First Time Concert Goer

[Steph]

Hey everyone. I'm a longtime BNL fan, but this is the first time I've actually been able to go to one of their concerts. I'm planning on seeing them in Nashville in May. I'm also taking my sister who has limited BNL song knowledge. Any suggestions on what songs I should introduce her to so she's sure to love the live show?

[garyrulez]

Steph, congrats on that! You'll have a great time. I was not terribly familiar with the band the first time I saw them, and I can tell you they're one of the few bands where you can have just as much fun even if you don't know all the songs.

Having said that, they mix up their set lists a lot, but here are a few virtual locks (and not so locks) for your show:

You Run Away
Pinch Me
Million Dollars
One Week
Old Apartment
For You (?)
Maybe Katie (?)
When I Fall (?)
Every Subway Car (?)
Ordinary (?)

My best advice would be to start checking setlists on here (they'll all be here!) to see if there are other songs they're doing every night or most every night- it's a little tough this time around to predict since it's hard to say which Steve songs they'll do.

[Amicustoall]

All of them!

[Steph]

Thanks Gary! That's very helpful. I'm so excited and it's two months away!

[Anaria]

Steph, I took my best friend to my first BNL concert (which was my 2nd concert ever). She was a much more experienced concert goer than I and she didn't know BNL. She said that concert was more fun than most other concerts she'd been to combined.

I think that if a person is likely to enjoy BNL, going to a concert is a great way to ensure they become a fan!

[Steph]

Very cool Anaria! My sis is having a rough day at work today so I'm trying to give her something fun to look forward to.

Everybody's so nice on here! I just joined the forum today. : )

[Ellen from Saint Louis]

I'd really recommend going to YouTube or Amazon and looking for the "Adlibs."

[swiss lady]

I say she will love them anyway, no matter if she knows any of their songs or not.
The first time I saw BNL live (November 1998) I did not know any songs of them.
But I immediately fell in love with their live show and purchased all their records afterwords.

Enjoy the show!
I'm pretty sure you will fall in love with them all over again!

[sandimas]

I would say to start out like I did and go with Rock Spectacle to get that "old school" point of view.

Then follow with BLAM to cover the "new" view.

[TheHYPO]

To get your sister to really enjoy the concert, is a different beast, in my book, than getting her to enjoy the band. I'm sure you want to accomplish both, but I think that starting off with the concert is the best bet.

I can't speak universally for all people, and this isn't even true of all concerts for me, but I think it's fairly common and often the case that a concert is more enjoyabl if the band plays songs you are familiar with and enjoy. I saw John Mayer last month and he had great musicianship, a quirky attitude and was fairly social with the audience... but this (http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/john-mayer/2010/air-canada-centre-toronto-on-canada-bd755ca.html) was the setlist, and I found myself (a student mainly of his singles) quite disconnected during most of his set. Waiting on the World to Change, Bigger Than My Body and Gravity being the only songs of his that he played which I was really "familiar" with. The best song of the night for me might even have been his cover of Free Fallin'. But I digress; the multitude of non-singles were enjoyable, and even entertaining, but it's not as magical and enjoyable as hearing songs you already know and enjoy.

I would start out investing her time in songs they are likely to play, along with maybe the odd "unlikely to be played, but very awesome" song just to show the band at its best. After she gets familiar with those, then, if you have time (and if the show's in May, you have a bit of it), you can introduce some other material. That's just my suggestion for making the concert more enjoyable.

As has been suggested, the best bet I can think of is, pay attention to the setlists that pop up once the Canadian leg has started - Nashville is show #1 on the US leg, so the hope is that they stick with a similar set list for that leg as the Canadian.

What you can look at now, though, is what they've been playing and not playing at shows in the last few months. As you probably know if you're a long time fan, Steve left the group and this is their first tour without him, so it's worth focusing on the Ed songs more than anything, just because those are the most likely to be played. I'm not at all suggesting you never bring up Steve songs, but at least to get started with concert songs, most of Steve's are not likely to be played. Rock Spectacle is a fantastic album full of great songs, but 9 of the 11 songs on it are sung by Steve; a voice she isn't going to here at the concert, and 5 of the 11 songs are almost assured to not be played at all. There are a few songs on it (on the list below) that are great versions of the songs, but perhaps presenting her with all 11 songs wouldn't be helpful at this point for the concert purpose...

