Set Lengths

[BluesBenderNC]

Usually when we play a sports bar or such, the length of time to play is 9 to 12.

We play 9 to 10:30 & break & then 11 to 12. Makes the night more fun, keeps the crowd from leaving too soon and easier when you know the last set is only an hour.

 

What you ya'll do?

[TIMKEYS]

solo 7 to 8 full band 830 to 10. Take 15, go to 11ish. If the room still needs entertainment its a wind down solo.

[mstreck]

After what happened a couple of weeks ago, we ask the venue.

[kmart]

 

After what happened a couple of weeks ago, we ask the venue.

 

 

 

 

As your body grows bigger

Your mind grows flowered

It's great to learn

'Cause knowledge is power!

[TrickyBoy]

 

After what happened a couple of weeks ago, we ask the venue.

 

 

Leaving what happened behind, we ALWAYS ask the venue. We do everything from two sets, 1 and 1/2 hour followed by an hour to three hour sets with breaks ranging from 15 to 30 minutes to one venue has us play one hour set followed by two 35 minute sets. Again, totally depends on the venue

[jimiv]

Yeah, agreed...the venue controls that deal. Especially start time and stop time.

[ChordGirl]

 

Usually when we play a sports bar or such, the length of time to play is 9 to 12. We play 9 to 10:30 & break & then 11 to 12. Makes the night more fun, keeps the crowd from leaving too soon and easier when you know the last set is only an hour. What you ya'll do?

 

 

That sounds like a good idea. When I'm solo, I do 3 hours. 9-10, 10:15-11, 11:15-12 Duets or otherwise tend to be 4 hour gigs, and depending on who I'm playing with, it varies. My duet partner drives me nuts, basically playing 1 hour on, half hour off for 4 hours. Sometimes I go back onstage solo when I see people getting antsey about us starting again. I'm not sure he gives a {censored} anymore. We've had our two set monthly gigs for awhile, one for most of 5 years.

[rodclement]

We go with the venue and crowd, if the place is jumping we keep going untill I start having cramps in my stomach from singing! Last week it was so hot outdoors that I almost passed out, needed a break for hidration!

 

I for one hate long band breaks, anything over 15 minutes is abuse in my mind, people loose interest in what's going on and then the band has to start again to bring the crowd up! Long breaks work well in wedding bands or at venues that want to turn tables, then again it goes back to comunicate with the venue operator.

 

Rod

[Alex_SF]

 

Usually when we play a sports bar or such, the length of time to play is 9 to 12. We play 9 to 10:30 & break & then 11 to 12. Makes the night more fun, keeps the crowd from leaving too soon and easier when you know the last set is only an hour.

 

 

See, I'd recommend splitting that into three 50-minute sets with 10-minute breaks. Depending on what the crowd flow is like, of course. 10:30-12:30 is peak dancefloor time around here; that 1030-11 break would be a crowd killer.

[rodclement]

Yep...musicians work by crowd reaction and owner input, not clocks dictating breaks! We stopped a bycicle bar crawl and kept them in our bar all night untill the cops came to shut us down (we are a duo!!!) around 12:00am, we found out that the complaint came from another bar owner were the crawl was supposed to have headed down to...had we taken a break that was more than a breather we would have lost the crowd.

 

Rod

[ChordGirl]

 

Yep...musicians work by crowd reaction and owner input, not clocks dictating breaks! We stopped a bycicle bar crawl and kept them in our bar all night untill the cops came to shut us down (we are a duo!!!) around 12:00am, we found out that the complaint came from another bar owner were the crawl was supposed to have headed down to...had we taken a break that was more than a breather we would have lost the crowd. Rod

 

 

Although I whole-heartedly agree with this idea, if I am playing solo, I personally need a vocal break after about an hour. I will sing 20 songs during that 1st hour, and if I don't get that vocal rest, it can affect my singing during the last set . Perhaps that's not the case for all singers, but it is for me. I am pretty strict about returning within 15 minutes when it's my gig, and I don't seem to notice a mass exodus during my breaks. That's just my experience, at non-club/no cover venues, anyway.

[rodclement]

Yeah, I sure try to take my breaks and yes, breaks make me sing stronger untill the end but...when the option is not there...what I do is start crowd participation like bringing someone to sing a song, or doing massive sing-a-longs with slower songs like Jersey Girl, etc...gives me a chance to breath and regain my composure, as long as the crowd is into it, even slow songs seem to work well as far as keeping people there.

 

Rod

[Alex_SF]

 

Although I whole-heartedly agree with this idea, if I am playing solo, I personally need a vocal break after about an hour.

 

 

Yeah, the people I play with can get away with back-to-back sets because we have four different lead singers, so nobody has to carry lead vox for a whole set on their own.

[ChordGirl]

 

Yeah, the people I play with can get away with back-to-back sets because we have four different lead singers, so nobody has to carry lead vox for a whole set on their own.

 

 

Agreed. It's much easier just to put a couple of harmonies on 3/4 of the songs and lead on 1/4. I can, and have done that in much longer sets before. Even if you're the only singer, if you have additional instruments, the songs are generally longer than my little 3 minute versions, and you sing 10 or so fewer songs over the course of the night in the same time frame. That also makes a difference.

