Open mic night...need ideas.

[NJBassist]

Im playing an acoustic open mic night soon, but need some more ideas on songs to play. Nothing overly complex since I am singing and playing.

 

Tunes I am considering so far:

 

Neil Young - Heart of Gold

Neil Young - Old Man

Pearl Jam - Elderly Woman

Bob Dylan - Tambourine Man

Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone

Pink Floyd - Wish you were here

Bob Marley - Redemption Song

Joe Strummer - Long Shadow

Wallflowers - 6th Avenue Heartache

Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes

 

Any suggestions apprieciated.

[Samilyn]

Great list!

 

Just my .02 here, but I think Dylan always goes over well with a crowd - the songs are so familiar to almost everyone. I often find myself whispering "oh, I love that song" when I hear someone play Dylan.

[babablowfish]

Here's some tunes from my song list. Ignore the numbers they are for where my capo goes:

 

 

4 Hats Off To Larry/Runaway

4 Sheila

4 Walk Away Renee

0 Last Kiss

2 Teen Angel

2 Laurie

2 Walking In The Rain

0 Forget Him

5 Crying

2 She

[NJBassist]

Thanks for the replies. "The Weight" and "Hide your love away" are pretty good ideas that I didnt think of.

[OldGuitarPlayer]

Well...Having hosted an open mic for the last several years and have seen dozens of performers here is my opinion...for what it's worth.

 

I like some of your song choices so far. You have a nice mix of tunes. It's also a good idea to play what's comfortable for you. Personally I'd stay away from the Neil Young and Dylan songs as they do tend to get "overplayed" a bit. Pink Floyd is nice but "Wish You Were Here" is again a timeless classic that tends to get played a lot at open mics. When ever I do an open mic I try weird stuff like taking a punk rock tune and playing it as an acoustic folk song...etc...Speaking of Pink Floyd, there is one woman that plays the open mics around my town and she plays Pink Floyd songs from their first album "Pipers at the Gates of Dawn". Tunes like "See Emily Play" and "Bike".

 

The Joe Strummer, Bob Marley, Peter Gabriel and Wallflowers tunes would be something that I would enjoy hearing as a member of the audience since I don't hear them played often at most open mics.

 

Good luck!

[Queequeg]

 

Here's some tunes from my song list. Ignore the numbers they are for where my capo goes:     4 Hats Off To Larry/Runaway 4 Sheila 4 Walk Away Renee 0 Last Kiss 2 Teen Angel 2 Laurie 2 Walking In The Rain 0 Forget Him 5 Crying 2 She

[Samilyn]

 

guy's a walking, breathing, singing, playing jukebox, for crying outloud.

 

 

Ain't that the truth! I'm impressed.

[garthman]

That's a big, big list Baba.

 

I just stick with Dylan and Leonard Cohen and if some-one (like lots of people have a habit of doing ) uses the dreaded words "play something we all know", I go for "As Tears Go By" if they are on my side of 40 and "Run" by Snow Patrol if they are young folk (this is a good one because they join in and drown you out)

[NJBassist]

 

Well...Having hosted an open mic for the last several years and have seen dozens of performers here is my opinion...for what it's worth. I like some of your song choices so far. You have a nice mix of tunes. It's also a good idea to play what's comfortable for you. Personally I'd stay away from the Neil Young and Dylan songs as they do tend to get "overplayed" a bit. Pink Floyd is nice but "Wish You Were Here" is again a timeless classic that tends to get played a lot at open mics. When ever I do an open mic I try weird stuff like taking a punk rock tune and playing it as an acoustic folk song...etc...Speaking of Pink Floyd, there is one woman that plays the open mics around my town and she plays Pink Floyd songs from their first album "Pipers at the Gates of Dawn". Tunes like "See Emily Play" and "Bike". The Joe Strummer, Bob Marley, Peter Gabriel and Wallflowers tunes would be something that I would enjoy hearing as a member of the audience since I don't hear them played often at most open mics. Good luck!

