I only found out about you this year in July, when I saw that one of your shows in Germany in November is near me.
I was intrigued by your band name and the description on the club website that called you "humorvoll" (german for "humorous").
When I started listening to your music, I was really astounded that I hadn't heard of you before! To be fair, I was a mere two years old when With Love & Squalor came out. While going through your albums, I very quickly decided "Okay, I need to see these guys live."
Absolutely love your music (especially Huffy and Lobes) and your sense of humor.
Your cover of Never Ending Story made me laugh so hard I started crying.
To answer your setlist question, as a new fan who thinks that all of your albums are really good, I would love to hear at least one song from every album. You can also definitely throw in some deep cuts. I think, playing songs live that people aren't so familiar with could make them seek out songs and albums that they haven't paid much attention to before. Maybe one of those deep cuts even becomes somone's new favorite song from you.
Incredibly excited for your show, I'll see you in Dresden!
The first time I came to a We Are Scientists show literally the only album I had listened to was Huffy. You played four tracks from that album and I got to hear 16 or so completely new tracks - which was an absolute joy. Not knowing the songs in no way hampered my enjoyment and having now given all your albums significant attention, I would have to say that I genuinely don’t feel it would have made any difference if those songs had been big hitters or lesser album tracks - the quality both between and within your albums is incredibly consistent. On a night where you know you are playing your biggest album, you are already keeping most people pretty happy so I definitely think you can take some risks with additional song selection. I personally would love to hear some lesser played Barbara and Huffy tracks and literally ANYTHING from TVeF and Megaplex which have definitely been the poor relations in the last couple of years. I guess Helter Seltzer is pretty underrepresented too - justice for the middle albums!!!
On a separate note, please don’t tease me with concepts like a “No Singles” show or a “mellow” show unless you are seriously considering them. Both ideas sound wonderful and I would be there in a heartbeat!
Here's a possibly similar situation to that of your Group 2 folks, maybe it will help the decision-making. I listened to The Church's "Starfish" relentlessly starting from approximately five minutes after the first time I heard "Under the Milky Way" until about 1991 or so. Thereafter, I have revisited it with fondness at least every few months until this very day (I'll be pulling out my old CD later this afternoon, I reckon, now that I'm thinking about it). I think I bought the subsequent album, "Gold Afternoon Fix". I definitely listened to it somehow. It was fine, but it didn't speak to me the way "Starfish" had. Other than occasionally hearing a single, I have never intentionally sought out any of The Church's other records and never went to see them live. When I heard about a 30th-anniversary tour for "Starfish", however, I went to the box office at World Cafe Live here in Philadelphia and bought a ticket on the first day of sale and was first in the queue on the day. I stood weeping in front of God and Steve Kilbey all through first set as they played the whole album. It was beautiful.
Then came the second set of songs that I didn't know except for one or two singles. Probably half of the crowd was there for "Starfish" and the other half were dedicated fans. Most of the first group who were in the front moved toward the center or back of the room (I stayed put because I'm short and because I just prefer to be at the front) and the other folks moved in. Their enthusiasm was infectious and I really enjoyed myself despite my lack of familiarity with the material. A couple of guys near me who were clearly long-time devotees were very excited about some of the songs, which I took to mean they didn't play them often. Looking at the setlist.fm stats, it looks like that second set of 13 songs had one or two from each of their other albums to that point, about three of which were singles I recognized. The setlist.fm notes mention several little interpositions and snippets of other music that probably appealed to people who were familiar with their live shows but which I was unaware of at the time. Steve Kilbey also talked a fair amount about several of the songs and about things in general, which added to my enjoyment of the experience. I did go home and make a Spotify playlist of some of those songs, but to be honest I didn't listen to it very many times.
If I were to go to another similar show celebrating an album that was very important to me by an artist whose other work I didn't know very well, I would hope that the part I didn't know would have a couple of familiar tunes and a fair amount of interaction or information from the band to keep my interest in the unfamiliar ones. If I were to go as a hard-core fan, I would hope to hear at least four or five rarely-played songs in that second set - a couple of b-sides and a couple of deep cuts, maybe - and/or a couple of frequently-played songs done in a new way (e.g., stripped-down). I would be happy and excited to be there no matter what, but I am easy to please when it's a band I love.
Hope that helps! I am very sorry that I won't be able to see any of the UK WLAS20 shows, but I am very grateful that I was at the 50th anniversary warm-up way back in 2019. Also, yes, please do a rarities show/tour. I will fly to the UK if necessary to attend.
