Do you use a set list?

Kendra and I went to see Tool live at the PNC Arena in Raleigh on 11/24/2019. I had seen them several times over the years, but it was Kendra’s first Tool show. Discussing the show on the way home, Kendra said something about their live show that I had never really considered, but was absolutely true: the show, from the stage lights, to the projected visuals, to the song choice, to the band’s movements on stage, to the musical cues and even the band’s clothes had been calculated to a point of extreme precision and choreography. Every moment had been planned with a specific intent and executed precisely. In this way, a Tool show is as much or more a piece of musical theater than it is a traditional concert.

On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve seen the Drive By Truckers live about ten times now, and they take the stage each night with only the first song planned, choosing what comes next in the spare seconds between songs. I’ve heard many interview where the band members say that they practically never rehearse, instead letting the show become whatever it happens to become as the night goes along.

In a similar fashion, other bands I’m a big fan of like the Grateful Dead and Phish improvise and segue songs from one to the next in such a way that not only are no two shows particularly similar, but no two performances of any one song ever come out exactly the same either.

I appreciate both of these approaches tremendously. Each takes commitment to a particular vision for the live performance, as well as a great deal of skill in being a live entertainer. That being said, I absolutely prefer the looser, improvisatory approach to live music over the more highly planned and executed style. While there’s few bands that can beat Tool when it comes to an all-engrossing multi-media sensory experience in concert form, I feel like I can see them once every few years and be fulfilled.

When I go to a Truckers or Phish show, however, I’m excited at the possibility that any number of unplanned moments can happen. When I listen to an old Grateful Dead show, I can find that one half of the show can be a little lifeless and meandering only to be absolutely floored by the heights the band achieves in the second half.

For this reason, Kendra and I almost never use set lists in a BMLB show. There are certain songs that tend to open and close shows, certain songs that tend to get played back to back, but we often decide the next song to be played some time toward the end of the one we’re currently playing. We try to gauge our audience and play something upbeat and energetic when the energy calls for it, or something slow and spacey if the ambiance is right. We often use instrument changes to keep the audience engaged, or tell dumb jokes or stories if one or the other of us needs to tune. We jam and improvise when the mood is good, especially when someone is sitting in with us.

The only time we ever use a planned set list is if we’re playing an unusually short show in the 30-45 minute range. With such a tight schedule, our normal approach can mean that we might leave something off that we’d have rather played.

Like the Grateful Dead, I hope that each Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs show can be a different experience from the last. If someone were to see us two or three nights in a row, I’d hope that we could keep the performances engaging and varied enough that each show remained entertaining. Kendra and I have a tradition of asking each other “song of the night?” on the way home after a gig. We never know which one its going to be, and many times are surprised by the song that ends up being the best performance.

I love what bands like Tool do with their shows, but I know that kind of approach would never work for me personally. Our lack of a set list keeps us as surprised about where the show goes as our audience is, and I hope that energy comes across in what we do.

To those musicians out there reading this: do you use a set list? What are the reasons you do or don’t? Do circumstances ever cause you to change it up? To audience members: what do you prefer? Do you like the more finely crafted show, or do you like the improvised structure?

Thank you for reading, friends, and we hope to see you on the road soon!