How Long? Playing Times at Gigs (acknowledgement to Paul Carrick and ACE)

[Chienmortbb]

I contacted a new Social Club for us yesterday and they require 3 x 45 mins on  Saturday Evening , 8-11 pm or  the same on Sunday 5-8pm. We have never been asked for this except on NYE. I wondered what other set times are common.

[Beedster]

We usually do 2x45 mins, BUT I seem to remember that a couple of gigs at venues where punters are coming and going we did 3 x 45 mins but (and keep it quiet) the third was simply a repeat of the first, on the basis that by the time we started the third set audience members who'd been there 2-hours earlier had either left or were too pissed to notice 👍 

[BigRedX]

We're an originals band so a single set of between 25 and 50 minutes length depending on the gig, where we are on the bill and how many other bands are also playing.

 

Our next two gigs are 40 minute sets (which actually works out as 35 minutes of songs, 2 minutes of intro music and 3 minutes of between songs talking by our singer), which IMO is about right for an originals band with a couple of reasonably well-known songs (within the genre) but no album out yet.

[Mykesbass]

Used to do about 2 hours in total with a 15 min break, do usually was 1x45 and 1x60. Pubs, holiday parks and clubs around Sussex.

[warwickhunt]

The 'usual' for me is 90mins, generally divided into 2 x 45.  I/We have been asked on occasion to do more or longer sets but this would be agreed in advance and if need be the fee negotiated accordingly.  It simply irritates me when everything is agreed in advance (start times, set lengths, finish times etc) and you arrive to be told something different; particularly irksome when you are asked to be sound-checked by a particularly early time and arrive to be told you can't even bring your gear in for another 2 hours or that your agreed 21:00 start is 22:00 (or worse).  If this is totally unavoidable and beyond the venues control it is fine but when you then find out that the amended time has been the norm for ages... that just hacks me off. 

 

I recall turning up to one pub gig at their requested 19:00 for an 20:00 start to be told they were serving food till 21:00 and THEN we can begin load in.  As we were told this a member of staff (who plays in bands) tells us on the QT that they always do this and if it is dead quiet they might even tell the band they are cancelled, when they are doing loads of food orders they just put the band off till after close of service!  Erm, no thanks, I'm off away home and you can find an alternative band.

[Beedster]

13 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

The 'usual' for me is 90mins, generally divided into 2 x 45.  I/We have been asked on occasion to do more or longer sets but this would be agreed in advance and if need be the fee negotiated accordingly.  It simply irritates me when everything is agreed in advance (start times, set lengths, finish times etc) and you arrive to be told something different; particularly irksome when you are asked to be sound-checked by a particularly early time and arrive to be told you can't even bring your gear in for another 2 hours or that your agreed 21:00 start is 22:00 (or worse).  If this is totally unavoidable and beyond the venues control it is fine but when you then find out that the amended time has been the norm for ages... that just hacks me off. 

 

I recall turning up to one pub gig at their requested 19:00 for an 20:00 start to be told they were serving food till 21:00 and THEN we can begin load in.  As we were told this a member of staff (who plays in bands) tells us on the QT that they always do this and if it is dead quiet they might even tell the band they are cancelled, when they are doing loads of food orders they just put the band off till after close of service!  Erm, no thanks, I'm off away home and you can find an alternative band.

 

Venues eh

 

Totally OT but three of my old band used to live close to each other and close to our rehearsal rooms so would walk together with instruments on our backs back and amps/cabs/bags in hands. It was always good fun following rehearsal to pop into a busy pub on the way home, walk up to the bar and say 'Hi, we're tonight's band, where do you want us.....?' just to see the look of horror on their faces. Even more so when there was already a band setting up  

 

Anyway, as you were 👍

[casapete]

I’ve voted 2x45mins which is mainly our usual thing with the blues band, although the second

set may be extended with an encore or two if it’s gone well.

With the acoustic duo 2x45 is our standard too, but this can also be made into 3x30 mins

( or even 3x40 mins if the money is right 😉 ).

[Steve Browning]

I also answered 2 x 45 but we invariably do more than that. Usually about 50 in the first set and 60 in the second (including encore).

[BlueMoon]

Same  here (2 x 45 min is typical in our cover band).

