OLP Urban Grind Tour (2012)

[paintedbynumbers]

Am I alone in wishing the sets were more varied? The songs are almost the same for every show and blister was only played once. I hope the west coast shows get more of a variety.

[gibbits]

I guess it's hard coming off of the An Evening With tour where you'd be seeing 25 or 26 songs per night to accept 15 or 16, haha.

Well, I really don't think it's asking too much from a band with 20 years of material to lengthen their sets to 25-30 songs. Tickets aren't cheap, the talent is there, as is the breadth of material they can play whatever "mood" they wish. at 20 years old, a 15 to 18 song set list is... well it's phoning it in.

Am I alone in wishing the sets were more varied? The songs are almost the same for every show and blister was only played once. I hope the west coast shows get more of a variety.

No, you're right on target. That being said, changing setlists is almost unheard of for OLP - so they're probably taking baby steps. I am hoping the fall tour they are more comfortable and decide to vary them more. They have taken a small step in the right direction, but the setlists still don't change enough to warrant multiple tour dates as a fan (IMO).

When an evening with was going on, Raine mentioned how he knew a lot of us would be doing back to back to catch both albums and as such the second set would be different each night. Instead, we got virtually identical sets, subbing out the SM/Clumsy songs with whatever album wasn't played that night, AND THE EXACT SAME CROWD BANTER. The last part really stuck out, as it was weird to see the "normal set" more choreographed than the album recreation sets.

I say this with great respect, but OLP is still not playing to their capacity. They know what changes they need to get there, which is a massive step in the right direction. Let's hope they keep down this road.

[paintedbynumbers]

I agree with what you said but consider they did the SM/Clumsy tour. How hard would it be to throw in Car Crash, 100 aisles, Carnival, Automatic Flowers, If you believe, or middle of yesterday into a set? They had played them multiple times its not like they forgot how. It just seems like laziness.

[Jskot311]

Am I alone in wishing the sets were more varied? The songs are almost the same for every show and blister was only played once. I hope the west coast shows get more of a variety.

Not at all. When they mentioned before the tour that they were gonna switch up the setlists, I didn't picture in my mind the exact same set order each night with a swap of All My Friends, Blister, Thief, and Bring Back The Sun in the middle. Hell, I'd even be excited to see most of the same songs with just an order switch. I saw STP in 2008 when they reunited and was so pumped about it that I saw them 2 nights in a row. Same exact set both nights, it was really a waste to see them twice. I'll never understand how a band can't be bored out of their mind playing the exact same songs in the exact same order every night for an entire tour. Oh well, once again, Pearl Jam spoils me.

[gibbits]

I agree with what you said but consider they did the SM/Clumsy tour. How hard would it be to throw in Car Crash, 100 aisles, Carnival, Automatic Flowers, If you believe, or middle of yesterday into a set? They had played them multiple times its not like they forgot how. It just seems like laziness.

Exactly. Not sure where we disagree. You have to remember the boys never really changed up sets, instead they chose a setlist and practiced each song til it was razor sharp. If for example, they were to play Is It Safe sometime they probably would have a week max on the bus to figure it out, maybe as little as a few hours in the dressing room before the show.

Not that I'm making excuses, the guys are good enough to do this, probably just taking a while to get comfortable with it. You can only practice so many "core" songs for the tour you're sure to play virtually every night. That being said, I see no reason why EVERY song that has been played this tour couldn't be on the set list every night. 15 song sets are for people on their freshmen or sophomore album.

Not at all. When they mentioned before the tour that they were gonna switch up the setlists, I didn't picture in my mind the exact same set order each night with a swap of All My Friends, Blister, Thief, and Bring Back The Sun in the middle. Hell, I'd even be excited to see most of the same songs with just an order switch. I saw STP in 2008 when they reunited and was so pumped about it that I saw them 2 nights in a row. Same exact set both nights, it was really a waste to see them twice. I'll never understand how a band can't be bored out of their mind playing the exact same songs in the exact same order every night for an entire tour. Oh well, once again, Pearl Jam spoils me.

Yeah, Peal Jam does spoil us, but remember it wasn't until around 97 that they really got adventurous with the variation of the set lists. It takes a while to build those chops I guess. As you said, it seems there are like 6 or 8 songs that sub each other out - here's an idea - play all fucking eight of them and make your setlist the proper length for a band of your tenure... just my two cents that I love to share!

