There is an age old argument that suggests bands should perform all of their hit records from up and down the years when they perform live. Just before Oasis spilt, Noel Gallagher was quoted as saying; “What right have I got to deny our fans, who have paid good money to come and see us play, the opportunity to hear songs like Wonderwall and Super Sonic?” And to a degree, I think he’s got a point.You see, people love to hear the hit songs. They enjoy going to gigs and listening to music that they know and can sing along to - that’s obvious. Yet, there is a balance. Some bands flirt dangerously close with becoming their own best tribute act. Oasis are a good example of this. Now don’t get it twisted; I’m as big a fan of Oasis as anyone. However, their last tour was to promote their album Dig Out Your Soul. In order to do this, the band embarked on an expedition around stadiums the world over. The set list for these shows consisted of a massive 23 songs, 4 of which were of the album that they were promoting.
For me, I find this a little frustrating. Sure you want to hear the big songs. But just like all new music, I was a massive fan of Dig Out Your Soul. It would have been good to hear more of that record live. This is now something that you’ll never be able to do.
Finding the balance between old and new is something that the Arctic Monkeys seem to have mastered. They played to a sold out Wembley Arena on Tuesday as part of their tour to promote their new album, Humbug. Within their 20 song set, they played 8 tracks from the new LP. And for me, hearing new music is the beauty of going to see a band promote a new album.The Monkeys still managed to get some of their biggest records like Fluorescent Adolescent, I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor and Mardy Bum into their set. But they intertwined them with new tracks such as Cornerstone, My Propeller and Potion Approaching. Doing this keeps both sides of the music buying public happy.
I can't see the point in making tracks unless you're going to play them live. It's too easy to slip into that comfort zone when trying to entertain a crowd and play the old stuff that people know. With this in mind, I just hope more acts take inspiration from Turner & Co and start pushing themselves into new territories when playing live.