 

 

 

That actually crossed my mind. Im thinking of bumping Like a Rolling Stone and heart of gold for that reason, definately want to keep tambourine man though.

[Stackabones]

 

Personally I'd stay away from the Neil Young and Dylan songs as they do tend to get "overplayed" a bit. Pink Floyd is nice but "Wish You Were Here" is again a timeless classic that tends to get played a lot at open mics ... The Joe Strummer, Bob Marley, Peter Gabriel and Wallflowers tunes would be something that I would enjoy hearing as a member of the audience since I don't hear them played often at most open mics.

 

 

+1

 

I was thinking the same thing, but OGP thought it first! Great tunes (the Dylan, Floyd, Young), but someone else may/will play them before you. Were you to dig deeper in those artists' catalogs, I'm sure you'd find plenty of worthy tunes.

[Simon76]

If your looking for ideas and inspiration

check out some KT Tunstall vid's.

Hers's a feast of ideas;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0j_VEs3kXA

[MattSkibaIsGOD]

Great list Baba.

 

I would suggest maybe some Donovan; like Catch the Wind or Colours, or some Harry Chapin; not cat's in the cradle though...or you could do some traditional tunes like Down by the Riverside, etc.

[Etienne Rambert]

I love Baba's early 60's choices by Del Shannon, Bobby Rydell, & Left Banke.

I'd only add a finger-picked "Red River Valley". It never fails. And the lyrical variations are endless. Donovan's "Catch the Wind" is a great one too.

 

Agree about staying away from Neil Young. Replace him with Del Shannon.

[Simon76]

One my all time favorite songs is CSN Dark Star.

Not the Grateful Dead one, the one by CSN.

It rarely gets played even though it has a cool groove

and the lyrics have some great hooks.

I can only find 2 recordings on youtube of it.

That's a good indication that it doesn't get much play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTGZDXBCwPQ

[Michael Martin]

Much good advice already--I would add that the mix is important. If you play three songs, for example, from an audience standpoint it's nice if there's some variation in mood or familiarity among the three. When I'm in the audience, I always like something brisk and maybe not overly familiar to start, moodier/slower in the middle, and something strong (and perhaps more familiar) at the end. Finish with a flourish. If you get time for more than three, I'd still begin and end strong, with the more nuanced stuff sandwiched in-between.

 

Good luck! Let us know what you did and how it went.

[happy-man]

When I do a song a make a one page (somes two) text file which I then put in my song book. Here's what I've done at open mics. If your interested in any file they are done so that for most songs if you read them in a text editor and put the font at 11 points bold it fills the page.

 

