Advice on structuring mixed sets (Acoustic, Electric)

[shawntp]

Hey guys, I was hoping to get some advice on how you would structure a setlist that attempts to sort of have 3 acts with different instrumentation.

I am putting together a new band and we sort of are trying to have 3 distinct sets with instrumentation.

1 - Archtop Electric Guitar/Possibly Stand up Bass - Playing some jazz standards/blues/and maybe even a little mellow surf guitar
[Surf Medley, Bye Bye Blackbird, Summertime, Breezin]

2 - Acoustic Guitar - playing more traditional acoustic pop and blues (might add in some ukulele and mandolin)
[Clapton Stuff, Hotel California,

3 - Electric - Tube amps and some overdrive
[Hendrix: Manic Depression/Red House, Give me One reason (to stay here), Waiting on the world to change

The idea is to mix it up with 2 of the above for shorter gigs and all 3 for longer. We sort of do this for hobby and personal fulfillment rather than optimizing $ and our venues tend to come with no pressure. If we were playing dinner into the evening (say 3-4 hours) how would you arrange them?

[oldgeezer]

If you were doing dinner, I'd start with soft acoustic, so folk can enjoy their meal. Then move to the jazzy stuff, and once everyone is good and lit, pedal to the metal.
If the gig is smaller/ shorter you could either open with acoustic and close with jazzy(or the other way around to wind things down at the end.
Or start with the jazzy stuff and move on to rock.
Enjoy. There is no wrong answer.
When I played out, the last few bands I was in were what I'd call "jam bands". We played classic rock; Zeppelin,Stones, Dead, Doors, some Southern Rock, Tom Petty, Allman Brothers, etc.
We would take and restructure songs, or do medleys where we blended 2 or 3 songs together, and just jammed them; off the cuff improvisation. Every night was different, every performance unique.
If you do it right, with the right venues, you can do whatever you want.

[Picking Moose]

I would suggest, regardless of the venue, to always close the gig with the loudest set, whichever that is.
But keep a soft/mellow song aside for possibly using it as an "encore" because there might be that occasion where a slow-down final song would be preferable.

[MikeBmusic]

Most venues really don't change in vibe as the evening goes along, but if you play some place that does, then instrumental is best during dinner time - you are background music that people are not paying attention to.

[roylor4]

The answer depends on whether this is a club that is known for it's music and that is the primary draw or if this is a restaurant for food & wine. In the latter scenario you are really sonic wallpaper.

If it's a restaurant I would start with Jazz during main meal hours and end with the loud stuff.

If it is a musical driven venue I would put the Electric stuff in the middle for variety.

[shawntp]

Thanks folks - I think we tend to be more background but usually they are outdoor/summer venues where people eat food in the 6-8 range and then it sort of turns into outdoor drinkers. None of our sound is too loud but we mainly want to do some of the stuff we want but avoid complaints for noise.

We are mainly only playing a couple venues on occasion so I will have to re-assess if we branch out but you are all confirming my initial thoughts.

[Nama Ensou]

I've always wanted to do this and have actually done so on a couple occasions, both times at the suggestion of the two different band leaders. Band started together and I played in between sets as an acoustic soloist.

I like your take on it, where you guys are actually two different bands with the same members.