RE: [Harp-L] Set Lists - I'll Show You Mine if You Show Me Yours!

[Ryan Hartt <rhartt1234@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

     I find this a pretty fascinating
thread. I have always paid attention to to how people pace their sets. I saw
John Hammond on college and my girlfriend asked me why I kept looking at my
watch. I was seeing where he put certain feels in his set. I make a set
list for every gig and I have an unscientific formula that works for me. The
first two tunes will usually be a jump and a shuffle. With those two feels I think you'll get a pretty solid idea of what the band is all about.  My bass player has
a  running joke that a lot of bands always do a rumba for the third song,
so I do a rumba for the third song just as a goof, but not very often. Sometimes
the third song would be a shuffle with the opposite feel of the second tune. If
we do a Chicago shuffle second , the third tune will be an uptown shuffle. From
their it's pretty wide open. I just try to mix up feels and features for the
band. If the bass players sings one, I'll do kind of a "feature" tune
and then feature the guitar player on the next one and then maybe  do one we all solo on.  We do not have an
"everybody solos on every song" mentality. We also switch to electric
bass for some tunes so I tend to group those together in the last third of the
set, before going back to upright bass for a slow blues and usually ending the
set with a jump, and maybe a little palate cleanser, and unusual tune or
feel,  in between. I also eschew better known blues tunes, for more obscure tunes and write a fair amount of my own material. I have also gotten less rigid with my "formula" as the years wear on. 
     Here is a set list I wrote no too long ago. We usually do two 80 minute sets, but we tend to go long on the first set to prolong the post-first set exodus. This is how I wrote it and probably 1/4 of it was substituted or played in a different order or we just didn't get to it.  I also included a very broad descrition of the feel of most of the tunes.










Just Bluesin’ - George "Harmonica"
     Smith    Jump instrumentalLost
     My Baby - The Blue Busters (Jamaican R&B duo)   Uptown
     shuffleTravelin’
     Mood - Ronnie Bennet   Twist/surf beatBad
     Juju - Original Intrumental    Minor Ska 12 bar bluesLonely
     Man - SBW II   Slow BluesToot
     Toot -  Rockin' Sidney  
     Chuck Berry RockerGuitar
     players sings oneShe
     May Be Yours - Joe Hill Louis   E ShuffleRich
     Woman - Lil Millet    One chord riffBas
     Player sings oneTime
     Will Tell - Pete Scheips (local bass player)    BoxNew
     Love, Old Love part II Original    Somewhere between an
     uptown shuffle and a rock and rollDartboard
     - Original   ShuffleMy
     Daily Wish - Robert Lockwood   Slow BluesToo
     Much Love - Original    Rhythm ChangesSonny
     Boy Nighthawk - Original instrumental (and it sounds just like the title
     says Robert Nighthawk guitar and SBW II low c)

 

1. Love At First Sight -
Original   Chuck berry Rocker

2. One More Night -
Original   12/8 Excello/Rainin' In My Heart kinda thing

3. My Back Scratcher - Frank Frost

4. Bass Player

5. Shortnin' Bread -Billy Gibson
   Funky Instrumental

6. Natural Charms -
Original   Two Beat

7. What Kind Of Woman Is That? -
Original   Backwqrds Shuffle/Flat Tire

8. Guitar player

9.  Funny Feeling -
Original   Triple Shuffle ala Oh Baby

10. Do Unto Others - Pee Wee
Crayton  uptown shuffle (ever hear the intro to  the Beatles
"Revolution"? this is where they got it)

11. Rock Me All Night Long - I
can''t remember who did this, it's on an Excello comp. It's a ripoff/answer to
"Rock me Baby"

12. Just A Little Love - BB King -
what we call, appropriately engough, a BB king Shuffle

13. That's Right -
Original   Shuffle ala I Had My Fun

14. Slow Blues in F usually a mish
mash of whatever Little Walter slow blues heads I can remember, Sad hours, Quarter to Twelve, Blue Lights etc.
I'm sure this will spark discussion of  "What's the difference bwteen an uptown shuffle and a lowdown shuffle?" and "What's a Box?"
Ryan



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