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

We're an originals band so a single set of between 25 and 50 minutes length depending on the gig, where we are on the bill and how many other bands are also playing.

 

Our next two gigs are 40 minute sets (which actually works out as 35 minutes of songs, 2 minutes of intro music and 3 minutes of between songs talking by our singer), which IMO is about right for an originals band with a couple of reasonably well-known songs (within the genre) but no album out yet.

Pretty much the same for us, our next gig is 40 mins.

[Linus27]

Really depends on the band. When in a 50's cover band playing in clubs, it was either 2 x 60 mins or 3 x 45 mins. Originals band is usually 2 x 60 mins.

[NoRhino]

We have two and a quarter hours of tight songs and the venue can have any permutation required.

Normal sets are

2x45

3x45

2x60

1x120 at one specific venue

We also recently did a short 30 min set at a sports event.

[tauzero]

2x45 which tends to be more like 50 and 60. When in a club band, most clubs had two bingo/raffle breaks so it would be something like 45/30/45.

 

We did some gigs at a couple of pubs in Munich where we played 4 30m sets with 30m breaks in between.

[Mykesbass]

11 minutes ago, Linus27 said:

Originals band is usually 2 x 60 mins.

Nice! Would love to attain that level. 1 x 45 with a couple of covers thrown in was the best I got to.

[Leonard Smalls]

We're originals too, so anywhere between 25 minutes and an hour depending on where we are on the bill and how many bands are playing.

[tauzero]

13 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

Nice! Would love to attain that level. 1 x 45 with a couple of covers thrown in was the best I got to.

 

A former originals band would do what was supposed to be 2x45 but was generally more like 2x40, including a couple of covers.

[chris_b]

2 x 45's is the usual, but on occasion we can be asked to do 2 x 60's or 3 x 45's.

[Dan Dare]

2x45, as most say, seems to be standard. 2 hours with a 15 minute break, so 1x45 plus 1x60 is common, too. I find functions can be longer - 3x45, for example. Having at least two hours worth of material ready to go should be fine for most jobs.

[neepheid]

(presuming we're talking covers bands here, not originals)

 

We play for 3 hours with a 10-15 mins break at half time.  It works out at roughly 75 then 90 (in that the second set tends to be longer than the first, but there's a degree of wiggle room, could be 80/85)

[meterman]

I was mostly a paid session player during my live career (1984-2022) and gigs could be anywhere between 25 minutes as a a first-on-the-bill support slot, to maybe a 50 minute festival slot, and then the occasional longer set as a headliner. Perhaps 90 or 100 minutes including encores.
 

Longest for me was 2 hr 40 on a tour of Greece. I toured there five times and every show I played there was 2 hours plus. One time I went to DJ in Athens and that lasted over 6 hours. Finally gave up around 4am, I was falling asleep at the decks, and a mate took over. He was still playing at 7am when the club was chucking everyone out 😮

[Greg Edwards69]

Set length is rarely dictated, so we usually elect to do 2x60min, or occasionally 2x45min. If we're playing straight through we will do 90min max.  

 

Either way, we usually get asked to play "one more song" and then "one more song"...

[Happy Jack]

We routinely play 2x45 plus 1x60, which seems to be rather more than the bunch of skivers majority of posters (above) do, but before anyone feels sorry for me you'd best wait to hear from @Bluewine about the hours played by American bar bands ...

 

 

[Mottlefeeder]

Loose Change Buskers routinely play one 5 hour set once or twice most weekends. 

The back line is there for the duration. The two 'front line' singer/guitarists alternate songs and play for either one or two hours, swapping in fresh singers one at a time and as slickly as possible.

David

[Dad3353]

The French 'bals populaires' that I played, most week-ends throughout the summer season for some years in the '70s, were 21h00 till 02h00, non-stop. It certainly built up my stamina as a drummer. 

[musicbassman]

Played on the U.S.A.F. bases in Spain in the late '70's

Six nights a week. Weekday nights you were expected to play 5 x 45's, Saturday nights were 6 x 45's.

Sadly it turned out the band I'd joined for the duration was woefully under-prepared for such long sessions, and it was a killer for everyone.

The poor front vocalist could hardly sing after the first week, so there were quite a few 20 minute Freebird guitar solos, I seem to remember.

I was relieved to get back to the UK at the end of the contract, and vowed never, ever again. 🥺