**EDIT Unless Rileys stats are off, they have only played 24 songs this tour. I don't think a 24 song set is that much to ask. Sure, it's a nice feeling to know you saw a rarity that they didn't play everywhere. The funny thing is, as much as I love varried sets, if it's going to be this little amount of variation I'd rather the set was the same every night and they just played all 24

[dumbandjaded13]

I'm fairly surprised at the backlash regarding the length of the sets and the changing of songs. I'm not sure everyone realizes the work that goes into prepping a song for play on tour, nor the work that goes into maintaining the sound of the songs throughout the tour. I think OLP has always been a band that views tours a little bit like albums, where there is a mood or vibe for the entire tour, and they want to recreate that for each audience. Plus, upping the show to 24 songs instead of 18... that's 6 extra songs a night on Raine's vocal chords, especially when the songs you want to add are more challenging (like Car Crash).

I'm not sure I know of any band that regularly puts on 24 song shows, at least, none of the bands I've went to see live recently... that's a lot of prep work, a lot of tuning changes, sound tests, practice, instrument trade outs.

I've been pleased with the set lists and show lengths so far, and like that they are trading out some songs (used to they would literally play the exact same set list). Now if only they would come closer to my location I can only fly to Buffalo or New York so often, hahah

[xjsb125]

A 24 song set would be like, so easy to do every night. WTF? Why can't they do that? Because its real fucking hard, that's why. If they come off stage soaked to the bone in sweat, exhausted, then adding another 6 to 8 songs a night is a big order. Last night was the third show I've seen and though some songs have been in the place, they've kept the middle varied. It's a good step for them.

[paintedbynumbers]

I think we read way too much into the varied setlist info we were given before the tour started. 24 songs may be alot but 20 or so should work. Most live bands play 2 hr sets now and days and these are bands that don't have 7 albums of material to choose from

[dumbandjaded13]

Amount of material doesn't translate to lengthier shows... regardless of how many albums you have, the band still has to physically perform the songs. 20 songs may be reasonable, but they have to keep the entire tour in mind. If they exhaust themselves or strain Raine's vocal chords, then you're talking shorter sets or cancelled shows (happened to a Breaking Benjamin concert I was going to). Putting together a show, even if they didn't vary the set list for the entire show, is a lot of constant work. They don't just practice each song a couple of times in early march for a two month tour, it's continuous work.

surprised to see this critique considering how much energy these shows have produced, the overall atmosphere, and the amazing performances and emotions the guys are showing on tour, and that's just what I see in youtube videos, would love to be seeing it live. I think getting hung up on song count and lengths of shows is possibly distracting some from the actual amazing content we're seeing.

[gibbits]

I'm not sure I know of any band that regularly puts on 24 song shows, at least, none of the bands I've went to see live recently... that's a lot of prep work, a lot of tuning changes, sound tests, practice, instrument trade outs.

Off the top of my head?

Dave Matthews Band
Pearl Jam
Neil Young
Tragically Hip
I Mother Earth
Big Sugar
The Black Crowes
Ben Harper
Foo Fighters
Chris Cornell

that's 10. If I thought about it I could go a lot higher. I don't expect Breaking Benjamin to do a 24 song set, they aren't in these artists caliber. OLP is.

A 24 song set would be like, so easy to do every night. WTF? Why can't they do that? Because its real fucking hard, that's why.

These guys are more than capable of doing this. As you can see there is a list of their peers that manage to pull it off, even old farts like Neil Young and Crazy Horse... not to mention they did this last tour.

[ClumsyGirl618]

A 24 song set would be like, so easy to do every night. WTF? Why can't they do that? Because its real fucking hard, that's why. If they come off stage soaked to the bone in sweat, exhausted, then adding another 6 to 8 songs a night is a big order. Last night was the third show I've seen and though some songs have been in the place, they've kept the middle varied. It's a good step for them.

and a lot of those shows are back to back or with only one night off... which includes the luxury of sleeping in a bunk on a bus. I went to Toronto, Buffalo, and Detroit and those shows were close together timewise... they did a pretty good job of switching out the 5 or 6 deep cuts so that I got to see a lot of different stuff. I'm not going to complain.

[carleiu]

Bands that rely on touring play 25-30 song sets all the time. It's no more difficult for them than it would be for OLP.

I've seen bands with just as, if not more, challenging vocals/musicianship play 30 song sets night after night, 150+ shows per year. Their voices are fine.

Why do so many act as if Raine's voice is so fragile? It's not like he's singing with laryngitis every night. If anything, his lack of pushing his voice to the limit has contributed to the decreasing quality of his vocal work over the years...

[gibbits]

Bands that rely on touring play 25-30 song sets all the time. It's no more difficult for them than it would be for OLP.

I've seen bands with just as, if not more, challenging vocals/musicianship play 30 song sets night after night, 150+ shows per year. Their voices are fine.