_americathebeautiful.crd

_angels.crd

_hiseyeisonthesparrow_12.crd

_icanseeclearlynow_14.crd

_songofreconciliation.crd

_therose_12.crd

_thewonderfulcrossCD.crd

_youaremykingCD.crd

3doorsdown_kryptonite.crd

3doorsdown_loser.crd

4nonblonds_spaceman.crd

4nonblonds_whatsup.crd

alanismorissette_handinmypocket.crd

alanismorissette_perfect.crd

alanismorissette_thankyou.crd

aliceinchains_dontfollow_10r.tab

aliceinchains_rooster.crd

america_sistergoldenhair_12.crd

amygrant_ifthesewallscouldspeak.crd

beachboys_sloopjohnb.crd

beatles_acrosstheuniverse.crd

beatles_help.crd

beatles_maxwellssilverhammer.crd

billyjoel_captainjack_10.crd

billyjoel_shesgotaway.crd

blackcrowes_shetalkstoangels_12.lyrics

bobdylan_ibelieveinyou.crd

bobdylan_likearollingstone.crd

bone_babygirl_12.crd

brianjessy_itsallinsideofyou.crd

brianjessy_loadedgun.crd

brianjessy_summertimegirl_12.crd

brianjessy_wedowhatwecan.crd

buffalospringfield_forwhatitsworth.crd

caedmon_shiftingsand.crd

caedmon_somewherenorth.crd

caroleking_youvegotafriend.crd

catstevens_fatherandson.crd

catstevens_ivegotathing.crd

chrisrice_untitledhymn.crd

chumbawamba_onebay.crd

collectivesoul_theworldiknow.tab

cranberries_dreamingmydreams_12.crd

cranberries_dreams.crd

cranberries_zombie.crd

creed_whatsthislifefor.lyrics

creedence_badmoonrising_12.crd

creedence_haveyoueverseentherain.crd

creedence_whollstoptherain_12.tab

davidbowie_spaceoddity_10.crd

dobiegray_driftaway.crd

drhook_coveroftherollingstone.crd

duranduran_ordinaryworld.crd

eagles_witchywoman.crd

eltonjohn_daniel.crd

eltonjohn_rocketman.crd

eltonjohn_sorryseemstobe.crd

evanescence_goingunder.crd

fernandoortega_jesuskingofangels.crd

fiveforfighting_superman.crd

fleetwoodmac_songbird.crd

fluffyroadkill_conqueranddevour.crd

fluffyroadkill_supergirl.crd

googoodolls_iris.crd

harrychapin_catsinthecradle_10.crd

howardjones_everlastinglove_12.crd

howardjones_nooneistoblame.crd

jamestaylor_carolinainmymind.crd

jamestaylor_sweetbabyjames.crd

jarsofclay_he_2_12b.crd

jarsofclay_ineedyou.crd

jarsofclay_lovesongforasavior.crd

jenniderknapp_martyrsandthieves_10.crd

jenniferknapp_alittlemore.crd

jenniferknapp_holdmenow_12.tab

jenniferknapp_refineme.crd

jenniferknapp_saywontyousay_12.crd

jenniferknapp_thewayiam.crd

jethrotull_locamotivebreath.crd

jimcole_masterofmyheart.crd

jodeemessina_bringontherain.crd

johndenver_backhomeagain.crd

jonathancoulton_reyourbrains.crd

jonimitchell_bigyellowtaxi_12.crd

joywilliams_theloveofthelordendures_12.crd

kinks_agallonofgas_10.crd

kinks_lola.crd

leannrimes_howdoilive_2.crd

maroon5_shewillbeloved.crd

matchbox20_unwell.crd

mercyme_spokenfor_12.crd

metallica_bleedingme.crd

metallica_nothingelsematters.crd

metallica_theunforgiven.crd

metallica_theunforgivenII.crd

patterry_happyman_12.crd

patterry_homewhereibelong.lyrics

paulsimon_kodachrome.crd

paulsimon_theboxer_10.crd

paulstookey_weddingsong.tab

peterframpton_babyiloveyourway.crd

pinkfloyd_braindamage_eclipse_10.crd

pinkfloyd_comfortablynumb_10.crd

pinkfloyd_goodbyebluesky.tab

pinkfloyd_isthereanybodyoutthere.tab

pinkfloyd_mother.crd

pinkfloyd_shineonyoucrazydiamond.crd

pinkfloyd_wishyouwerehere.tab

plumb_herewithme_12.crd

radiohead_creep_12.crd

radiohead_fakeplastictrees.crd

radiohead_highanddry.crd

randallgoodgame_warandpeace.crd

rem_bangandblameb_12_2.tab

rem_drive.crd

rem_everybodyhurts.crd

rem_findtheriver_10.tab

rem_losingmyreligion_10.crd

rem_manonthemoon.crd

rem_strangecurrencies_2.tab

rem_whatsthefrequencykenneth.tab

rem_you.crd

richardthompson_dimmingoftheday.crd

richardthompson_dimmingofthedayA.crd

robertmason_bewithme.crd

robkoppelman_youcanhaveanthrax.crd

seven77s_forcryingoutloud.crd

seven77s_happyroy.crd

seven77s_kiteswithoutstrings.crd

