Creating The Ultimate Set List

Its All About The Show

One of the most overlooked aspects of being in a band is the choosing of the setlist, the songs that make up a gig. Over the years I've seen countless bands play live, and many times I have walked away thinking, "why did they open with this song?", "why did they finish with that song?".

In Pretty Vegas, every gig we do is tailor made for your event!

Its In Our Blood

I ( or should i say we) grew up on the traditions of the larger then life rock bands, that being your Guns n Roses, Metallica, Bon Jovi etc... who when playing didn't just play a gig, they played a SHOW! It was an experience that they created, with lighting, smoke, video's and fireworks. You came away feeling that you had been part of something very special.

As Pretty Vegas we try to think big and want to make your pub, birthday, wedding day to feel like its happening in Wembley Stadium! There is a limit on the amount of fireworks we can use indoors (joke!!!), but the show primarily comes down to the power of the setlist, the choosing of the songs ,the order of which we play them....no matter what way you put it,it only comes under one title....THE SETLIST!!!

In Pretty Vegas, one of my jobs is creating the setlist for the show. I like to start with the obvious, The Beginning. It's the start of a gig really sets the tempo for the rest of the night, so the choice has to be made depending on the event, but normally, we start with a bang, a statement of intent about what is to come.

Intro's Please

Think back to any of the great gigs you have been to and I bet you can remember which song kicked it all off first! The first song should be the one that gets the adreneline pumping and should pretty much set the stall for the rest of the night, which is why we like to kick off with a big OTT rock anthem, accompanied with our very own "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" intro music (Ecstasy of Gold, stolen from Metallica)! Many bands just start, we like to make an entrance.

After we have grabbed your attention its time to slow things down a little with some of our acoustic based numbers as this allows the audience to catch a breath an renew their energy ready for the finale of the set. You can expect the likes of Crowded House, Snow Patrol and Paul Weller in this section.

This is also where we would place any requests from the crowd making, it the most personal and intimate part of the show. I like to think of it as the MTV Unplugged or VH1 Storytellers section.

The Memory Remains

Like any great story, there needs to be a great ending, something that leaves a lasting imprint on the audiences memory ,something that they will tell there friends about in work on Monday!

The FINALE is something that every band is aware of, but dont always embrace it We as Pretty Vegas treat every gigs end like we are playing to 90000 people. This is Pretty Vegas going at full pelt and really giving it some!!! Guaranteed floor fillers are all you will find in this section, along with the beads of sweat that have also joined the audience on the dancefloor!

In short, like any good book, you need to have a great start, an interesting middle section, and a grand finale. 

If you are looking for a rocking wedding band, a soulful function band or an acoustic pub gig, you can be sure you are getting something unique, exciting and memorable.

Pretty Vegas tick all those box's because we care about our audience, without them we wouldn't exist!!!



Leighton Hume
Pretty Vegas Wedding Band - Guitar And Vocals

This Is What I Like To Call "Quiet Time"

For those that didn't know, that was a quote from the film "Cruel Intentions", and the reason to mention it was that it's been a while since the last blog post, mainly due to Christmas, and also because for most wedding bands, or any type or cover band, January is generally very slooooooow!

Ever since we have been in a band together (about 18 years in various forms! God, I feel old!), on the run up to Christmas, we have always said that this year, that's it, we are going to work like hell in January to do the things we normally struggle to find the time to do.

Every year, the first 2 weeks are always "instead of practice, fancy a pint and a chat instead".

We need to start sticking to New Years Resolutions!

First Christmas For The Future Band Member

One of the reasons for the break was also that it way my son, Vegas', first Christmas, so whilst we booked up gigs up to the 22nd, we all had the Christmas period off.

 

That was actually a joke, his name isn't Vegas! He is actually named after my favourite F1 driver and acoustic guitars. Little Kamui Breedlove loved his first Christmas.

Hahaha, God I am on fire!

Anyway, the time away gave us the usual breather that we do actually need to keep ourselves sane for the rest of the year, what with us all being married with jobs, family, mortgages (rock n' roll!!), and coming back we have the renewed vigour to start gigging again, with this being the 3rd year in a row of us being fully booked in February. 

The last few practices in January, as per usual, have been us getting back into the habit of playing, and getting together the songs that we have been texting each other about over the break!

