Re: audience requests

Posted by Andrew on March 08, 2004 at 16:12:59:

In Reply to: Re: audience requests posted by Suzie Tee on March 08, 2004 at 14:45:03:

Actually, it's a combination of both things. Because there are so many words to our songs, and because of the sheer volume of songs in our catalog, we generally make out a basic set list a few weeks before any performance. That way, we can each listen to recordings of those particular songs and have them re-memorized when it's time to rehearse. (Some people might not know this but we don't live in the same town; therefore, rehearsal time is extremely limited.)

We try to come up with a combination of old and new songs at each show. We also look at the set list from the previous performance and try to change the song selections around based on that as well.

For the Ann Arbor shows, these songs were removed:
Heartache, Suzy, It Starts With A Boat, Mrs. Rosenberg, Charlie and Me, The Ride and Fat Boys.
The following songs were added:
Precious Mime, Bedroom Eyes, Mother of the Bride, The Skiing Song, Doug At Home, Julie Andrews, Don't Put It in Your Mouth and Doug Engaged.
Some of these are old songs -- Bedroom Eyes is rarely performed anymore but one of the most requested -- and some are new.

There's a limit on how many songs we can do in one evening, on Saturday we did 28 songs, and we have hundreds from which to choose. I know we don't always get to everyone's favorite song but we do aim to please.

Andrew

PS - If you keep an eye on the message boards, or better yet continue to participate, you'll see that we do do some requests. It's just not that easy to do some of the really old songs without rehearsal. There are an awful lot of words in some of those older songs...and it's been over 15 years for most of them....

:I personally have always been amazed when an artist hears a request yelled out and then actually DOES it, especially if it's an older song. Heck, I can't remember what I had for breakfast, much less the words to a song I haven't sung for 10 years.

: I don't discount the thrill to be had when your request is honored - as a fan, I've certainly done it, and I've had my request honored on occasion, too, and that's a very cool thing indeed.

: But I really think Uncle Bonsai especially should be cut a great deal of slack when it comes to the Spontaneous Audience Request. The sheer lyrical abundance of their body of work is staggering. I was listening to 'Another Fat Song' last night and I could hardly get my tiny little brain around the fact that anybody could spit all those words out that fast, much less THREE people, much less memorize the words.

: I know I've never walked away from a single concert by ANYBODY thinking 'wow, they did every single song I wanted to hear'. Not once. It's just the way it is.

: I don't think it's selfish to want a band to take requests, I just don't think Uncle Bonsai should be the band in question. ;-)

:
: st

: Andrew said at Friday's concert that they don't take requests. I have mixed feelings about that. I can understand how an artist might spend a lot of time preparing a set list that reflects his or her best vision of a concert at that time. It's also nice not to be interrupted with people calling out songs that haven't been rehearsed, or that the band no longer wishes to play. Maybe they just want to give some of the songs a rest. That being said, I remember reading a story about how Frank Sinatra refused to play "My Way" because he was tired of it. I thought about how many people must have saved their money to see him, and how they may have been waiting to hear their favorite song which he wouldn't do. I kept thinking that Frank was undoubtedly very well paid for the show, he was an entertainer, and it was selfish of him to not give the audience what it wanted. With UB, we don't get many chances to see them, and some of the old hits might really win some new fans. Now, we can't take the comparison too far, I realize: Frank was being paid a bit more than our group. I'm just thinking there must be some compromise possible. Maybe a quick medley of old audience favorites: say 7 minutes out of a 120 minute show. Other ideas? Or am I just being selfish myself?

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: Actually, it's a combination of both things. Because there are so many words to our songs, and because of the sheer volume of songs in our catalog, we generally make out a basic set list a few weeks before any performance. That way, we can each listen to recordings of those particular songs and have them re-memorized when it's time to rehearse. (Some people might not know this but we don't live in the same town; therefore, rehearsal time is extremely limited.) : We try to come up with a combination of old and new songs at each show. We also look at the set list from the previous performance and try to change the song selections around based on that as well. : For the Ann Arbor shows, these songs were removed: : Heartache, Suzy, It Starts With A Boat, Mrs. Rosenberg, Charlie and Me, The Ride and Fat Boys. : The following songs were added: : Precious Mime, Bedroom Eyes, Mother of the Bride, The Skiing Song, Doug At Home, Julie Andrews, Don't Put It in Your Mouth and Doug Engaged. : Some of these are old songs -- Bedroom Eyes is rarely performed anymore but one of the most requested -- and some are new. : There's a limit on how many songs we can do in one evening, on Saturday we did 28 songs, and we have hundreds from which to choose. I know we don't always get to everyone's favorite song but we do aim to please. : Andrew : PS - If you keep an eye on the message boards, or better yet continue to participate, you'll see that we do do some requests. It's just not that easy to do some of the really old songs without rehearsal. There are an awful lot of words in some of those older songs...and it's been over 15 years for most of them.... : :I personally have always been amazed when an artist hears a request yelled out and then actually DOES it, especially if it's an older song. Heck, I can't remember what I had for breakfast, much less the words to a song I haven't sung for 10 years. : : I don't discount the thrill to be had when your request is honored - as a fan, I've certainly done it, and I've had my request honored on occasion, too, and that's a very cool thing indeed. : : But I really think Uncle Bonsai especially should be cut a great deal of slack when it comes to the Spontaneous Audience Request. The sheer lyrical abundance of their body of work is staggering. I was listening to 'Another Fat Song' last night and I could hardly get my tiny little brain around the fact that anybody could spit all those words out that fast, much less THREE people, much less memorize the words. : : I know I've never walked away from a single concert by ANYBODY thinking 'wow, they did every single song I wanted to hear'. Not once. It's just the way it is. : : I don't think it's selfish to want a band to take requests, I just don't think Uncle Bonsai should be the band in question. ;-) : : : : st : : Andrew said at Friday's concert that they don't take requests. I have mixed feelings about that. I can understand how an artist might spend a lot of time preparing a set list that reflects his or her best vision of a concert at that time. It's also nice not to be interrupted with people calling out songs that haven't been rehearsed, or that the band no longer wishes to play. Maybe they just want to give some of the songs a rest. That being said, I remember reading a story about how Frank Sinatra refused to play "My Way" because he was tired of it. I thought about how many people must have saved their money to see him, and how they may have been waiting to hear their favorite song which he wouldn't do. I kept thinking that Frank was undoubtedly very well paid for the show, he was an entertainer, and it was selfish of him to not give the audience what it wanted. With UB, we don't get many chances to see them, and some of the old hits might really win some new fans. Now, we can't take the comparison too far, I realize: Frank was being paid a bit more than our group. I'm just thinking there must be some compromise possible. Maybe a quick medley of old audience favorites: say 7 minutes out of a 120 minute show. Other ideas? Or am I just being selfish myself?

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