Re: Stones-setlists are great!!!!
Date: March 8, 2006 01:38
Here's an example of the 'rotation' system that I've been talking about. I just threw this together off the top of my head in my tea break at work today in about 10 minutes, so its not something that requires much thought
Basically, for a bit of fun this is a list of a standard 21-song Rolling Stones setlist for this tour - with alternates thrown in to keep it fresh. An A-list and a B-list if you like. The show is structured in a way to have a requisite number of warhorses including a well known song to open the show, a classic ballad, a 'rarities' spot, a part in the show reserved for new songs, a classic cover version, Keith's 2 songs, a 3-stage bstage set, a final run through of crowd pleasers and a 2-song encore. Basically similar to what we already have. I've tried to pair each song off with another song (or songs) which either have a similar theme or recognisability or which would have a similar impact on the crowd when performed as the song they alternate with
I've tried to make it reasonable. Very few of the songs mentioned have not so far been played on this current tour, and those that havent are songs that have either been recently recorded (ie for the new album) or have been frequently played on recent tours so shouldnt be hard to work up again. So, I'm not asking for them to suddenly dig out obscure stuff theyve probably never even rehearsed for 20 years or anything. I've even left out quite a few songs that HAVE been played this tour and which could also be brought back in when the occasion demands
here we go :
1) Jumpin' Jack Flash / Start Me Up
2) Shattered / She's So Cold
3) Tumbling Dice / Lets Spend The Night Together
4) Back Of My Hand / any other ABB song (eg She Saw Me Coming)
5) Dead Flowers / All Down The Line
6) Worried About You / Sway / Memory Motel
7) Wild Horses / Ruby Tuesday / As Tears Go By
8) Rain Fall Down / any other ABB song
9) Night Time / Mr Pitiful / Get Up Stand Up/ Aint Too proud To Beg
10) This Place Is Empty/ Slipping Away/ The Worst
11) Happy/ Infamy/ Before They Make Me Run
12) Miss You
13) Rough Justice / Oh No Not You Again
14) either a slow blues song (Rooster, Wanna Make Love to You, Mannish Boy) or a Chuck Berry-style rocker (Little Queenie, Route 66, Carol, etc)
15) Honky Tonk Women / Street Fighting Man
16) Sympathy For The Devil / Gimme Shelter
17) Out of Control/ Beast of Burden
18) Respectable / Get Off Of My Cloud
19) Brown Sugar / Paint It Black
20) You Cant Always Get What You Want / Midnight Rambler
21) Satisfaction / Its Only rock 'n' Roll
The show is structured as it is now. Songs 10-11 are keith's set, 12 is the song which takes them to the b-stage, 13-15 is the b-stage, 20-21 are the final encores - and so on.
Ok, so the way you have it is a 'warhorse' as an opener, plus #3, #7, #12, #15, #16, #19, 20 & 21
Thats 9 songs a night evenly distributed throughout the show that EVERYONE will know. You can drop any one of those songs and replace with another which is as well known and (in practically all cases) which is also to be found on "40 Licks", which appears to be the 'benchmark' of recognisable 'classics' for even the most casual fan.
Obviously, you wouldnt change many of them per night (maybe 3 or 4) and some you would expect to hear maybe 80% of the time at least (You should certainly be expected to hear at least 3 out of their 4 best known songs - Satisfaction, JJ Flash, Brown Sugar and HT Women - at any one show)..and just because one of the classics gets played doesnt mean its alternate cant be slotted it in place of another 'rotating warhorse' from time to time (eg, you could open with JJF but still occasionally play Start Me Up later in the show, say as track 15 on the b-stage). You could even move Paint It Black to be an occasional opener (what a beginning to a show THAT would be). The important thing is that there are a certain number of 'slots' in the show where you have a warhorse. A show obviously needs a certain number to retain some momentum.
Of the others, song #6 is the 'rarely played' slot, #9 is the classic cover, #10-11 are Keith's set (one slow one, one rocker - the way he seems to like to pace it, with one of the songs being one of the new songs). There are 4 slots for ABB songs, including Keith's one. Again, like the warhorses, these could be moved around. They could play Rough Justice on the b-stage and still play ONNYA at song #4, similar to what they do at the minute.
The only song I havent listed an alternative for is 'Miss You'. Whilst its the one warhorse I think sounds the most tired of all, its performed at a pivotal point of the show from a technical standpoint as its when the band are moved out to the b-stage. I cant really think of a suitable alternative which is as recognisable, similar in length and style and which Mick would play guitar on while the stage moves.
So, with minimal tweaks to the existing setlist, the fan can go to a Stones show, know hes getting a requisite number of warhorses, but the element of surprise is still there because even if youve been following the tour from city to city or online, you CANT reasonably predict what the Stones are going to play on any given evening. Theres no real extra effort required on the band's part as for the most part these songs have already been played or are at least pretty fresh to them and/or recently rehearsed or recorded. I'm being uncharacteristically generous by not being too insistent on adding new songs that have been long lost to the setlist. They could add them in as the tour progresses in the appropriate 'slots' as they please.
And to reiterate, I'm not suggesting that they should be changing 10-15 songs per night or anything like that (even though its doable). Maybe even 5-8 per show - even over the one nighters and not (as is the case at the minute) keeping the rarely played stuff for places where theyve visited earlier in thr tour. The key is that its not the SAME 5-8 'slots' in the show per night. Change them around - 2-3 of the warhorses per night, maybe 1 of Keith's, 1 of the covers, 1 of the new songs, 1 'rarity' , 1 or 2 of the album tracks.
The magic is that you go to a show and always will come away surprised, yet satisfied. And the band can keep a show fresh and wont ever be in danger of auto pilot, without having to overreach themselves.
Pick your own setlist at random out of those selections in that order (and taking into account the warhorses can move around in the set) and I doubt anyone would complain