I just watched the Bob Marley movie, no setlist! Jimi Hendrix, Guns N Roses.. many others, just walk out and someone(?) calls the shots. I prefer a setlist to see how the flow of the show will go and what effects I need to get set for the next song; know to grab a different guitar.. etc.. not to accidentally repeat a song (if ur playing 2+ hrs).. make sure you finish on time… how have you seen the pros handle it? Any quirks? I dread the dead air of “what should we play?!” potential moments 😬😬
Touring musicians: how do some artists just go on with no setlist?
And I don’t mean the technical side (like how the next song is actually communicated), I mean like what’s tour prep like? Is there a finite list that will get picked from; or you just gotta know EVERY song? Do bandleaders have tendencies, do they say something before the set, or something after the show about it. I’m just curious how their mind works so fluidly with an entire show for thousands of people. Crazy to me, lol.
Typically there is a catalog of songs that have been rehearsed that you draw from, and more often than not in original groups (at least in my experience) this is "every song we've ever written" because the band is familiar with all their own compositions. If I rehearsed or arranged a song 10 years ago I might say "I don't remember" but if you play the first 2 bars it all comes back to me. Also, good players can follow along with minimal guidance so even if a couple people in a group have never played a song, it might be on the table. Guys like Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis would tour alone and use local musicians at each show, often with no rehearsal, and expect them to just follow their lead and be familiar with the material enough to nail the most important bits.
Re: Chuck B - That’s crazy to me! But I get it. And it’s blues, not Dream Theater :) a local dude here got picked up by Garth Brooks for a tour stop here. I don’t think they/the band rehearsed, but maybe got a setlist ahead of time.. He met him for the first time during the verse of the first song. Ha!
The expectation is that you know anything you might to be asked to play, and quick enough on your feet to pick up and play on any surprises that get tossed in out of the blue.
It sounds hard, but I’ve learned 30+ songs in less than a week more than once. It’s a skill that can be practiced, and the more songs you already have in your head, easier it is to pick up repeating themes in new ones.
Also, if you actually had a hand in writing the songs, that’s in your head pretty much for eternity. It’s not like learning all new material. Might be some cobwebs, but those shake off easily.