On the subject of setlists

[pdq4646]

The lights are all done with computers. You pull up the song and it's programmed to hit the cues for that song. It can be also done manually by the operator. The Police don't change there set much at all. I don't think it's a production problem.

[Divemistress of the Dark]

(sock, I loooooove your new avatar....)

[Uccellina]

Red Hot Chili Peppers.
They had 3 shows (2 at Tokyo, 1 at Osaka, both stadium) two weeks ago, and I went one of them.
I've got the set-list later and knew what happened (and what I missed). They changed the list every day.
Well, some songs (mainly from the latest album) are the same, but 10 out of 15~17, are different, or they changed the order.
And everyday, they played "today's special" thing;
the first night, they played a long jam/ the second night, Flea(bassist) sang solo/ the third night, they played Ramone's cover....etc...
Each night is like a... dinner of different courses at the same restaurant. A good restaurant.
If anyone here wants to know the set-lists, I'll post them.

Uccellina

[New Zealand Promoter]

For up to $200 a ticket (and more), not to mention the musical capacities of our heroes, i would expect that they can play a few different songs here and there. This isn't bloody Genesis we're talking about. It's a three piece rock band, embarking on what may well be their last ever tour. It's not that hard. Learn a few extra songs, throw them in here and there. Jeez. They're getting paid, aren't they? and are they not brilliant musicians? If Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, RHCP and Pink Floyd can manage it, I am sure our boys can.... and if the undoubtedly highly paid lighting techs can't handle a few changes, then god help us.

ps sockii, your new avatar is brilliant!

[Wait and See]

They've always had a pop side to them, which fits with the stage and light show. I don't think Sting (or Andy) feels particularly comfortable winging it. Stewart may be the lone voice on that one. Still, they could certainly rotate in a few songs here and there. As it is, the only changes they've made are to leave some of the songs out on some nights.

[New Zealand Promoter]

yep. and as for 'winging it', they wouldn't need to. i'm not suggesting they decide on the spur of the moment, 'hey! let's try synchronicity I, which we haven't even rehearsed!'.... i'm suggesting that it's not beyond the realms of possibility for them to rehearse some other songs. copeland has already talked about 'bring on the night' and how 'it ain't working for sting'....

[sockii]

[quote="Divemistress of the Dark"](sock, I loooooove your new avatar....)[/quote]

Heh heh, thanks Dive (& everyone else who commented ) I actually have had this one sitting around for a while but it fits my mood right now--getting super hyper as I've only got one more week to go until my first show of the tour (w00t!)

[DirtyMartini]

Yay, sockii. Hope you have an excellent time!

As for setlists, as someone already said: they always kept to one pretty closely as well. Plus, as I've said before, (forgive me, Stewart) Sting is an old lady about routine.

[Three over Four]

[quote]I don't think Sting (or Andy) feels particularly comfortable winging it. Stewart may be the lone voice on that one.[/quote]

Damn those lopsided democracies!!

I was thinking about this some more, and I've concluded that I'd probably care a bit more about them changing up the setlist if I could afford to see them more than once! Since I can't, my experience won't be duplicated until the DVD comes out.

But then again, how much will it really be duplicated? This is the quote of the day on www.thepolice.com:

"We used to improvise a lot. Shoot from the hip. All our albums, we'd hear a song for the first time in the morning and it was recorded by the evening. The backing track, anyway. Then Andy and Sting would spend ages on guitar and vocal overdubs. But this time 'round it started out as a real arrangement thing, so one of the things we've been struggling over is, I don't want to know if it's 16 bars or 24 bars - I'll hit the change when it feels like it's right, and it'll be different every night." - Stewart

[nathanarizona]

3/4 I'm with you on this. As of now I'm only seeing one show (if they add Austin or San Antonio in the future I'll go to another). I'd see 'em all if I could afford it. Anyway, the rest of your post hit exactly on something I did the other day: I gathered all of my live Police stuff (released and bootlegged) and put all of the various recordings of Message back to back and listened to them on my iPod. These versions covered the original recording and the live debut at Hatfield all the way to the RR HOF and Whiskey Rehearsal versions. I think I had 12 or 13 versions all together. Every single one is different - and pretty substantially. Tempo, key, other things I don't know the words for are all messed with. They all remain faithful to the original version but they all bring something unique to the fold as well. I don't think they ever play anything the same way twice. Especially Stewart. And that's what makes it so cool for me.

Yeah, I'd love to hear some of deeper cuts but I understand why they're not playing those. And yeah, I'd love to hear 2-3 setlist changes a night but I'm all right with the standard setlist thing too (they've always been that way). Each night is different and it's the experience of being there in person that makes it magical. You can't get it from youtube or even a professionally produced piece. 3/4 hit the nail on the head: How much of it will really be duplicated?

[Spec A!]

That's the thing with live music- even if the set list remains the same night after night, there's no way it can be duplicated unless you have a bunch of robots on stage. A robot our Stewart is not!

Side note- Sometimes I love reading these threads, other times I'm just so "done" with the rehashing of the same tired old topics. All of the OG's on here are tried and true Copeland fans, and just head over heels that THE BAND IS BACK AND TOURING!!! Isn't the horse dead by now? No disrespect to anyone, just sayin, let's move on and gush about how awesome these shows are!!!!

BTW- OG=original gangstas- that's netspeak for the long time members and the few that may not have been here a while but contribute/are involved alot in the discussions.

[DirtyMartini]

About live performance not being duplicated, right on. Never the same show twice. I would love some variations in the setlist, but at the same time, I've certainly never come out of a performance of MacBeth and complained that the script was a repeat.

But mostly I'm posting to thank Spec for translating "OG." I came up with "Old Guard" -- which isn't too far off the mark -- and "Oysterhead Girl" -- which would fit better in that other thread -- and "Obnoxious Git" -- which probably isn't too far off the mark either.

[sockii]

>About live performance not being duplicated, right on. Never the same
> show twice. I would love some variations in the setlist, but at the same
>time, I've certainly never come out of a performance of MacBeth and
>complained that the script was a repeat.

Yeah, exactly. I have a good friend who works in the theater, and it even took him a while to understand why I always enjoyed seeing his plays 2, 3, 4 times if I could over the stretch of a run. Because the thing was, no matter if they were working from a set script or not, so much could change night to night in a performance, especially if I had the chance to see a show early in its run vs. toward the end. I enjoy observing the process of seeing something refined and continually developed just as much as seeing something "new" and novel, sometimes.

[Spec A!]

[quote="sockii"]I enjoy observing the process of seeing something refined and continually developed just as much as seeing something "new" and novel, sometimes.[/quote]


Thanks for pointing that out- I think THAT is what a true fan will appreciate vs. someone that may love an artist, or love a band and like listening to them or seeing them live and all the excitement that surrounds that. But, and this is true especially for me and all my drummer geek friends out there, seeing and hearing and watching Stewart and taking it all in, and then being able to see all the little things that change (because they sure will) with each performance is just amazing. Recognizing all those things is something special too.

[English-lion]

Well said: Three over Four, nathanarzona,Spec A1, DirtyMartini, Sockii

Enough said the horse is dead! buried! and pushing up the daises