Blasphemy. Many here would like to pretend an 18 song set is long.

Raine did just fine on An Evening With, but the way people talk here if he ever played a 30 song set he would die after.

and a lot of those shows are back to back or with only one night off... which includes the luxury of sleeping in a bunk on a bus. I went to Toronto, Buffalo, and Detroit and those shows were close together timewise...

A lot like every other touring act of their age? (many of which manage to eek past the 20 song mark)



**EDIT And I'm about sick of everyone acting like this will tire the guys out or break raines voice. Rush plays 20-28 songs a night, at a much higher level of musicianship, much older gentlemen, and a much higher voice than Mr. Maida.

[ClumsyGirl618]

Well, it is what it is. Instead of complaining about it here, why don't you don't you express your concerns about the length of their set list to a band member. Their pretty good at answering questions if you ask tactfully.

[RileyLewis]

I think all of the reasons defending OLP can be countered pretty easily. If the concern is their being tired after 3 or 4 nights in a row, then the answer is to only schedule shows so that you have a max of 2 shows every 3 days, so you always have constant breaks to rest. If the concern is Raine's voice, I don't believe it, as the Evening With tour had him doing anywhere from 24-28 songs per night.

I don't think OLP needs to do 25 songs every night, but I think 15 is kind of a rip off to fans. I know they aren't doing it for us and we don't 'deserve' anything, but if many other (and older) bands are able to do it I know OLP can.

In terms of variety, I do also think they could do more. They've performed about 25 songs so far, which isn't bad, but it's only mediocre. It's the effectively the same 13-14 songs now with a rotation of 3-4 more. I think a better rotation could be the same 13-14 core songs with 10-15 songs in rotation, with 20 songs per show, or around there. On Matthew Good's last tour he also played some smaller venues and he was doing 14-16 songs per show. That sounds low, but if you consider his shortest song live would be 4-5 minutes, and the longest would be 9-10 minutes, he was playing at least 50% more time than OLP. And he had 24 songs in rotation as well, but there was way more variety, as that would be the same as having OLP have 30-32 songs in rotation on this tour considering the time differences.

Anyway, the shows have been great this tour, but I think we're fair to point out the shows could be longer and more varied. If they were only playing 10 songs per show everyone would be complaining, and if they were doing 30 then no one would be. So somewhere in the middle everyone has their own test of what is the right amount. But their average this tour is 16, and that's very low compared to other bands, especially considering that most OLP songs are 3.5-4 minutes long, with a few exceptions.

So again, most people still enjoy the shows, think they are great (it seems), but I think it's valid to point out that almost all other bands of their generation are providing more songs and longer shows.

[carleiu]

http://wilcoworld.net/#!/roadcase/roadcase-wilco-2011-12-12-chicago-civic-opera-house

While this is pretty extraordinary, OLP can do it if these guys can (particularly Nels Cline, who could probably even teach Steve a few things, as amazing of a guitar player as Steve is...) Wilco and OLP got their starts at about the same time, and they're comparable ages. Wilco also rotates every song they've ever recorded in their live act, even b-sides.

I was actually at the show listed above. I honestly don't expect every band to play 27+ song sets, 8 song encores, or be able to play all their music dating back to 1994 every night, but I don't think asking for more than 70 minutes of music is asking for too much.

Plus, if OLP wants to "make it" as an indie band, they are going to need to play more than 15 song sets. The live act is an indie rock band's bread and butter, after all.

[paintedbynumbers]

Its also the fact that ticket prices were higher. I know mine was because of scalpers and I get that (as does the band) so to play a couple more songs would be rewarding to the "true fans" as Raine has mentioned during this tour. He knows that many of the people had to go thru scalpers to get their tickets so he knows in these small venues that its mostly diehards. It wouldn't hurt anyone to play a 2 hr set.

[xjsb125]

18 songs in Vancouver, 17 last night. Good enough for me. Don't like the sets? Don't buy the ticket. Problem solved.

[senseofurgency]

the way you guys go on, i would assume that this is a regular olp tour with the regular number of songs in a regular olp set. didn't they just do like a 25 song set a couple of years back? you guys are clearly so hard done by, try being an olp fan living in the uk (or anywhere out of north america for that matter)

didn't the guys say that the main objective for this tour is just getting out there as quickly as possible? which would probably mean that these won't be the only shows in the states/canada in the near future.

and also, just because one band does something doesn't mean another has to, that argument pisses me off.

[Heavy Alibi]

Yeah I'm with senceofurgency here guys — you're lucky enough to have shows in your vicinity, some of us need to drive hundreds of miles just to see one show (especially this tour for me, given their lack of East Coast shows).