How to do a residency

[snapyou]

Do people here think,as I do,Morrissey will basically stick to the same set list for all this tour even during his "residencies" ?

Now ,compare this to what Elvis Costello has offered in some of his previous residencies:
A) One night playing solo
B) One night playing with full orchestra
C) One night playing only with Steve Nieve(his keyboard player)
D) The Spinning Wheel There was indeed a spinning wheel on stage a la Wheel Of Fortune with various songs on it.Wherever the spinning wheel stopped,that's what he and The Attractions had to play.AND,if it stopped on the same song more than once in a row,then they played the song in completely different styles/arrangements
E)Playing completely different sets each night
F) One night playing with The Attractions
G)Another night playing with a different band

And so on...

Prince is another example on his current 20 odd dates in London.He changes the set list every night.

Now,if Morrissey offered that kind of choice,how good would it be?
Or would people prefer him to stick to the same set every night?

 

[Dave]

Something like the Spinning Wheel would be great, even though it seems a little like a gimmick. Also, I would imagine he would have one of those cheater foot pedals to stop the wheel where he wanted it to.

 

[snapyou]

Something like the Spinning Wheel would be great, even though it seems a little like a gimmick. Also, I would imagine he would have one of those cheater foot pedals to stop the wheel where he wanted it to.

The Spinning Wheel shows also featured dancing cages on stage where audience members could get up and strut their stuff:now,that I'd like to see.
"Oh dear,there's another stage invader..put them in the cage please,Boz"

 

[Dave]

I like that! I am not the only one that thinks he'll wind up "going Vegas".

We talked about it before, but I'm not going to search for the thread, that he should play a wider variety of his songs anyway, since he has a great band, capable of learning them all. That's my opinion.

Other people thought that he should only play a limited number of songs that have been rehearsed until they can perform them the same way every night.

I'd love to see him get up there and call out song titles that he felt like playing and there is no reason they couldn't do it. It's not a Broadway Musical, it's a rock concert.

 

[EastOfEden]

You never know, maybe he changes the set-list during the stretch of LA & NY shows. It would be plain boring to play the same set-list 10 times in LA and 5 times in NY. But as far as stage gimmicks go.....no...it will only be him & the band & the backdrop. This will never change and rightly so!

 

[jeniphir]

I'm sure the core of the sets will stay the same, with some variation each night--perhaps 20 or 25 songs split up over the nights of the residency.

I like what Elvis Costello did, sounds interesting, great for diehard fans, but some of those specific things just couldn't happen with Morrissey (like playing w/o a band, since he does not play an instrument), or putting together a second band to "jam" with since I can see that working for someone who plays guitar like Costello does, but not so much for someone who "just" sings.

I think some peoples' expectations are ridiculously high--even just 5 completely different sets is roughly 125 songs, and the band can't reasonably be expected to play that many songs, well, in the course of a few days. They are not a jukebox. One thing I like about Moz's band, as it has evolved since Alain Whyte was still in it, is that they are TIGHT and ROCKING. They play their hearts out and every song sounds really, really good--nice arrangements, well-executed. I think if they were to try to add in a large quantity of songs they've never played before, or not played for several years, or played only rarely, the overall quality of the show would go down and Morrissey's performance would suffer.

Jayzis, people. If you don't want to hear (essentially) the same set 10 times in a row, DON'T GO TO 10 SHOWS IN A ROW. I have always been baffled by the people who complain that they don't get a completely different set each of the nights they attend. There's only so much than can reasonably be expected from Morrissey, and from the band.

If they suddenly added a bunch of songs to the repetoire, you know they wouldn't play every song to a high standard. . .then people would complain that they aren't playing well, and that it's dragging down Moz's performance (which it would).

Some people are just never satisfied.

</diatribe> I woke up grouchy this morning.

--jeniphir

 

[Danny]

That spinning wheel thing sounds disgustingly "showbiz" in the worst possible way to me. And copying Prince as well is a horrible idea, who is the ultimate insincere "showman". He also uses a lot of backing tapes so it's probably easier for him to play different songs.

I think Morrissey sees the setlists as a piece of artwork in themselves, together with the introductory videos and music. I say let him do what he wants. Do you really want a show put together by committee?

 

[snapyou]

That spinning wheel thing sounds disgustingly "showbiz" in the worst possible way to me. And copying Prince as well is a horrible idea, who is the ultimate insincere "showman". He also uses a lot of backing tapes so it's probably easier for him to play different songs.

I think Morrissey sees the setlists as a piece of artwork in themselves, together with the introductory videos and music. I say let him do what he wants. Do you really want a show put together by committee?

The Spinning Wheel was a half hour section of a 150 minute show with the Attractions and was VERY tongue in cheek.
I agree with you that his set/videos etc are one piece too.

Disagree with you about Prince though.I'm not really into him but think he is a musical and performing genius.

 

[snapyou]

I
I think some peoples' expectations are ridiculously high--even just 5 completely different sets is roughly 125 songs, and the band can't reasonably be expected to play that many songs, well, in the course of a few days. They are not a jukebox. O

Don't know,Prince had 150 songs rehearsed with his band for his O2 residency that way he can mix and change the set according to his and the audience's mood