Wednesday 30 April 2014

From The Garage to The Stage Part 2: Structuring Your Set

This article originally appeared on the blog at Songeist.com.

If you're just starting out as an artist, there are many hard lessons to be learned onstage that don't necessarily appear in the 'how to play' manuals or educational music books. To help you along, we've enlisted our very own Barney to impart his hard-earned gigging wisdom in this ongoing series of weekly blogs. If you're recently started playing live or even if you haven't yet done a gig yet, we at Songeist believe that these blogs will be a great asset to help you to consider all the aspects of your live show. We'll be posting a new entry every Wednesday around midday for the coming weeks so don't forget to visit!

READ PART 1: MAKING A SPLASH HERE.
READ PART 3: SEGUES AND SPEECHES HERE.
READ PART 4: CONFIDENCE AND CONNECTION HERE.
READ PART 5: CAMARADERIE AND CONTROL HERE.
READ PART 6: SET TIMES AND THE SOUND MAN HERE.

Remember to comment and let us know any live tips and tricks you have...

FROM THE GARAGE TO THE STAGE PART 2: STRUCTURING YOUR SET


Your songs are ready to go. You have rehearsed every detail of each composition so many times you’ve lost count. You’re absolutely confident that you won’t miss that cheeky bar of 2/4 or that weird bridge part that Bob made up when he was high. All that remains is to put your seven or eight songs down on a list and to play them from beginning to end, tuning up, drinking beer and thanking the crowd in between them, right?

Not really. You need to put a great deal of thought into the order of your tracks. This could be the difference between a good set and a great set. When you put together an album, you think of the entirety of the recording and structure the songs accordingly, right? Why should a live set be any different?

A BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END
As we’ve already discussed, we must give a great deal of consideration to the opening of the set but we should approach all of the set with that same attention to detail. Of course, as with all of my blogs, there are exceptions to the rule. There are bands that can go on with no planning at all and stumble through a set and blow the room away. But for the vast majority of us, it benefits to use some strategy. The way I approach a set is like a good book or film; with a beginning, a middle and an end. For a thirty-minute set I think of three sets of ten minutes. For a forty-five minute set, I break it down into three sets of fifteen minutes. Of course, this isn’t an exact science. It won’t necessarily be the same amount of songs per section but the concept remains, even if the section lengths vary.

To illustrate, I will use a thirty-minute, seven-song support set as the example. This set-length will probably be where you start and gradually your sets will get longer as you get bigger as a band. We can extrapolate these concepts across longer sets, simply by extending the sections by adding songs into them. Once you get towards an hour, you might want to actually repeat a full middle section or two, creating different waves of energy moving up and down through songs during the middle section of the set.

A vintage SB6 support set, circa 2005, that follows all the rules outlined below.
A vintage SB6 support set that follows all the rules outlined in the blog. A 3-2-2 section structure, most abrasive track third, reggae track fifth and fan favourites to close.

DON'T PEAK TOO EARLY
The first section of the set, from your moment coming onstage to impact of song three, should build. While you should hit the stage with purpose and focus (as we discussed on the last blog) you don’t want to peak too early in terms of impact. People may still be shuffling in from the bar at the point you go on. Opening the set at full-blast in terms of attack and energy is tempting because it seems logical and the nervous energy is easy to get swept away in, but it can actually create a disconnect between the band and the crowd. If you’re supporting a bigger band and you're new to a crowd, the floor often needs easing into a set as opposed to dragging into it. The people in the crowd are jostling and jockeying for their positions during the start of a set. Open with a song that’s secure and solid to play, so that you can iron out any potential sound issues and get comfortable in the room. You don’t even need to necessarily play a full tune, maybe up to the middle 8 is enough. The first three songs are not the time for extended breakdowns or banter. These songs need to gain, not grab, the crowd's attention and ‘turn the screw’ on the room’s atmosphere. For song two, up the ante, turn the screw, move that energy forward but keep in mind that song two is not your destination. You and the crowd should feel locked-in by this point so that when you drop song three the set ignites. When you get this right and the cork on the bottle of the room's energy pops, it's one of the most exhilarating feelings a musician can have.

Our old booking agent Ian Armstrong of Hidden Talent Booking imparted to me long ago that you should always play your best song third. Over the years, I’ve seen the wisdom in this. If you’re strangers to an audience, it will take a couple of songs for people to make up their mind about you. The difference between someone leaping into the pit and cheering at the top of their lungs as opposed to standing at the back and politely applauding could be to deploy a killer third tune. Even for a big band with an established crowd, the third song is a sweet spot to really ignite the party. Just ask AC/DC.


