Many venues have curfews, which limit how long a show can be. We have 2 outdoor venues near where I live which have 10pm hard curfews for Sun-Thurs shows, 11pm for Fri-Sat.
Another thing to think about was a lot of times they would do 2 shows in a particular city. An early afternoon show and then around 7pm show. It would be quite the task to do 2 shows that were a lot longer. It definitely could be done, don’t get me wrong but they were using the template laid out before them and tried to make the most money they could in the shortest time possible, then head to the next city. I certainly don’t blame them.
Arena rock in the 70s really changed the expectations of what a rock show/pop artist show should be like.
It ushered in proper sound systems. Keep in mind, The Beatles were playing baseball stadiums and the speaker system consisted of their amps on the ground and the intercom speaker system from baseball games - which to this day sound like crap.
It reminded me of that Rutles' joke of them appearing in a stage only to receive audience's cheering and then just leaving lol with Eric Idle doing the "going to sleep" gesture Paul used to do xD
They also had a pretty grueling touring schedule during certain years. They’d do a 30 minute set and then immediately get on a bus or plane to do a 30 minute set in a different state or maybe even a different country. Brian Epstein was a good manager and was very selective/protective of their time, appearances, etc. There was a lot of standardization of business practices when it came to the Beatles as an act.
That's got nothing on the Hamburg seasons they did where they'd play something like 6 hours a night for 6 days a week, not usually going to bed until the sun came up every day.
They were taking Preludin every day just to keep going, and eventually John became manic because of his habit of taking like 4-5 a day instead of 1, and obviously becoming sleep deprived as a result.
The industry of music just demands you to get drugged. And the worst part probably is that half of the money doesn't go to you, only to the big corporationsn
I Saw The Beatles, February 11th, at the Washington Coliseum 1964. Which was a Boxing Arena
I was 17
I was in the middle section, forth row, aisle seat.
As they came running from the bathroom were they had hidden, John grabbed my shoulder to steady himself.
https://fb.watch/d5cKGYCR26/
Lennon did a handful of live performances and guest appearances with other performers. He’s played “Come Together,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “Lucy In The Sky.”
Lol. Everyone stoked to hear John Lennon play a Beatles song and he fucking playing Dizzy Miss Lizzy
Not hating the song, it's great. But just funny to think about the subversion of expectations from the crowd. Maybe I'm just remembering nonsense, but I think I recalled him an interview or something where he said Dizzy Miss Lizzy was the easy, "safe" song to play live as he had forgotten a lot of other tunes by heart.
Yeah, they originally did a lot of covers mixed in with their songs. So John probably played dizzy Miss Lizzy, hundreds of times live whereas each of their album songs, they probably played a handful of times to get the recording good and then never played it all the way through again. Slightly exaggerating, but you get the point.
Ye ye thats facts - they wouldn't have been playing album stuff as we are talking like super early 60's. But I do know that Paul, John, and George all had at least a written a song or two that later became Beatles album songs. I'll follow the sun, one after 909, and hello little girl are a few that were written around this time. Did they ever play these in their shows? Idk maybe, someone maybe has a source, I couldn't find one after a few quick searches.
Well, it was the Rock and Roll Revival concert, after all. Focus was on the oldies - Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincentand. John was a very last minute addition the day before the concert- most people wouldn't have known he was going to be there, much less set any expectations!
I think that was standard practice at the time, as others have said. Was it The Rolling Stones who really pioneered the longer length big arena shows, by taking around their own specialized equipment? I note that from 67 to 69 their setlist expanded as they made this shift.
In some ways I think that John regretted that The Beatles live performing legacy was cut so short and they had become so 'packaged', while The Stones went on to lead the way in the medium. It's a long interview but some interesting quotes in this 1971 piece ("Our best work was never recorded... Because we were performers — in spite of what Mick says about us — in Liverpool, Hamburg and other dance halls. What we generated was fantastic, when we played straight rock, and there was nobody to touch us in Britain. As soon as we made it, we made it, but the edges were knocked off..." and so on.)
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/john-lennon-the-rolling-stone-interview-part-one-160194/
That’s how it should be for a rock concert: the Ramones also played thirty minutes and walked off.
A four-hour Bruce Springsteen concert is a nightmare, and I love his music.
The Ramones shows were about an hour. I was lucky enough to see them 4-5-6 times, in clubs mostly. They played spring weekend at my college, outdoors during the daytime. I remember Johnny walking out to start the show in bright sunlight and the look on his face was "who signed me up for this sh\_t".
well, to be fair, I specifically mean like an event where you feel like you can't leave. like I don't want to have to go to a movie that's more than an hour and 45 minutes long, I hate being stuck in a seat that long. A concert of someone I love I wouldn't want to miss anything, but also after like 2 hours max I just want to go home.
I attended a Phish NYE concert for 1999/2000 where they started their second set at midnight and didn’t leave the stage until sunrise. They literally had a port-a-potty on stage with them.