The best thing to introduce her to will be the new album. It's almost guaranteed that they will pull a LOT of material from that for this tour. But until that is released, here are a few songs that have recurred at recent performances:
Ed singles: Pinch Me, One Week, and You Run Away are practically for sure; Testing 1,2,3 (this one has been very common), Falling For The First time, For You, and Wind It Up are also possible.
Steve singles that someone else has taken over vocals: It's All Been Done, Old Apt, and Million Dollars, are all very likely. Sound of Your Voice, Brian Wilson, What a Good Boy, Lovers in a Dangerous Time, Get In Line, and Too Little Too Late have all been done a few times, and could make the list (and are great songs either way)

Other songs: Blame it on Me, When I Fall, Maybe Katie, Long Way Back Home and These Apples are all fairly likely possibilites, as is a version of Alcohol by sung by Tyler (and possibly a version of Shopping by Kevin that they've done once or twice).

Along with the new album, I suspect most of the concert setlist will come from the songs mentioned to this point. However, I can add a few more songs that have a fair shot at making the setlist (and just ones that could expose your sister to more of Ed, Jim and Kevin's work to show her the best of them, if you want to add some more:

Peterborough and the Kawarthas is probably my favourite BNL Jim song pre-this album, and Serendipity is probably my favourite Kevin song pre-this album. I don't know if either is likely to appear on this tour (at least not regularly), but here are some Ed songs that might: Take It Back, Bank Job, Thanks That Was Fun, Who Needs Sleep, Told You So, Some Fantastic, Never Is Enough, Leave, Light Up My Room, and perhaps Am I The Only One, and Life in a Nutshell (by Ed).

I think I'd say that that's a good list of everything I'd expect to hear on the tour along with the new album; there might be one or two others each night, but I'm guessing the bulk of the setlist will come from those songs.

Hope this helps

[garyrulez]

As has been suggested, the best bet I can think of is, pay attention to the setlists that pop up once the Canadian leg has started

That was me- I said that.

[Philip]

Why prep? It's not a test. Go. Dance. Enjoy!

[Amicustoall]

From my experience she will have a great time even if she has never heard a BNL tune before. I for one would probably just expose her to a lot of different stuff, including perhaps a few of the recorded concerts so she gets a basic feel for it. If something strikes her, give her more of that.

[Liam]

Have a great time. :)

[Steph]

Thank you all for your great ideas! I'm sure she'll love the concert. And words can't express how excited I am. : )

[just blame craig]

Just know that they will talk and be spontanious. I didn't know that the first time I saw them and I loved it. We had a good crowd that night in Atlantic City. I have been to shows were there were a bunch of jerks that kept yelling, "Shut up and play music". It angered me and made the night less enjoyable. I wouldn't call BNL a jam band, but the spontaneity is truely there. They have a blast on stage and it (in my opinion) is contagious.

[KevinDontCallMeHearn]

I wasn't a very big BNL fan until my wife forced me to go to a show, and I've been hooked ever since. Like mentioned earlier, no prep required.

[amylee1178]

I wasn't a very big BNL fan until my wife forced me to go to a show, and I've been hooked ever since. Like mentioned earlier, no prep required.

I'm hoping my husband does the same. I've been a huge BnL fan since high school, he only really likes "One Week", or as he calls it "Chickety China the Chinese Chicken". I'm hoping after the show in Richmond he'll be a convert.

This'll also be my first BnL show (last time they were in an area I was I was 15 and my mom wouldn't drive me). I just plan to have a good time!!

[KevinDontCallMeHearn]

I'm hoping my husband does the same. I've been a huge BnL fan since high school, he only really likes "One Week", or as he calls it "Chickety China the Chinese Chicken". I'm hoping after the show in Richmond he'll be a convert.

This'll also be my first BnL show (last time they were in an area I was I was 15 and my mom wouldn't drive me). I just plan to have a good time!!

I was just getting into their music, but I had such a good time at the show that it sold me on the completely.