Still Use Setlists? Maybe You Shouldn’t!

What’s the secret to solid setlist writing? Professional musician and experienced setlist-writer, Sander actually believes that it’s better to throw out your setlists altogether and structure your gigs based on how the crowd reacts to your tunes.

“We played a ‘difficult’ wedding once,” Sander recalls. “We had finally got the guests to vibe when the moment was there to ask the bride and groom to stand in the centre of the dance floor with everyone else in a circle around them. I announced the slow-dance-song we were about to perform, but the band waited a little too long to start it. In a matter of seconds, everybody had already gone and sat down again, which destroyed all of the momentum.” Sander spent eleven years with a band called Hike, where he drummed, planned the sets, and took the role of MC. These days, he’s working as a bandcoach for several booking agencies, and has his own vision when it comes to set planning, which is all about working out the right songs, the order of the songs, how much time there should be between songs, the total duration of the set, when there should be a break, and so on.

Entertaining People

When asked about the best way to go about creating setlists, Sander is pretty clear: “Just don’t.” While most of his experience comes from working with professional bands, his self-developed approach also works for bands in the amateur scene as well as short gigs. Sander continues: “The goal is always to entertain people, no matter what kind of music you make. Every musician wants the audience to have a good time, and the same is true for the owner of the establishment that you’re playing at. Here, proper set planning plays a vital role, and it should be crowd-driven. In fact, I believe that solid set planning is more important than delivering a solid performance. Imagine two bands with equally good musicians playing the same songs for the same audience. The band that backs up their performance with better set planning will always outperform the other band.”

The Ultimate Set

Most bands play gigs based on a setlist, which often includes three or four 30-minute to 45-minute sets. But Sander isn’t a fan of writing out setlists: “There’s no such thing as the perfect set. Sure, there are a few tricks that usually work and sometimes don’t, but you can’t plan out a set in minute detail beforehand when you don’t know how the show is going to play out. Set planning is best done on the spot and should be based on the reaction of the crowd. Every show is different. Different location, different circumstances, different audience so, as a band, you need to be able to adapt. The ultimate set is a set dictated by the audience.”

Gigging without a pre-written setlist does come with certain responsibilities and it’s important that one band member is fully in charge of planning the set. On stage, the rest of the band simply must obey them. “Don’t argue about the set while you’re on stage. Save it for the next rehearsal,” Sander advises. Having the same member of the band take care of set planning allows them to get better at it over time. The set planner is usually the MC or host too, but not always. If they’re not, the set planner and the MC or host need to understand each other well. It’s important that they’re able to work together and ‘work’ with the crowd at the same time, and both of them need to be given time to develop their skills. Obviously, it’s also essential that every band member is clearly informed about the next song you’re going to perform, and in a timely manner. Pro-level bands often use in-ear monitors for clear comms, but if that kind of gear isn’t available to you, at least make sure that you’re using sign language that everyone understands. You can also number your repertoire so that all you have to signal is a number.

Pros and Amateurs

You’re probably already thinking about practical concerns that may come with gigging without a setlist, like needing a vast repertoire. While that’s definitely true for commercial bands, which generally need a 160 to 200-song repertoire, it’s no prerequisite for amateur bands. A big repertoire also isn’t always feasible, especially not if you’re limited to a specific style, like rock and blues. With a smaller repertoire of 30 to 40 songs, the goal is to offer ample variation in terms of tempo, rhythm and, if possible, style. Make sure you’re playing a solid mix of slow, medium and fast-paced tunes, but change things up after every song. Keep track of how the crowd reacts and don’t be afraid to cut some songs and add others for your next gig. “It took me six years of set planning to really get the hang of it,” Sander says. “But making a miscalculation isn’t a bad thing as long as you learn from it.”