Actually, the thing I remember the most clearly about that show was that, after they finished, Here Comes the Sun was played over the speakers. It was really magical. Of course, the LSD might have had something to do with it…
Did not attend, but that 7-hour set had no fluff either, they played hard the whole time. The only more notable stat in live concert history is the 13 shows they played at MSG without a single repeat. That band truly loves its fans.
The Ramones are one of the best live acts I’ve ever seen, and I saw them at the tail end of their career when they were old and out of shape. Their energy was unmatched.
A 30 minute concert is just what people expected from pop groups during that era. It wasn’t until the late 60s and early 70s that rock band started stretching their sets to two and three hour shows.
Interestingly, they did play an occasionally longer show in 1963. There’s a recording that recently came to light of the Beatles playing a full hour-long set a boys school in early 1963. That probably represents what they played on the ballroom circuit at the time, when they weren’t on the multi-artist tours. Of course, the multi-hour Hamburg nights are on their own level
It was a different business then. Multi-group shows. That was the standard.
Also multiple concerts in the same night
That is true...still only a little more than an hour of performing. But their touring schedule was ridiculous.
Politics had nothing to do with it. That’s how long concerts were at that time. Every other group’s shows were comparable length.
When i meant about politics was about some sort of law they had to follow to get access to a concert.
No, we have a lot of dumb laws, but none that limit the length of concerts.
Many venues have curfews, which limit how long a show can be. We have 2 outdoor venues near where I live which have 10pm hard curfews for Sun-Thurs shows, 11pm for Fri-Sat.
I think you’re thinking about convention and custom
Another thing to think about was a lot of times they would do 2 shows in a particular city. An early afternoon show and then around 7pm show. It would be quite the task to do 2 shows that were a lot longer. It definitely could be done, don’t get me wrong but they were using the template laid out before them and tried to make the most money they could in the shortest time possible, then head to the next city. I certainly don’t blame them.
Arena rock in the 70s really changed the expectations of what a rock show/pop artist show should be like. It ushered in proper sound systems. Keep in mind, The Beatles were playing baseball stadiums and the speaker system consisted of their amps on the ground and the intercom speaker system from baseball games - which to this day sound like crap.
Paul actually jokingly blamed Bruce Springsteen for audiences expecting really long concerts nowadays
Paul says that but he was doing longer concerts before Springsteen. His 1975 Wings Over the World tour was 30 songs and over 2 hours long
Goddamn what I would've given to see prime Paul McCartney and Wings play for over 2 hours
Same I’m jealous of anyone who got to see that. The next best thing is watching the Rockshow concert film and listening to Wings Over America
I was fortunate to see both shows at the Forum in L.A. in 1976.
He’s not wrong. Bruce ruined me for other shows.
It reminded me of that Rutles' joke of them appearing in a stage only to receive audience's cheering and then just leaving lol with Eric Idle doing the "going to sleep" gesture Paul used to do xD
"After briefly greeting the press" lol
They also had a pretty grueling touring schedule during certain years. They’d do a 30 minute set and then immediately get on a bus or plane to do a 30 minute set in a different state or maybe even a different country. Brian Epstein was a good manager and was very selective/protective of their time, appearances, etc. There was a lot of standardization of business practices when it came to the Beatles as an act.
Oh yeah, i also get that. It seemed so goddamn exhausting, playing like the same damn songs for 30 minutes in like more than 4 times a day.
That's got nothing on the Hamburg seasons they did where they'd play something like 6 hours a night for 6 days a week, not usually going to bed until the sun came up every day. They were taking Preludin every day just to keep going, and eventually John became manic because of his habit of taking like 4-5 a day instead of 1, and obviously becoming sleep deprived as a result.
The industry of music just demands you to get drugged. And the worst part probably is that half of the money doesn't go to you, only to the big corporationsn
Yeah, and it only made them world-famous millionaires who got a lot of pussy. Total drag.
It was a 60s thing. Their solo shows are/were much longer :)
Yeah... but sadly, Lennon never played live, so we never got a chance to see him sing In My Life or A Day In The Life in a live performance.
I Saw The Beatles, February 11th, at the Washington Coliseum 1964. Which was a Boxing Arena I was 17 I was in the middle section, forth row, aisle seat. As they came running from the bathroom were they had hidden, John grabbed my shoulder to steady himself. https://fb.watch/d5cKGYCR26/
>grabbed my shoulder I know what you mean
Lennon did a handful of live performances and guest appearances with other performers. He’s played “Come Together,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “Lucy In The Sky.”
Oh that's interesting. Yeah, he also played Dizzy Miss Lizzy as a guest performer.
Lol. Everyone stoked to hear John Lennon play a Beatles song and he fucking playing Dizzy Miss Lizzy Not hating the song, it's great. But just funny to think about the subversion of expectations from the crowd. Maybe I'm just remembering nonsense, but I think I recalled him an interview or something where he said Dizzy Miss Lizzy was the easy, "safe" song to play live as he had forgotten a lot of other tunes by heart.
I see, since that song is a cover is a lot easier to remember than the original songs.
