I played a house band gig for 2.5 years. Same club, same staff, same band members, same people in the audience. And the same songs.

We actually did try to add 2 or 3 new songs to our set list on any given Wednesday night practice session. They were in the sets on that weekend.

The main thing we looked at was.... can the people dance to it? Slow or fast, didn't matter. Try to limit the length of the song to 3 minutes max. People can only dance for so long before they get tired or bored.

No medleys of 4 songs that go on for 5 minutes..... we would see people leaving after the second tune in the medley.

Start the set with a fast song and end it on a fast one. Two fast songs, one slow,,,, repeat that formula. Keep the show moving.... if you're not playing, someone should be talking, telling a joke, or cutting up in some manner..... no dead air.

No matter how much we liked a song, it the people didn't like it, we took it out of the set list. No matter how much we hated a song, if the people liked it, we kept it in the set list. (Wipe out, Swinging, Toot Toot, and several others)

That band was good in so many ways, but most importantly, we knew what the audience wanted and we gave it to them week after week.

Our first gig, people in the club knew the last band had been fired after having been there for some time.....and here we came.... we played the first song, a fast one.....and the people just sat and stared. No one got up to dance. At the end of the song, silence..... so the drummer says over the PA.... "Are y'all just gonna set there like bumps on a log and let us have all the fun?"..... then without a pause, he counts off the next tune..... suddenly, half the club jumped up and was on the dance floor....and they stayed that was for the next 2.5 years. What a fun gig that was.

You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.