AC/DC, dropping the big gun 'Back in Black' third. (Photo courtesy of The Revenge of Riff-Raff)

THE CREAMY MIDDLE
Next up is the middle section. You have their attention, now you have to do something with it. Choose something solid for song four that 'turns the gas down' slightly and can surf on the inertia of energy that song three has created in the room. In a thirty-minute set, it’s probably a bad idea to go too far off into experimental territory but if you want to do something left-of-centre during the set then choose song five to do it. If you have a ballad or some excursion into a different tempo, such a reggae tune, then this part of the set is ideal. If your material is all the same pace and style, you could still use track five to extend a middle eight and get the crowd clapping. Just adding something into the set at this point that’s a little out of the box can work really well to piqué the crowd's interest beyond the first few songs.

Track 5. Made for clapping along to. Track 5. Made for clapping along to.

THE TRIUMPHANT ENDING
The last section is the right place for another couple of your best songs or fan favourites. You’d hope that across the set you’ve built up some momentum and established a rapport with the crowd. By this point they understand what the band is all about and are ready for you to make your final impression. The very last song is another great one to stretch out. Maybe settle on the middle-eight groove of the song and get the crowd involved again, whether it’s getting them to clap or to repeat a word or lyric you shout out. You could even try some more creative crowd interaction. The old Iron Maiden ‘Scream for me London!’ always works wonders but there are lots of ways that you can get people involved. You could part the crowd down the middle and get them to sing alternate lines. You could get them to sit down (or maybe set up a wall of death or circle pit if you're a heavier act) as you vamp on a breakdown and then jump up when you drop the big riff. Push yourself to try something interesting and memorable and use your imagination to relate whatever it is you do back to the music. People remember a band that does something original with the crowd, and the last song is the time to do it.

Finally, always remember to end the set on a bang, not a whimper. The rock n roll clichés are clichés because they work. It isn't rocket science to do the old ‘crescendo drum roll with guitar noise followed by synchronised stabs’ routine but it works. If you raise your guitars slowly together as you strum those discordant chords and the drummer thrashes about on the cymbals like Animal behind you, the crowd is naturally, inexplicably compelled to cheer and holler and clap louder, no matter what has preceded it. No one knows exactly why this is, but it would be unwise to blow against the wind of this piece of tried and tested musical science. Rock n Roll clichés are your friend. As Keith Richards said, Rock n Roll is music for the neck down.

To end this blog, a very simple lesson. When writing that setlist, don’t be tempted to squeeze in an extra song just because you might be able to manage it. It will stress out the band having to watch the clock and it will cause you to rush. Running over set time during a support slot is NOT an option (gig etiquette is another blog for the coming weeks). Instead, simply use the remaining minutes to stretch out your last song and communicate with the crowd. You want to leave them wanting more, not wanting you to get off stage, and even a support band that’s being received very well shouldn’t push their luck when the crowd’s favourite band are coming on in half an hour.

Now we've got our setlist written, next week in 'From The Garage to the Stage' we'll deal with applying the structure of your set into your performance, dealing with the gaps between songs and when, and when not, to chat to the crowd.

Until next time…

Barney
Credit to Revenge of Riff Raff for the AC/DC Setlist.

Wednesday 23 April 2014

From The Garage to The Stage Part 1: Making a Splash

This article originally appeared on the blog at Songeist.com.

If you're just starting out as an artist, there are many hard lessons to be learned onstage that don't necessarily appear in the 'how to play' manuals or educational music books. To help you along, we've enlisted our very own Barney to impart his hard-earned gigging wisdom in this ongoing series of weekly blogs. If you're recently started playing live or even if you haven't yet done a gig yet, we at Songeist believe that these blogs will be a great asset to help you to consider all the aspects of your live show. We'll be posting a new entry every Wednesday around midday for the coming months so don't forget to visit!

READ PART 2: STRUCTURING YOUR SET HERE.
READ PART 3: SEGUES AND SPEECHES HERE.
READ PART 4: CONFIDENCE AND CONNECTION HERE.
READ PART 5: CAMARADERIE AND CONTROL HERE.
READ PART 6: SET TIMES AND THE SOUND MAN HERE.

Remember to comment and let us know any live tips and tricks you have...

FROM THE GARAGE TO THE STAGE PART 1: MAKING A SPLASH

You’ve got your songs written. You’ve memorised your lyrics. You’ve rehearsed every verse, chorus and bridge so many times that you’ve got blisters on your fingertips. You’ve got your guitar, leads, spare strings and you’ve borrowed Uncle Barry’s van.

You’re ready to do a gig.

For the purposes of getting better as a band, there is no alternative to doing gigs. As soon as you are able, get out there and do it. Chances are, you’ll learn more in one gig than ten rehearsals. But the lessons learned during a live performance are subtle. Many of them are personal. You won’t find these lessons in a ‘100 Hot Guitar Licks’ book but they are just as important as nailing that gnarly bend during your extended solo. There are no hard-and-fast-rules to playing live, but across this series of blogs I’m going to attempt to impart some live music advice that I have picked up which, if nothing else, should stimulate a few thoughts about your approach to your live show.