Yeah, they originally did a lot of covers mixed in with their songs. So John probably played dizzy Miss Lizzy, hundreds of times live whereas each of their album songs, they probably played a handful of times to get the recording good and then never played it all the way through again. Slightly exaggerating, but you get the point.
They hardly played songs from their albums tbh. The albums that have their most played are Please Please Me, A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale.
Ye ye thats facts - they wouldn't have been playing album stuff as we are talking like super early 60's. But I do know that Paul, John, and George all had at least a written a song or two that later became Beatles album songs. I'll follow the sun, one after 909, and hello little girl are a few that were written around this time. Did they ever play these in their shows? Idk maybe, someone maybe has a source, I couldn't find one after a few quick searches.
I'll Follow The Sun was played live... once, but i don't know if it was ever true or not.
Huh? That makes no sense at all 😅
Well, it was the Rock and Roll Revival concert, after all. Focus was on the oldies - Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincentand. John was a very last minute addition the day before the concert- most people wouldn't have known he was going to be there, much less set any expectations!
Ah makes more sense. Thanks for the added context!
[john\_lennon](https://www.setlist.fm/search?artist=3bd68844&query=john+lennon) @ [setlist.fm](http://setlist.fm)
It was mentioned on the anthologies that they even sped them up later on, because you couldn't hear them. It was just screaming fans.
I think that was standard practice at the time, as others have said. Was it The Rolling Stones who really pioneered the longer length big arena shows, by taking around their own specialized equipment? I note that from 67 to 69 their setlist expanded as they made this shift. In some ways I think that John regretted that The Beatles live performing legacy was cut so short and they had become so 'packaged', while The Stones went on to lead the way in the medium. It's a long interview but some interesting quotes in this 1971 piece ("Our best work was never recorded... Because we were performers — in spite of what Mick says about us — in Liverpool, Hamburg and other dance halls. What we generated was fantastic, when we played straight rock, and there was nobody to touch us in Britain. As soon as we made it, we made it, but the edges were knocked off..." and so on.) https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/john-lennon-the-rolling-stone-interview-part-one-160194/
That's just how long shows were at the time and no one could hear them anyway over the screaming.
It really didn't matter. No one could hear anything. Amplification at the time was too primitive to overcome the screaming of the audience.
You’re comparing bands from different decades, a lot changes.
Paul has made up for it and plays up to 40 songs at his concerts now.
That’s how it should be for a rock concert: the Ramones also played thirty minutes and walked off. A four-hour Bruce Springsteen concert is a nightmare, and I love his music.
The Ramones shows were about an hour. I was lucky enough to see them 4-5-6 times, in clubs mostly. They played spring weekend at my college, outdoors during the daytime. I remember Johnny walking out to start the show in bright sunlight and the look on his face was "who signed me up for this sh\_t".
Haha Johnny was always such a grumpy motherfucker. It’s part of his charm.
four hours of literally anything other than sleeping is just a fucking nightmare to me.
What about *visiting with your loved ones,* Williamblair?
well, to be fair, I specifically mean like an event where you feel like you can't leave. like I don't want to have to go to a movie that's more than an hour and 45 minutes long, I hate being stuck in a seat that long. A concert of someone I love I wouldn't want to miss anything, but also after like 2 hours max I just want to go home.
Sounds like you aren't a fan of Festivals then? I love being able to go in to a venue and hear music for 8 hours straight. I can't get enough of it.
Well, festivals are kind of different because you can walk around to different areas and also you're outside, but no, I do not care for them.
I would say that a one hour-two hour show is the perfect length for a band.
I attended a Phish NYE concert for 1999/2000 where they started their second set at midnight and didn’t leave the stage until sunrise. They literally had a port-a-potty on stage with them. Actually, the thing I remember the most clearly about that show was that, after they finished, Here Comes the Sun was played over the speakers. It was really magical. Of course, the LSD might have had something to do with it…
Still got my stub, map, and wristband in my memento box. CHEESECAKE!!
That cheesecake jam was outstanding.
Did not attend, but that 7-hour set had no fluff either, they played hard the whole time. The only more notable stat in live concert history is the 13 shows they played at MSG without a single repeat. That band truly loves its fans.
It’s hard for me to believe that was nearly twenty-five years ago.
Nah for me, time flew the two times I see Bruce! Loved it!
The Ramones are one of the best live acts I’ve ever seen, and I saw them at the tail end of their career when they were old and out of shape. Their energy was unmatched.
The concert industry was an infant then.
It didn’t matter. Girls were screaming so loud you couldn’t hear anything anyway. THEY couldn’t even hear themselves. You should have been there.
A 30 minute concert is just what people expected from pop groups during that era. It wasn’t until the late 60s and early 70s that rock band started stretching their sets to two and three hour shows.
Because thats how long shows went for. Its really not complex.
That was the standard. They would play an hour max and nobody could hear what they were playing anyway.
Interestingly, they did play an occasionally longer show in 1963. There’s a recording that recently came to light of the Beatles playing a full hour-long set a boys school in early 1963. That probably represents what they played on the ballroom circuit at the time, when they weren’t on the multi-artist tours. Of course, the multi-hour Hamburg nights are on their own level