How long are rock bands expected to play?

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Most of the gigs I've done for the past five or six years follow the jazz model, where there is usually just one band that plays two or three 45 min. sets. Now that I'm once again with a rock band with a finite amount of material (probably an hour's worth at the absolute most), how does it usually work? Is the 45 minute set a universal standard?

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 6 October 2005 14:52 (nineteen years ago)

Support bands get half an hour, headliners an hour, maybe plus an encore.

If all bands are at about the same level (i.e. yr Bull and Gate type gigs) it's pretty standard for all bands to play about 40 minutes (give or take changeover time).

I've found that if you play sets over 45 minutes - unless they are actual Fans familiar with your recorded output - people get bored and their attention wanders.

― Paranoid Spice (kate), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:02 (nineteen years ago)

Depends on the venue, and how many other people on the bill. For the typical two or three bands, I would say 40 minutes for support, an hour and a half to two hours for headliners.

If the gig is a showcase of four or more bands, it's getting down into twenty-minutes each territory.

Personally I much prefer shorter gigs, probably for the same reason I prefer EPs.

(Also this is a UK-centric view)

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:04 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, we wouldn't play over 40 minutes unless a club specifically requested a longer set.

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:04 (nineteen years ago)

Sounds good to me.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:09 (nineteen years ago)

I get bored watching bands too, even really good bands.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:09 (nineteen years ago)

(Obviously, I prefer shorted gigs from the perspective of watching them. If I'm on the stage then I need all night to BRING THE NOISE)

(xpost to myself)

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:10 (nineteen years ago)

In NYC the time scales were almost exactly the same - I think 40 minutes is an international rock standard or something.

Personally, I don't actually enjoy playing more than about 40 minutes. The few gigs we've done where we did have long sets it wasn't as fun. A few times when we had the evening to ourselves and a long set, we ended up splitting it into two sets.

― Paranoid Spice (kate), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:38 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, I don't mind playing all night, but no longer than 45 min at a time.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:42 (nineteen years ago)

Best thing to do is always to ask

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:44 (nineteen years ago)

Jesus, I hate when local opening bands play for 40+ mins. We used to do 20 minute sets! Now we go around 30 mins.

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:50 (nineteen years ago)

Does your band play fast songs, Roxy?

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:51 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, my last band played 30 minute sets almost exclusively. Audiences were generally grateful.

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:56 (nineteen years ago)

Of course, as a general rule a little short is better than a little long (leave 'em wanting more and such), unless you're the headliner and people are there especially to see you.

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 6 October 2005 15:59 (nineteen years ago)

We usually do 40-45. I usually want to err on the side of short, but other people in the band don't seem to understand this and feel like it should be about giving the audience as much as possible, showcasing every facet of the band, etc.

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:02 (nineteen years ago)

I shouldn't post to this board: I'd probably just bitch all the time.

― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:03 (nineteen years ago)

generally 3-4 minute songs. We have a long one that tops out around 7 mins.

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:03 (nineteen years ago)

We played for an hour at the leeds gig, and it felt about right. A previous band at the same concert series had played for 2 hours. 2 hours! I couldn't sit through that, no matter who was playing!

OTOH, the prog rock covers band regularly plays for 2hrs, divided into 2 sets, and people seem to lap it up - but then we're playing a bunch of "classic rock" standards in that, so perhaps the regular rules don't apply.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 6 October 2005 16:04 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, again, if the audience knows the songs, it's totally different.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 7 October 2005 01:53 (nineteen years ago)

Or if they're dancing!

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 7 October 2005 02:24 (nineteen years ago)

OTM. If you're playing music designed for dancing, the sky really is the limit.

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Friday, 7 October 2005 09:51 (nineteen years ago)

yeah totally! you want them to think that you're good, and you don't want to bore them. so keep it short and sweet.

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 7 October 2005 10:04 (nineteen years ago)

if you give them too much new material they've never heard they'll get bored and forget it all, like you do in a lecture

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 7 October 2005 10:05 (nineteen years ago)

What Kate said. We usually play 30-40 mins. Most of our songs are around 3 mins, except our traditional set-closer which is nearer 6. So 9 songs is 30 mins, but we usually play 10. Maybe an encore too!
Two weeks ago in Brighton, we played 15, as we were top of the bill, and it seemed long.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Friday, 7 October 2005 12:12 (nineteen years ago)

I feel like 30-35 minutes is the perfect set length for a "band every hour on the hour" type of club. Hell, it's also the perfect length for a debut LP if you ask me.

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Sunday, 9 October 2005 13:00 (nineteen years ago)

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