Chad Gracey thinks a 17 song setlist is 'a lot' Options

[dangum]

During the first leg of the Live / Bush #Alti-mate tour where Live was playing the same 14 track setlist night after night, a fan asked Chad Gracey on his Instagram page how many songs Live would be playing on their European tour.

Chad replied with "a lot"



Now, that the European tour is over we finally know what 'a lot' means to Chad.

'A lot' is 17 songs. That was the greatest number of tracks performed on their 8 show tour.

Live played as few as 14 songs on the Euro tour (same as their co-headlining US tour), while the average for their solo shows was 16.

Do you think a headlining act touring a country where the biggest fans exist should play such a limited number of songs?

Is 95 minutes enough?

In my opinion the answer is a resounding "No" for both.

Live did try to mix things up a little - for example Overcome (full band and Ed solo), They Stood Up for Love were added. Shit Towne got an extended guitar solo from Chad Taylor. Ed venturing out into the crowd was cool... but Live needs to do more.

[Voodoo Lady]

When it comes to the setlist and its length, I am at the point where I just want to throw in the towel. But here goes.

Dream vs. expected vs. reality: A two hour plus Live heading show in a small venue (no other bands on the bill), with some deep cuts in the setlist would be my dream come true. What can be feasibly expected, based on price of concert tickets, 90 minutes with some surprises and shake ups to the setlist is what fans deserve for the money we pay. In reality, we get a 70 minute same ole thing, night after night, canned show.

However, I’ve got to accept that Live have made the decision to do the latter for some type of reasons. -I’d love to know them. It has to be based on someone’s lack of stamina, but whose? Is it Gracey? Are they worried about wrecking Ed’s voice? Is it Chad T. or Pat? As Merica said, props to the old guy McCartney. That is some CRAZY stamina for 77. Is he sitting at a piano most of the time, though?

When it comes to the setlist, the fact that it’s stagnant bothers me more than their show being 10 minutes shorter than what I expect. I can come up with no other reason than lack of effort. Wait, two reasons. Someone (I believe LiveForNow) mentioned in another thread, perhaps they are tied to their video in the background, and not being able to switch that up. Or maybe they have backing tracks (pretty positive they do), and can’t switch it up. The covers really irritate me, but with them, I don’t know why it does so much. Honestly, most other concerts I attend have covers, and I’m not bothered. With Live, is it because they haven’t yet covered a song I actually like? Is it because they are just my favorite band, and I’m selfish & only want to hear their stuff? In a perfect dream world, take the two covers out, and add in Hold Me Up and Susquehanna. I’m just trying to “be a good fan” and accept it is what it is, and we will never know the reason for their decisions (because no interviewer ever asks those questions!!! ).

It could be way worse. I went to a Whitesnake show in the spring, and they only played 14 songs. It was the shortest show I’ve ever been to. I felt ripped off. They must have needed to get back to the nursing home.