Hi Vlad,
I used to think of the tempo changes as a sine wave -- start with fast tempos, vary toward slower tempos, pick it up again, etc.
Then again, varying keys to songs helps to avoid that "everything sounds the same" thing. Also, varying major and minor key changes helps.
There are an awful lot of formulas, but most performers like to start and end on up-beat material and then vary the center of the performance as they see fit.
In the end, nothing is boring if the music is good and inspirational. Tommy Emmanuel told us at one of his workshops that people have told him that if all he played were the sweet, melodic slow pieces, they would be happy. But Tommy mixes up fast pieces with the slow on a pretty regular basis because the non-guitar playing audience needs these pieces.
Regarding technically difficult pieces, I never play the hardest stuff first while I am nervous and getting used to a crowd. I always play something that is easy so I won't mess up.
Regards, Glenn
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