New Tunes

With some of the bookings we have so far for the coming 12 months, a few have been getting creative in their requests for songs that aren't currently on our set list, and whilst we keep trying out new stuff, there is nothing quite like a new client making some suggestions to add a few divergent styles to our repertoire. Even though we get booked by the set we currently have, people often use a mix of their own faves, or the songs we have a starting point and think, "hell, you do ..., what about ...?" and that is great for us. Some plainly don't work, but some definitely provide us with avenues to explore.

So this means that for the band, the next few months are going to involve more rehearsal time on, and me in the studio on backings, getting things up to speed. That means staying away from dirty nappies, mashed food being thrown and having my arm thrown up on. And that's just my wife!

Can I get a high five?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Time to give up the comedy and get back to the studio!

Prior To Christmas Dinner Growth!!! Gym Time!

Ritchie 

Pretty Vegas - Wedding Band Covering Manchester, Liverpool, Cheshire and Lancashire

"Movember" Charity Gig - Success!!!

Roaring Success!

Just a quick post to say that the Movember Charity Event I posted about yesterday was a roaring success thanks to Jo Wright and her great organising skills, raising nearly £500 for the Movember charity.


With a music for the evening provided by Pretty Vegas and the food by Gina Hamlet, it was a chance for the men (and women!) to don their Mo's and get partying, with a raffle, that whilst not QUITE shambolic, showed that Jo needs a bit of work with the microphone in preparation for next years event!


Anyway, here are some picture from last night, so hopefully you can see what a great night you missed!

Thanks again Jo, keep up the great work

Ritchie
Pretty Vegas

Why Its Harder To Get Gigs in 2012

Times, They Are A Changin'

All of Pretty Vegas are 34-35, so we are not that old (well, in our minds certainly!), but even we remember when we started, how there seemed to be live music of some sort always available near us. This could have been 2 guys with acoustics, guitarist / vocalist with backings or a full band, but pubs made a point of having it on regularly and as you knew when this would be, you could make a point of going down to the various acts playing the local circuits. Yeah, mostly, they were covers, but you didn't mind as the standard was usually pretty high, the pubs were packed, and the beer flowed.

Back then, the money was OKAY, but was topped up with free drinks from landlords happy with their establishments being packed  to the gills, even on a Sunday night.

So what, exactly, has changed in such a relatively short space of time?

The Recession

There is no doubt that people have less disposable income to go out for a night on the town. Prices have gone up, taxes have gone up, and supermartkets sell 24 cans for £12. Not really hard to see why there has been a general downturn in pub attendance just on these basic facts is it? I mean a lot of places will still have their "regulars" propping up the bar, but rarely are they being replaced by new customers who devote a night or two (or whole weekend) to one venue, and as such the landlords have to look at how to still shift pints without the additional costs involved. Food is okay to bring additional money in, but the landlords really need to go for that change in a big way, new kitchen, refurbishment, more staff, and this is expensive. So why pay for entertainment, when its not going to attract new customer, and reduce the profits for the ones they have.

 

People Want More For Their Money & Death of "The Local"

I don't really think its a stretch to appreciate that when times are tough, people want to get bang for their buck, so if they are buying food, do they want to eat in a nice, relaxed environment, where everything is clean and tidy, with a wide selection of dishes, or a place that "does food" as long as the darts team aren't at home.

The transition from pub to pub / restaurant is not generally a small step, and there is usually the alienation of the former clientele in favour of a new one, one with cash to spend on products with greater mark-ups, and the cost in doing to is usually VERY high. This means that in order to recoup the expense of this transformation, the only option is to maximise seating for the new aspect of the business. Don't get me wrong, some pubs HAVE successfully merged the two, but they are very much in the minority, and this has generally meant that what was the typical "Local" is either now looking very shabbier compared to the new swanky eateries, or have been closed and turned into gastro-pubs or brasseries. And the last two aren't typically looking for live music (unless you are a Mickey Bubbles tribute act at Christmas!)

 



PV At The Saracens Head in Warrington, Great Venue, Too Close To Wine Bars

The Infamous Wine Bars

FACT:- Men want young women => young women don't go to dives =>  men don't go to dives.

 

As more and more people want the celebrity lifestyle, nice cars, nice houses, nice nights out, ridiculously overpriced wine bars  and bar/clubs have become the places to be and it is DJ music that is wanted in these types of establishments. This not only drags in more punters, it drives down the desire to spend a night listening to live music as the men will generally go where the women are. The problem is that maybe typical old-fashioned pubs haven't really adapted to this change by refurbishment of existing premises, but retaining the essential elements of what drew people there in the good times.

