bands who refuse to play their biggest hit live

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i'm on the fence about whether this phenomenon is punk fucking rock, or just whiny contrarianism. i guess it depends on the song/circumstances.

i tend to go with the latter, though. be happy that you have a hit and that people pay to see you, so play the fucking song they came to hear. and if you think that's your worst/unrepresentative song, then maybe you shouldn't have released it as a single (or put it on the album, or even wrote it to begin with).

but if they have other hits or they won't be disappointing a large percentage of the ticketholders by not playing it, then sometimes it's reasonable.

― Al (sitcom), Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Especially these days.
Because now, more than ever, it IS about the song rather than the singer, as Alanis Morrissette found out recently.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:12 (twenty-two years ago)

It really depends. I saw the White Stripes right after Fell in Love With A Girl came out, and most people only knew them from that song. The song had been played to death, and frankly, it would've annoyed me if they DID play it. Luckily they didn't. When I saw Flaming Lips, they knew that the fame of their only hit "She Don't Use Jelly" has passed, and it was not longer annoying, but more or less just another one of their catchy songs, so they played it.

― David Allen, Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:22 (twenty-two years ago)

didn't radiohead get all huffy when they toured america and everyone kept yelling "CRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP!!!!!" at them. sometimes a band will do a sloppy unrecognizable version of their hit too.My favorite thing is when a band with one hit will play it 2 or three times in a set cuz that's all they got. i seem to recall when i saw musical youth at the ritz in new york a day after their performance on saturday nite live that they did pass the dutchie twice. it was probably even better the second time around. the last time that i saw the feelies i was just about to yell out"The Boy With The Perpetual Nervousness!!!!!!!" but then they just started playing it anyway and i was really relieved that i didn't have to yell that out. I just remembered the funniest thing: mid 80's Kinks show with tommy shaw opening. tommy yells out,"This one's called TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS!!!!". he was expecting big screams. someone up front yells for everyone to hear, "YOUR MOTHER HAD TOO MUCH TIME ON HER HANDS!!!!"

― scott seward, Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:24 (twenty-two years ago)

This thread should be retitled "Concertgoers who go with the expectation of only hearing one song - C or D, S&D"

― hstencil, Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:26 (twenty-two years ago)

I like it when they lead off with the big hit and then tell people to leave if that's all they came for. I think I remember Steve Earle doing this.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I like to pay $75 to hear one song! It's great! Also, they should say the name of every song that isn't that one song before performing so I don't get lost. Also: name tags.

― Ally (mlescaut), Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Hey, I have to go review the Doobie Brothers tonight. Name tags would be soooooo useful.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I've seen Superchunk a couple of times, and I don't think I've ever heard them play "Slack Motherfucker." But, at the Merge 5th year anniversary, Double Dynamite (!!) covered that song the next night after Superchunk's performance, so that seemed to work. I like the idea of having opening bands being tribute bands to cover a band's familiar canon (like the Ex Lion Tamers opening for Wire). God...Merge's 15th year anniversary will be next year. Yikes!

My friend saw Survivor several years ago, and he said that they played "Eye of the Tiger" as both the opening and the closing song!!

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:32 (twenty-two years ago)

When I saw ? and the Mysterians a few years ago, they played 96 Tears three times, once for about 10 minutes. That was an amazing show.

― Hurlothrumbo (hurlothrumbo), Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:33 (twenty-two years ago)

not as useful as a last minute cancellation though, hahahahahaha

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:34 (twenty-two years ago)

The Pixies didn't play Here Comes Your Man on its post Hit tour -- i like that theu also didn't even lip sync in the video.

Classy, indeed.

― christoff (christoff), Thursday, 24 April 2003 17:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Horace Mann: John Doobie, Bob Doobie, Mike Doobie, Billy Joe Doobie, Ramon Doobie, Leroy Doobie, Geir Doobie, Aloysious Doobie, Stevie Ray Doobie, Johann Sebastien Doobie, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.

― hstencil, Thursday, 24 April 2003 18:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Pearl Jam started playing a totally different version of "Jeremy" in their tours

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Thursday, 24 April 2003 20:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Blur are total duds for refusing to play "Country House" live.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 24 April 2003 20:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Blur are total duds for refusing to play "Country House" live

Two observations:

1) Blur are total duds PERIOD
2) Refusing to play "Country House" live may well be the single most laudable act of their entire career.

As you get older and you grow out of being an indie/alternative trainspotter, you grow to appreciate a little familiarity in band's sets. Back in the good old days, you could go to see The Fall and 90% of their set was stuff that hadn't even been recorded yet!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 25 April 2003 15:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Hstencil, I don't think Skunk Baxter is with them anymore.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 25 April 2003 15:38 (twenty-two years ago)

I usually find it annoying when a band plays their biggest hit. I've seen the Flaming Lips three times in the past year and they always play She Don't Use Jelly, which I really don't care for. Same with Beck when he played Loser. And I'm glad Radiohead doesn't play Creep.

― lou (lou), Friday, 25 April 2003 15:47 (twenty-two years ago)

What about bands who only had one hit ever, like twenty years ago?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 25 April 2003 15:50 (twenty-two years ago)

That's what the county fair circuit is for, Horace.

I like it when they lead off with the big hit and then tell people to leave if that's all they came for.

The Charlatans half did this in 1991 -- first big on-their-own LA show, they started with "The Only One I Know," though they didn't tell anyone to leave. They just kept on going, lost the crowd a bit in the middle but brought it all together for "Sproston Green," so hey.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 25 April 2003 16:19 (twenty-two years ago)

But Ned, what goes on for the rest of the concert.
I'm actually surprised that I've never been to one of these concerts before (though I may have without knowing it), considering I cover entertainment for a mid-sized daily on the Cdn prairies, but whatev. I guess I'm just lucky.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 25 April 2003 16:25 (twenty-two years ago)

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bands who refuse to play their biggest hit live - C or D, S&D