what they want. They usually play one song and from then on out, the audience chooses the rest. They're pretty successful (at least by local standards) because they always keep the audience happy this way (and they've been doing this together for 20 years).

I'd say, short list:

Jimmy Buffet
James Taylor
Neil Young
Eagles

Then the "moldy oldies" that must be done:

Sister Golden Hair
Horse With No Name

But there's a lot you can "arrange" that works well, obviously Beatles, Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, CCR, Violent Femmes - there's a lot of "staples" but most of them are on the link above (Brown Eyed Girl, Wonderful Tonight, etc).

For "Blues/Rock" I think that's a little more problematic, because it depends on how "rock" you want to go.

For that, SRV is a must. Almanns, etc.

But I consider early Aerosmith "blues/rock" (Train Kept a Rollin, Big Ten Inch, etc.).

And since so many blues/rock songs are covered as nauseum, I think it's better to know the songs, rather than a version by a particular artist. This is why Mustang Sally is done to death - there's no "definitive" version, so people enjoy it however you play it.

Steve

Thanks. The approach is great. I don't have enough musical knowledge to pull it off, but I can see why they enjoy success; they give the audience exactly what they want.

 

[BryanMatthews]

brown eyed girl