I'm a repatriated fan since the Lobes era. At one of the first shows of that album tour, I was sold, to the extent that I booked to see a further two shows. The music I'd never heard before was great. But that's not what tipped me over the edge: it was the collective effervescence of the crowd combined with the energy that emanated from the stage.
Fwiw, I put together this dream set list a while back (pre-QM) in case of interest:
Love the topic of set lists! I'm a weird case because I was a casual fan, starting with WLAS and buying each album as it came out, but never saw you live until 2023 (Columbus, Ohio) and I became a hardcore fan. [Got to see you again just a couple of weeks ago!] So, I never really knew which songs I was supposed to like best (other than "Nobody Move," which got played on our local alternative station) and which were concert staples.
So, there are songs I've grown to love much more having heard them live, most notably "After Hours," which is just so fun to sing along with and just fits the concert experience so nicely. Also "Buckle," "Nice Guys" and most recently "Impatience."
So, I'm not really the target audience for your question, but here are songs I love and would love to hear live (or in some cases, hear again).
Some great choices here. You’ve picked out my favourite tracks from BTM, TVeF and Megaplex and I would be so excited to see Don’t Blow It and Starry-eyed.
Having pondered this for a few days, I guess the other consideration is how much you actually enjoy playing particular songs. I always enjoy live music more when the performers seem to be having a good time. If you’re having fun, we’re having fun. I’m never going to complain about you picking a song you love to play (or excluding one that’s impossible), you might just have to let me know when that’s the case 😉
Hey, new fan here 👋
I only found out about you this year in July, when I saw that one of your shows in Germany in November is near me.
I was intrigued by your band name and the description on the club website that called you "humorvoll" (german for "humorous").
When I started listening to your music, I was really astounded that I hadn't heard of you before! To be fair, I was a mere two years old when With Love & Squalor came out. While going through your albums, I very quickly decided "Okay, I need to see these guys live."
Absolutely love your music (especially Huffy and Lobes) and your sense of humor.
Your cover of Never Ending Story made me laugh so hard I started crying.
To answer your setlist question, as a new fan who thinks that all of your albums are really good, I would love to hear at least one song from every album. You can also definitely throw in some deep cuts. I think, playing songs live that people aren't so familiar with could make them seek out songs and albums that they haven't paid much attention to before. Maybe one of those deep cuts even becomes somone's new favorite song from you.
Incredibly excited for your show, I'll see you in Dresden!
The first time I came to a We Are Scientists show literally the only album I had listened to was Huffy. You played four tracks from that album and I got to hear 16 or so completely new tracks - which was an absolute joy. Not knowing the songs in no way hampered my enjoyment and having now given all your albums significant attention, I would have to say that I genuinely don’t feel it would have made any difference if those songs had been big hitters or lesser album tracks - the quality both between and within your albums is incredibly consistent. On a night where you know you are playing your biggest album, you are already keeping most people pretty happy so I definitely think you can take some risks with additional song selection. I personally would love to hear some lesser played Barbara and Huffy tracks and literally ANYTHING from TVeF and Megaplex which have definitely been the poor relations in the last couple of years. I guess Helter Seltzer is pretty underrepresented too - justice for the middle albums!!!
On a separate note, please don’t tease me with concepts like a “No Singles” show or a “mellow” show unless you are seriously considering them. Both ideas sound wonderful and I would be there in a heartbeat!
🚢
I’m considering realistic prospects! 😂
Lou, I'm sure we've discussed alternative WAS set lists while under the influence of alcohol.
Haha! On more than one occasion. It’s my favourite topic of conversation!
It's a great conversation topic. I do think it's cropped up more than once.
Annoyingly, I'm having real difficulty in posting my reply to the stoop. So I shall admit defeat on that one.
At least message me your thoughts. I’m very interested. I could always post on your behalf.
I copied the text from my second attempt and have tried again. If it doesn't work I'll send it to you.
Here's a possibly similar situation to that of your Group 2 folks, maybe it will help the decision-making. I listened to The Church's "Starfish" relentlessly starting from approximately five minutes after the first time I heard "Under the Milky Way" until about 1991 or so. Thereafter, I have revisited it with fondness at least every few months until this very day (I'll be pulling out my old CD later this afternoon, I reckon, now that I'm thinking about it). I think I bought the subsequent album, "Gold Afternoon Fix". I definitely listened to it somehow. It was fine, but it didn't speak to me the way "Starfish" had. Other than occasionally hearing a single, I have never intentionally sought out any of The Church's other records and never went to see them live. When I heard about a 30th-anniversary tour for "Starfish", however, I went to the box office at World Cafe Live here in Philadelphia and bought a ticket on the first day of sale and was first in the queue on the day. I stood weeping in front of God and Steve Kilbey all through first set as they played the whole album. It was beautiful.
