Quoting David Lucky:
"Changing a set list doesnt necessarily mean doing a bunch of obscure songs
in one concert. it could be just one tune here, one tune there. Then 100%
of the people would be surprised, not just the new fans but even the fans
who saw the show the night before for example. As I have seen them a couple
of back to back times. One song new lets say they played Man in suitcase
once is not going to upset the casual fan. Beside so many big bands do this
and still are very successfuly touring bands such as bruce Springsteen
(every show is different) pearl Jam, heck even the Who shows are different
night to night. However there are also other bands that dont change the set
list like the VanHalen reunion tour and others Ive seen like Oasis that
don't change it up.
It just would seem with such great musicians like these 3 we;'ve got and
with hopefully no over tracking, sampling and really playing live that they
could swap in and out a couple songs and keep it fresh."
Exactly! Nobody's saying it makes economic sense to do a show designed
purely for hardcore fans, or that the band should do so for the entire tour
(though indeed, a small, secret show for an invited hardcore audience would
be lovely). I think we understand how casual fans feel. I took my boyfriend
to the Dublin show - he's not a fan, but enjoyed the show. The only time his
interest flagged was when the odd song he didn't know (probably Truth Hits
Everybody and Voices Inside My Head) came up, as he told me afterwards. We
can assume a lot of people at the shows would feel that way.
BUT - a lot of people who aren't hardcore fans of a band will go to a show
because they love live music and want to see good musicianship and have a
few surprises. And those people will be happy with a mix of pop hits and
other stuff. Honestly, I don't think it's asking for the moon.
And I may be going out on a limb here, but I'd guess that most of us who are
complaining about the unchanging setlist would have been happy if there'd
just been a rotating two-song slot each night, to give the less well-known
songs a chance to get an airing, and to give the band the chance to
experiment with different segues and running orders and (above all) jams.
You only have to look at how they handled Wrapped Around Your Finger on this
tour to see how amazing a new arrangement of a song can be.
Angeline
