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Had a discussion with my band-mates, about songs (covers) that actually cause people to leave the bar-

Here's my top songs that I've deemed "crowd killers" and swore to never play out again:

1. House of the rising sun
2. Wonderful tonight
3. Stairway to heaven
4. Hotel california
5. Wish you were here

..can't think of more, but there are others... many..

What say you?

1. Jumpin' Jack Flash
2. Sunshine of your love
3. Dirty Deeds
4. Freebird
5. Purple Haze

Mustang Sally

Fire

Folsum Prison Blues

Secret Agant Man

(I'm kinda laughin' here, cuz in the last 2 weeks I've played both "Jumpin' Jack Flash" & "Wish You Were Here" on request, & did a spoof on Stairway called "Stairway To Freebird," by the Rev Billy Wurtz. I've also played "Folsum Prison" at least three times in 2 different bands...sigh)

The funny thing here is that most of the songs mentioned are popular, if extremely overplayed songs. While recently watching some friends of mine play, I witnessed them "killing the crowd" with "Fly Me Courageous" by Drivin' N' Cryin'.
Is it a good song? Yeah, I think so. Is it overplayed? No. So why did the crowd that, two minutes before were dancing, singing along and showing the band love, suddenly bolt from the room like it was on fire?

Because you HAVE to play something that your audience will connect with. Nobody there knew that song (aside from me), and it didn't matter that it "rocks".

When the band finished the song, the bass player turned to me and said, "We played that one for ourselves."

Congratulations...you're an idiot. You lost your audience because you had to feed your own ego.

I get everyone's point, but I must take issue with "House of The Rising Sun" True, the tune was been played to death, and usually to sssssssslllllllooooooowwwwwwwwllllley and badly, BUT, Alen Price is my personal rock hero God!

I won't play it unless the people I'm playing it are capable of doing it justice. I've been playing it off and on over the years since shortly after it first came out (Animals version), and, in my experience, crowd reaction is usually positive.

Howlin'

Hey Gang,

This is crackin me up BECUASE...As I started to read ,Im thinkin ,Dang, these are tunes that are REQUESTED here in Charleston.THEN , I scroll down and see Josephs post..He's 2.5 HRS from me.. Jesus....can it get any worse.. ..Yeah , now ME, if I walk in and those overdun tunes are playin, BY GAWD they better be killer..
Yeah, I guess for personal reasons I have to stand with Howlin on the 1964 hit that has stood the test of time.AND yes , the crowd goes balistic here too when played..(Even a crappy rendtion.. )..Gosh ya know, I sware , Im really tryin to think of what tunes HERE do kill the crowd.These people here , even the young metal heads seem to have a reverence for the old stuff..Wet Vagina always has been behind the times in MANY aspects..

John

Well it depends where you play. If you're playing at a biker rally and whatnot, you better have some outlaw/ridin' tunes. Regular venue? Sure, bore yourself to death with these overplayed songs that have lost their meanings.
Metal venue? You better have some MetallicA or Pantera on your list and possibly some Slayer and Lamb of God.
Punk venue? ... well, you get the picture.
It all depends on where you play. But for most of you, I'd say "Go ahead. Play that song for the trillionth time."

HowlinJ wrote:I get everyone's point, but I must take issue with "House of The Rising Sun" True, the tune was been played to death, and usually to sssssssslllllllooooooowwwwwwwwllllley and badly, BUT, Alen Price is my personal rock hero God!

I won't play it unless the people I'm playing it are capable of doing it justice. I've been playing it off and on over the years since shortly after it first came out (Animals version), and, in my experience, crowd reaction is usually positive.

Howlin'

Hmm I've played that song in three different bands, and for the most part, all of them did the song justice enough that I didn't feel it was the playing that turned people off. I just noticed that every time we played it, people left, nobody ever applauded or even slow-danced to it. It was just the most akward silence after the song was done every time (probably 20-30 times played) no matter what kind of bar or club we were playing.

I had filled in on guitar for a friend's band last saturday night at a popular bar with a mixed crowd, and that song nearly cleared the place, even though other popular classic rock (including turn the page) went over fairly well.

Just my experience-

LMFAO - This topic has me rolling..

"War Pigs", off the top of my head.
I think "Born to be wild" has been ridden into the dust.

I agree with Mustang Sally being a "dog"..
I agree with House o the rising Sun..dead.
I agree with Jumping Jack Flash has "gas, gas, gas"

Wonderful Tonight? (-40F shiver) lol

If I listened to you guys advice I couldnt get a paying gig

Most of the songs you mention I at some point or another have to play cause they are requested.