OPENING THE SHOW
What better place to start than… the start! I can’t tell you the amount of times that I’ve witnessed this scene. The crowd stands in the venue, waiting for the next band to play after the opener has finished. The band is busy swapping around their equipment, tuning up, testing mics. The guitarist idly plays the riff from ‘Layla’. The drummer sits behind the kit and last-minute tunes his toms. BONG, BONG, PLOP. The crowd is murmuring, some watching this going on, some not watching. The band gradually settles into their places, still nervously playing little riffs and tapping away. At some point the singer mouths ‘you guys ready?’ to the rest of the band. They nod and the singer shuffles to the front and says ‘hello, er, we are The Ferrets and we hope you like us’. 1, 2, 3, 4 and it’s into the set. Half the crowd aren’t even watching. The performance fizzles into existence, rather than explodes.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of amazing bands that, without even thinking about it, can storm the stage and say ‘hello, we are The Ferrets’ and kick into a deafening roar of rock that can knock the socks off everyone in the venue. But for most of us, we need to put a little thought behind how we can start the set with a bang.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA "BONG, BONG, PLOP."

DEALING WITH DRUMMERS (AND NOODLERS)
Once the preceding band’s gear is off the stage and your amp or drums are line-tested and set up and you have a few minutes to spare there is NO REASON to stay on the stage. Granted, in small venues there are times that a drummer may have a difficult route to negotiate so may need to stay on the stage. But there is no excuse for sitting there tuning drums and tapping unless absolutely necessary. A drummer will not understand why this is, so we may have to explain this to them. It is a truth of live music that the atmosphere of anticipation of a good, hard rocking is much more palpable and dramatic without the backdrop of BONG, BONG, PLOP reverberating across the venue.

Once your gear is set-up, get off the stage. Get into a group. Maybe even a little football-team huddle. Focus on what you’re about to do. When the time is right, storm the stage, with purpose, wave to the crowd, together. Would you believe that an experienced band can get a round of cheers to a room of complete strangers by doing this before even playing a note? They can, we can and YOU CAN just by looking the part and acting the part. Even if the venue is so small it has no backstage, or even stage, to speak of, a band can still get to the side and then, at the right time, descend on their gear together. This will still get a reaction.

Simply put, an empty stage is a metaphor. It symbolises the potential of the new band about to fill it. Stormed by a band with purpose and swagger at the right moment it fills with excitement. Then ‘Hello, we are The Ferret’s’ is performed, rather than just happening.

Wave Wave your hands in the air like you mean it... and they will too. It's science.

CREATE SOME IMPACT

Another question is, is the ‘Hello, we are The Ferret’s’ really what you want to do? As I said, many bands can pull this generic entrance off but there are so many alternatives to this that are way more effective. A great trick to grab the crowd's attention is to simply crash down as loud and hard as you can together on crash cymbals and open strings repeatedly to really create some impact before kicking into the first song. Another way to approach it is opening with a short instrumental piece, perhaps simply an extended intro of your first song. I enjoy an instrumental set-opener because it allows you to get used to the sound of the room and the feel of your instrument before starting to sing or go into a song for real. The right piece of music can really build up an atmosphere before the songs start. A way that we will often approach an intro is to come on stage together, without the vocalist, and play a short instrumental before pausing and letting the vocalist walk on, which really ramps up the drama and aura around the singer.

A final option you might well want to think about is if your intro could be complimented by theme music? The intro music of a good TV show, film or such can work wonders to set the scene for the carnage you are about to unleash. Most sound guys will be totally happy to whack a CD on for you if you sort it in advance.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA The right theme music can get them moving before you even come on...

So there we are. Remember, it’s not my intention to say one way is right and one is wrong. It’s my intention to get you asking yourself which of these options is right for you, rather than not thinking about it until you’ve already started the gig.

Next week in 'From The Garage to the Stage' we'll deal with the dark art of writing a setlist. Not just throwing a few songs on a list, but putting together a flow of music that will maximise the impact and impression you make with that thirty minutes you have up there. See you next Wednesday!

Until then...

Barney

Barney is a founder member of Manchester’s Sonic Boom Six. Sonic Boom Six has released 4 studio albums and two full-length compilations with countless singles, EPs and compilation appearances. 'The Boom' has performed headline tours of Europe, America and Japan as well as slots at festivals including Glastonbury, Download, Sonisphere and the main stage at Reading and Leeds Festival. SB6 has written and performed songs that have appeared on BBC Radio 1, Channel 4, BBC 2 (TV), Rock Band and Sims 3 video games.