 

 "Live Music Saturday Night - Karaoke With Jim!"

 For me, this is one of the fundamental problems with getting live music back into pubs and that is the easy entertainment that comes from karaoke; cheaper, occupy less space and the familiarity of the same songs every week by the same people.

 

Pubs are essentially about community and if you see any karaoke host "off-duty" they are in many cases revered as Gods by the public, and with the same faces singing the same songs every week, it endears them to their fellow punter for getting up and "having a go"!

 

Whilst I would much prefer to have this than a DJ playing hard-house, it is still getting away from what live music is about, and yes, we do use backing tracks for our shows, but we would play with a full band if it was logistically possible, but it isn't for us, and this is a topic we fought with for a long time before starting Pretty Vegas as we thought it was selling out, but in this day and age, its the only way we could do what we could do to keep ourselves playing live music.

 

 

But Wait, There IS Hope!

 

The flip side of all this, is the increase we as a band have seen in live music at Weddings and Functions. Rather than years ago where the organiser wanted to have just a DJ, the amount of people looking for bands to play in this environment can only be seen as encouraging for all musicians, so I think that this only really backs up my point.

 

As a Wedding Band the market is competitive, but this is good for all concerned as market forces keep costs within a reasonable limit so people can have the entertainment in the evening that they are wanting, and musicians can keep working.

 

As a Function Band there is still room for growth as clients are still reluctant to pay more than what they would for a disco, but that is changing as the cost of hiring a DJ has steadily increased, not a massive amount, but certainly more than they were, and this does mean that for a working band, functions represent the middle-ground between pubs and weddings.

 

This must mean that there is still a desire for live music to be played, and as i put in my first blog I will keep striving to get Pretty Vegas out there to the masses, and if this means this is achieved by changing some of the perceptions of how live music is to be performed, the composition of the structure of what is a "live band", and what sort of places will play live music, then that is definitely something I, and we at Pretty Vegas are prepared to do.

 

Ritchie

Pretty Vegas Wedding and Function Band

 

 

 

Pretty Vegas - "Movember Charity Event"

"Movember" Charity Event

 

 

Just a quick post to say that Pretty Vegas are playing a charity event tonight for Movember, the mens health charity made famous by celebrities and supporters growing moustaches and other facial appendages to raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancer.

 

The event we are playing is at THE UNITY CLUB in Standish near Wigan, starting at 7.30pm, with £7 entry fee, buffet, disco, at set or two by Pretty Vegas and more.

 

I will post some photos of the event so everyone will know what they missed, but hopefully word will spread and the event will be a complete success.

 

 

Please spread this if you are a supporter or care about the issues addressed by the charity.

 

Thanks

 

Ritchie

Pretty Vegas

 

Pretty Vegas - North West Function Band Supporting Movember. 'Taches to be added later!

 

Pretty Vegas - Northwest Wedding Band Blog Introduction



Pretty Vegas - Thats me on the left!

 

Back With A Bang Band

Hi all, I actually started writing a blog a while ago on various subjects, but due to various reasons, I just didn't have the time to actually do anything as regularly as I wanted, but loved the freedom of expression, so I thought I would start this blog in order to give me something more direct to focus on, so this is my blog about Pretty Vegas, Wedding and Function Band, my own wedding and function band.

Erm... Why Would I Want To Read About This?

Fair point, but I actually think it might be useful for potential clients, other people interested in playing a cover band, or even existing band members who are in the same position as us. I plan to not just post about things like up-coming gigs, but also the ins and outs of what it is like playing in a gigging band in this day and age, for people OF a certain age with families, day jobs, mortgages etc...

I know there won't be 10,000 people reading this per day, but if you do read it, and do like it, then please do let me know.

What Will I Write About?

I want to really document all aspects, from what it is like choosing the tracks Pretty Vegas play, the ones we decide against, producing the backing in the studio, how we promote ourselves, playing weddings, keeping your head up whilst playing to empty pubs, new equipment and equipment choices.

Some of this is to help me keep my sanity despite wife, baby, band, work etc... but is also hopefully going to be informative, useful and most importantly, interesting.


Please feel free to add suitable comments, and I look forward to posting again very soon.

Ritchie
Pretty Vegas

Ritchie Mellor - Lead Guitar, Pretty Vegas