Im glad all you guys dont have to lower yourselfs to the level I do.

But you know gettin paid, free drinks, more gigs than you can play women and did I say women and did I say women, I dont guess it matters much to you guys...........................................

I know Im a HO

Ha Ha Ha

LOL, JW! I was gonna say - no one walks when I play that sh*t, so I suppose they aren't really "crowd-killers" around here.

jw123 wrote:If I listened to you guys advice I couldnt get a paying gig

Most of the songs you mention I at some point or another have to play cause they are requested.

Im glad all you guys dont have to lower yourselfs to the level I do.

But you know gettin paid, free drinks, more gigs than you can play women and did I say women and did I say women, I dont guess it matters much to you guys...........................................

I know Im a HO

Ha Ha Ha

YIKES...JW... If you played the songs that were mentioned in this thread anywhere around here (but a high school, I guess) Not only would you clear the joint out but the only wimmen you would possibly even entertain the thought of getting would be the fat, drunk lady at the end of the bar with that big growth on her upper lip!

Seriously, NY is fierce... Most of the clubs are playing Death and doom metal or some real intricate stuff like Vai, Halen, Rhoads, Malmsteen, etc....

The guitarists here are very, vry competitive and I love that because it keeps me on my toes... I'm in complete awe watching some of these guys work their magic on the fretboard and it's just amazing when I catch some of these guys coming to my gigs!
Very tough crowd out this way!!

Saw Steppinwolf play in Tyler several years ago (or whats left of em)
Along with The Guess Who (or whats left of em)
TGW put on a pretty good show despite playing in a big bare concrete box. SW came on started BLASTING BTBW. All the old drunk bikers stood up staggered up to the front of the stage and stood in the way of 70 % of the crowds veiw of the show. The stampede for the doors was not unlike the running of the bulls in Spain. You could have made more money selling tickets to get out!

Crip we typically start off with a couple of mellower classic rock songs then move quickly into harder territory, but after midnight if you dont play all the sh*t you dont want to play then our crowds will walk.

When I say harder Im talking RATM, Metallica, SoundGarden, Alice In Chains, CHili Peppers

After midnight we always do some Skynyrd, maybe Hair Of The Dog, Man In The Box, Foghat it changes, Walk This Way that we lead into our Play That Funky Music funk song. Roadhouse Blues, even Mustang Sally.

Ive said it before I dont care what I play as long as we retain people for the duration of the night. If my bands not doing that then somethings wrong. We have been doing some Newer Kidd Rock, Nickleback, Puddle Of Mudd.

Ive been playing all this stuff so long that its not a big deal to me technicality wise.

Crip Ive seen your basic songlist somewhere and we actually play a lot of the same stuff, our song list has grown to around 250 songs over the last couple of monthes just so we can cover whatever an audience wants.

But in our case we have a strong following in 3 Countys, I can tell a club we will bring 135 people to your club and they will generally stay most of the night. They are very forgiving as far as songs, but they constantly tell us waht they want to hear and we listen. If a couple of poeple ask for the same song we will play it. You people on here that say you only play what you want to play, must not be trying to make any money, cause that wont work in my neighborhood.

Crip in some of our gigs that we double or triple bill we have played with some of the heavier younger bands in the area and at the end of the night we ussually come away with a lot more compliments than they do and so far other then my VFW screwup everywhere weve played has begged us to come back. We are booked into the first of March and basically on our terms, so I guess weve got something going right.

In the last couple of weeks Ive turned down a lot of gigs cause we just cant work them into everyones schedule, so now my approach to bookings is, will this gig lead to something better or will it lead to more money.

Wow... that was a mouthful... You always say you gotta get over my way...ummm... it should be the other way around... IT'S TOUGH GETTING THESE FOLKS OUT OF THEIR HOUSES OVER HERE IN NY!! I guarantee you'll be very dissaponted if you ever booked a gig out here... very dissapointed... Takes quite a few years to build up a solid following and people are staying home now... we gotta work like hell to get them out of their houses and the clubs aren't frekin' helping with their high cost cover charges and their ridiculously high priced drinks!

We do: Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, Ozzy, Halen, Yngwie, Priest, Purple, Zep, Alice in Chains, In Living Colour, Metallica, Motorhead, Kiss, Chili Peppers, Thin Lizzy AC/DC, and a lot more... the audience is smart... they know exactly where and when you screw up...ya see... they don't drink as much... A freakin' beer now costs 6 bucks plus tips... It's very hard over here and only the strongest will obtain the gigs and the crowd... all the others will just keep gigging for free with a million other bands....

We gotta move down south...