Then came the second set of songs that I didn't know except for one or two singles. Probably half of the crowd was there for "Starfish" and the other half were dedicated fans. Most of the first group who were in the front moved toward the center or back of the room (I stayed put because I'm short and because I just prefer to be at the front) and the other folks moved in. Their enthusiasm was infectious and I really enjoyed myself despite my lack of familiarity with the material. A couple of guys near me who were clearly long-time devotees were very excited about some of the songs, which I took to mean they didn't play them often. Looking at the setlist.fm stats, it looks like that second set of 13 songs had one or two from each of their other albums to that point, about three of which were singles I recognized. The setlist.fm notes mention several little interpositions and snippets of other music that probably appealed to people who were familiar with their live shows but which I was unaware of at the time. Steve Kilbey also talked a fair amount about several of the songs and about things in general, which added to my enjoyment of the experience. I did go home and make a Spotify playlist of some of those songs, but to be honest I didn't listen to it very many times.
If I were to go to another similar show celebrating an album that was very important to me by an artist whose other work I didn't know very well, I would hope that the part I didn't know would have a couple of familiar tunes and a fair amount of interaction or information from the band to keep my interest in the unfamiliar ones. If I were to go as a hard-core fan, I would hope to hear at least four or five rarely-played songs in that second set - a couple of b-sides and a couple of deep cuts, maybe - and/or a couple of frequently-played songs done in a new way (e.g., stripped-down). I would be happy and excited to be there no matter what, but I am easy to please when it's a band I love.
Hope that helps! I am very sorry that I won't be able to see any of the UK WLAS20 shows, but I am very grateful that I was at the 50th anniversary warm-up way back in 2019. Also, yes, please do a rarities show/tour. I will fly to the UK if necessary to attend.
I'm a repatriated fan since the Lobes era. At one of the first shows of that album tour, I was sold, to the extent that I booked to see a further two shows. The music I'd never heard before was great. But that's not what tipped me over the edge: it was the collective effervescence of the crowd combined with the energy that emanated from the stage.
Fwiw, I put together this dream set list a while back (pre-QM) in case of interest:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3SuvRNugfWQpn9vteFw3IU?si=ZKaJKJatSz-DhS7JpZCZ2Q&pi=Sh1jM7ZrQZi6M
Jack and Ginger would be awesome.
Slow Down would be epic.
✌🏼
Bugger. I posted a reply which substack decided to give an error message to before losing the text. So here's a summary as a second attempt:
I'd pay good money to see a niche WAS no singles/mellow set.
Suggestions for October include KIT, heart is a weapon and Spinkles or other lesser played tracks from Megaplex or TVEF.
Was also curious as to what set list your other halves and family members would choose if it were up to them to plan a gig.
I would love to see KIT live!
It's such a brilliant song.
Love the topic of set lists! I'm a weird case because I was a casual fan, starting with WLAS and buying each album as it came out, but never saw you live until 2023 (Columbus, Ohio) and I became a hardcore fan. [Got to see you again just a couple of weeks ago!] So, I never really knew which songs I was supposed to like best (other than "Nobody Move," which got played on our local alternative station) and which were concert staples.
So, there are songs I've grown to love much more having heard them live, most notably "After Hours," which is just so fun to sing along with and just fits the concert experience so nicely. Also "Buckle," "Nice Guys" and most recently "Impatience."
So, I'm not really the target audience for your question, but here are songs I love and would love to hear live (or in some cases, hear again).
The Great Escape
Lousy Reputation
Lethal Enforcer
Sprinkles
Don't Blow It
Forgiveness [perhaps hard to recreate live?]
One In One Out
Notes in a Bottle
No Wait at Five Leaves
Contact High
Handshake Agreement
Operator Error
Settled Accounts
Starry-Eyed
The Big One
Some great choices here. You’ve picked out my favourite tracks from BTM, TVeF and Megaplex and I would be so excited to see Don’t Blow It and Starry-eyed.
Having pondered this for a few days, I guess the other consideration is how much you actually enjoy playing particular songs. I always enjoy live music more when the performers seem to be having a good time. If you’re having fun, we’re having fun. I’m never going to complain about you picking a song you love to play (or excluding one that’s impossible), you might just have to let me know when that’s the case 😉