[rodclement]

I wish...I sing lead in every song we do as a duo, we have done sets this season that were around 2 hours long, one even longer, and twice in a week so while it is prefered to do shorter sets, sometimes the luxury of it is not there, just like any other thing we do, you get used to it.

 

Rod

[ChordGirl]

I'm also guessing you have better technique than I do when I'm singing. Perhaps things would change if I was pulling down some serious cash. I think that if the break is really 15 minutes, and not the extended version of that, it's not that big of an issue. Few people finish a drink in that amount of time.

 

We play in completely different venues, for different crowds, for different money, I'm guessing. What I'm doing for a bill a night is working in the places I play. I agree that it might not work if you're trying to compete for gigs in another market.

[chemikool]

 

had we taken a break that was more than a breather we would have lost the crowd

 

This is the reason my current bar band outfit does NOT take breaks. It's rough on my voice sometimes (our new rule is 2 on 1 off), but I try my best to take care and not do the stupid stuff. In a typical show I'll sing 90% of the leads, and we'll play about 3.5 hours. Our pay is continuing to rise and EVERY club we play without fail makes it point to tell us they had the best night in weeks/months...I can certainly point to no breaks as one of the prime reasons.

 

DJs don't take breaks...and I'm sure I don't have to point out how REAL musicians and bands are losing gigs to DJs...In my area half of the clubs are now DJs whereas it used to be only 10%.

 

Up your game! Try it! It's working out for us in SPADES!

[tlbonehead]

Usually when we play a sports bar or such, the length of time to play is 9 to 12. We play 9 to 10:30 & break & then 11 to 12. Makes the night more fun, keeps the crowd from leaving too soon and easier when you know the last set is only an hour. What you ya'll do?

yikes! Do they actually want you to take a 1/2 hour break? I think anything more than 10 minutes is kinda silly.

[ChordGirl]

I guess that's why you're all making the big bucks. I'm not willing to do that as the only vocalist. That's when it stops being fun for me. YMMV.

 

Tlbonehead, I'm not sure I've ever seen a band that takes only a 10 minute break.

[tlbonehead]

I guess that's why you're all making the big bucks. I'm not willing to do that as the only vocalist. That's when it stops being fun for me. YMMV. Tlbonehead, I'm not sure I've ever seen a band that takes only a 10 minute break.

We usually take 10minute breaks(15 max) for 4 hour gigs. We do 3 sets. Same as when I do solo gigs. I'm usually bored stiff after 4-5 minutes of break time.

[rodclement]

At the end I think I am so used to long sets with short breaks that I must agree with above, anything longer than 10 minutes starts making me uneasy.

the other point mentioned is technique, yes you must be serious about your singing and work on your technique in order to keep up the fast pace summer season.

 

A funny story...met a very cute young, twenty something singer while we were playing in a city fair a couple of weeks ago, she sings in a cover band that focuses on younger hard rock, think Evanescence, she did a couple of songs with us and was great! Came back to see us the following Saturday at a gig and I invited her to come and sing a couple of songs, she declined since she was saving her voice for an upcoming gig...over a week away!

 

Rod

[mstreck]

 

At the end I think I am so used to long sets with short breaks that I must agree with above, anything longer than 10 minutes starts making me uneasy. the other point mentioned is technique, yes you must be serious about your singing and work on your technique in order to keep up the fast pace summer season. A funny story...met a very cute young, twenty something singer while we were playing in a city fair a couple of weeks ago, she sings in a cover band that focuses on younger hard rock, think Evanescence, she did a couple of songs with us and was great! Came back to see us the following Saturday at a gig and I invited her to come and sing a couple of songs, she declined since she was saving her voice for an upcoming gig...over a week away! Rod

 

 

I know a band that has a (fantastic) female singer that does that kind of operatic Evanescence stuff. That girl is working hard every time I see her on stage - even if it's only for 30 minutes.

 

Amy always gets asked to sing and sometimes accepts. She declines for two reasons - (1) if she's starting to get a sore throat or (2) she knows that her voice isn't warmed up enough. After all, her voice is her instrument. If she strains it, the only thing that will repair it is time. And time isn't always a luxury.

[dan88z]

A 10 minute break wouldn't give me time to get to the bathroom and back in some of the places we play! We go by the venue. It's usually 4 sets with 20 mins or 3 sets with 30 mins between.

[mstreck]

I just heard back from a venue that we just booked - they want four hours with two 20 minute breaks. So that's what they'll get.

[TIMKEYS]

I guess that's why you're all making the big bucks. I'm not willing to do that as the only vocalist. That's when it stops being fun for me. YMMV. Tlbonehead, I'm not sure I've ever seen a band that takes only a 10 minute break.

 

" we are going to take a 15 minute break,,, now it may seem like thirty to some of you" LJT

 

Break time is schooze time for us. Lots of people at our shows are out of town repeat customers that have been comming down here for years. Our band leader trys to spend some time with these people ,, and catch them up on whats been going on since the last time they were in town.