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?
Easy tbh. We never wrote setlists. We had our standard opening song and closer, I'd decide what the 2nd song would be based on the vibe I got from the audience after watching them react to the supports (before we walked on stage, so the other guys knew what song to jump straight into after the opener) and I'd pick the set from there as we went after watching the audience during our first two songs and how they reacted to certain sections and what-not.
The majority of our songs started with guitar or vocals, followed with the rest of the band coming in after a couple of bars, so it was easy to do without any awkward pauses or on-stage chats between members. If I wanted to play a song which somebody else started (or needed the drummer to count in for us to start simultaneously), I'd have quick banter with the audience and introduce the song via said banter so the band knew what it was going to be.
If you're good at thinking on your feet and judging the audience, it's easy and makes the shows so much better. It also gives each show a unique vibe and gives fans a reason to post show setlists or record your shows. They never know what is going to happen.
If you can wrap your head around it and pull it off seamlessly, there is no better way to run a show. It takes practise though, like everything, so do it in rehearsal. Unless we're writing new material, our rehearsals are basically just gigs without an audience. I pull the setlist out of my ass in the same way. We setup how we do on stage and run from song-to-song without extended stopping, like we would on stage. It's important to rehearse the same layout you have on stage (even if that means you can't see each other's faces). Learning the body language cues of your band mates from the direction you see them on stage is invaluable.
Great points!