seven77s_thelusttheflesh_10.tab

seven77s_therainkeptfallinginlove_10.tab

sherylcrow_ifitmakesyouhappy.crd

simonandgarfunkel_bridgeovertroubledwater.crd

souasylum_misery.crd

soulasylum_homesick.crd

soulasylum_promisesbroken_12b.crd

soulasylum_runawaytrain.crd

staind_itsbeenawhile.crd

staind_outside_12.crd

steelydan_doitagain.crd

stonetemplepilots_creep.tab

supertramp_givealittlebit.crd

suzannevega_luka_12.crd

switchfoot_onfire.crd

switchfoot_thisisyourlife_12.lyrics

switchfoot_twentyfour_10.crd

tenyearsafter_idlovetochangetheworld.tab

threedognight_neverbeentospain.crd

toddagnew_gracelikerain.crd

train_callingallangels.crd

u2_runningtostandstill.crd

velvetrevolver_falltopieces.crd

who_behindblueeyes.crd

xmas_oholynight.crd

xmas_silentnight.crd

xmas_whatchildisthis.crd

[babablowfish]

Thanks for the kind words guys. I just play songs that I love and I am old so I have had a lot of time to learn them.

 

Here's a suggestion - play "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and segue immediately into "Catch the Wind" and then go back to the chorus of Hide Your Love Away - it kills.

 

Hey happy-man - Nice song list!

[C70man]

Ever do medleys? Audiences have always liked them.

Zeppelin ones are killers. I mix 3 or 4 Neil Young together too. They really play into each other. depends on crowd, but Beatles are always a must...

 

Oh yeah, Natures Way, and Little Martha.

[Master Capello]

Throw in a little somethin' not quite as popular but still easy on the ear. Try 'I live the rain the most" by Joe Purdy or something like that.

[Cripes]

Once upon an age I had a song list. It was a mix of Paul Simon, James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, Elton John, Neil Young, CSN, America, Cat Stevens, NRPS, Jackson Brown, Bob Dylan, Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Mason Williams, Moody Blues, Noel Stookey, FleetwoodMac (Bare Trees album), Don McClean, Traffic, Gordon Lightfoot, John Denver, Steve Goodman, and others.

 

I remember very little of any of them and might be able to claw out one or two songs reasonably recognizable. I know that if I could recall the lyrics I wouldn't have a problem. I have turned many of them into instrumentals - because I am too lazy to look up and re-memorize the lyrics - and I'm rather comfortable leaving them that way. I'm just so absorbed writing that I can't seem to get any retro-enthusiasm going. So, if I was to do any open mics I'd have to get all learned up again. Nah...

[recordingtrack1]

Seems like some negativity toward Neil Young songs, and I understand why, but I have to say that I really like doing "Pardon My Heart'. It always seems to go over well. Also my favorite Dylan song to do open mic is "Tangled Up In Blue".

 

RT1

[Sisyphus2]

Id just break up the set with an instruemental of some kind....depends on your style of playing?

[NJBassist]

^ Sisyphus is that a Bernese? Nice looking dog.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

 

So far im thinking of adding:

 

Donovan - Catch the Wind

Beatles - Hide your love away

Lemonheads - Into your arms

The Band - The Weight

Pure Prarie League - Amie

Def Leppard - Two Steps Behind (a little cheesy I know, but chicks usually dig it)

 

Id like to do a Tom Petty tune...but not sure which one yet (Mary Jane's last dance? You dont know how it feels?)

[lauren]

my top 10:love:, don't think i will ever be able to play it properly tho...

Seems like some negativity toward Neil Young songs, and I understand why, but I have to say that I really like doing "Pardon My Heart'. It always seems to go over well. Also my favorite Dylan song to do open mic is "Tangled Up In Blue". RT1

[babablowfish]

A surprisingly easy Dylan song to do is A Simple Twist of Fate.