Guitar-Swapping

Now we arrive at the next crucial step in set planning: speed. “Whatever happens, you must keep up the pace,” Sander says. But what if the guitarist needs a moment to fire up the right pedals or swap guitars, and the keyboardist needs a few seconds to program the next tune? “You don’t wait for it,” Sander affirms. “Just have the musicians that need a second to prepare for the next song join in after the first measure. Or have them prepare during the outro, or make the crowd sing something to buy the band a little time. Silence has to be avoided at all costs. A moment of silence between two songs is detrimental to the vibe you’ve set and can cause you to lose the crowd’s attention. Granted, you can have the host or MC talk to the crowd for a minute, but you should never cover technical changeovers with chit-chat, unless the mood is right.If the whole crowd is out on the dance floor busting moves, you don’t want to kill the momentum by pausing the music. You want to transition to the next song as quickly as possible. I know that a lot of bands factor in guitar swaps and tuning tweaks when they plan out their sets, but I don’t think that’s the right way to approach set planning. In fact, a lot of mid-set guitar swaps are rather questionable. Nine times out of then, the guitarist wants a slightly different sound for the next song, but there’s no guarantee that the crowd will even notice it — apart from maybe the two guitarists in the crowd who happen to be standing near the mixing console. Keeping the momentum going is simply much more important than the finer details of your sound.”

Split-Second Disasters

Sander has enough experience under his belt to know that you can ‘lose’ the crowd in a matter of seconds. “When the host or MC can’t find the right words and decides to take a sip of water to buy themselves some time, that moment is enough to lose the attention of people in the crowd,” Sander says. “I call them ‘walk-away moments’, where in a split-second, you destroy the relationship you’ve built up with the crowd, and you’ve got to start all over again. This kind of disaster can also happen in the middle of a song or between songs, so try to avoid excessively long intros and other really drawn-out parts.”

Attention-Grabbing Moments & Climaxes

Every good set includes attention-grabbing moments that lead up to climactic moments, which mark the moment when the vibes in the room are suddenly drastically boosted. Planning attention-grabbing instances and climactic moments requires precise planning and you can’t afford to botch them up. Explaining the process, Sander says: “During the set, you’ll want to work towards a climax that marks the end of the set and has the entire crowd go wild. This won’t work if you build up the tension too gradually, so what you want to do is carefully plan your attention-grabbing moments. Every climax requires two attention-grabbing moments.” So how does it work in practice? Sander likes to be slightly ahead of the flow of the crowd: “When people enter the scene, they like to take a moment to grab a drink and acclimate themselves. At that point, you and the band don’t want to sound too pushy. Pique their interest with a few catchy songs and be sure to command a little respect with the first song you play, so don’t opt for a slow-dance tune for starters. Play accessible numbers and set an appropriate mood. Don’t bother the audience with requests like ‘jump’, ‘sing along’ or ‘put your hands up in the air’. As the set goes on, you’ll want to play increasingly dance-worthy tunes and wait for the first bold couples to get on the dance floor. As soon as you notice that the crowd is paying more and more attention to what you’re playing, you start working towards the turning point. That’s the moment when you can put everyone under your spell, just as long as you make the right calls.”

Recognising the Turning Point

The set planner needs to be able to recognise the turning point, which is a matter of experience and using your social antennae. Sander: “Imagine you’re close to the turning point. You decide to address the audience, crack a little joke and invite everyone to get closer to the stage. The next step is to play a banger that everyone knows and can sing along to, but has a slightly slower tempo than the last song that you played. This is your attention-grabbing moment and the time to reel in the crowd, so be decisive. As soon as the sing-along song ends, you want to launch into a fast-paced song that people can dance to. Don’t waste a second between both songs and make sure that there’s a clear distinction between them in terms of style and/or tempo. That’s your second attention-grabbing moment. If you do everything right, you’ll massively boost the vibes in the room. It’s much more effective than slowly building up the tempo across the set, increasing audience interaction or slowly shifting the mood. Drawing out the tension only causes you to lose your grip on the crowd.”

Food for Thought

Crowd-driven set planning, keeping the momentum going, avoiding walk-away moments, recognising the turning point and thoughtfully planning attention-grabbing moments to boost your set are all essential elements of a successful set according to Sander, who’d like to see more music schools pay more attention to set planning and presentation: “These elements are often overlooked yet can really make-or-break gigs.”

All of the above may sound counterintuitive to you, so if you’re sceptical, at least give it a try just once. Who knows, a fresh approach to set planning might just yield surprising results. In any case, it’ll save you from having to write up and print off setlists!