Why are headling band at rock concerts always no longer than 90min?

Question

For the most part popular alternative/rock concerts I been too , the headliner usually plays no longer than 90-100 minutes. (usually 1hr 15 min) why is that? (ex. linkin park, nelly furtado, fall out boy, green day, korn, etc) ALSO i noticed a lot of PUNK bands limit to 1 hour and few minutes (ex. mxpx, sugarcult, the used).

Is against the law or something? I always wondered this. (exception like metallica or dave matthews where play 2hrs+). and why do concerts have opening bands. cant it be just THEM and thats it? lol.

Answer 1

In most cities there is a noise by-law that kicks into effect @ 11:00pm. Also in a lot of contracts the band stipulates that they will only play for a certain period of time. As for opening acts this is where they receive their first exposure to a large audience. Remember not every band is a headliner at first.

Answer 2

punk bands tend to have shorter sets because the openers are a big part of the show. i was shocked when i went to an indie show and there was only one opener, i'm used to there being 3 or 4. punk tours will have 3-5 bands, and may also have local bands opening. usually the openers will have 7-song/30-minute sets, while the headliner will play anywhere between 45 minutes and 75 minutes, around an hour. usually the lenth of the set depends on how much material they have. i have gone to a show where the headliner only played 6 songs because all he had out was an EP, in that case the openers actually played longer. this was a VFW hall show with 4 touring bands and 2 local openers, 5 of the bands were amazing.

obviously the most people are fans of the headlining band (although this is not always true), but at punk shows it is not unusual to ask "who are you here to see?" some people leave before the headliner even plays, i've done that before, or just gone to the back of the crowd after the band i care about. usually the main support act has a fair amount of people singing along, and the other openers will have a few fans. it's just part of the punk culture.

i would not want to see just one band, i'd much rather see 5 bands. there have been a few tours where i can sing along every word to at least 3 of the bands.

there is no limit on how long a band can play, but there are limits on when concerts have to end because of noise ordinances. usually it is 11pm on weeknights and 12am on weekends.

Answer 3

For a lot of bands, they have one or two albums, and simply don't have the material to play long shows. They go out, play all their songs in the exact same way they have on their album, then save their radio "hit" for the encore, and precede that with a slower song, then end on a bang. The reason more established bands play longer like Green Day, DMB, and Metallica is because they have the material to play for over two hours. DMB and Green Day have been releasing material on a pretty consistent basis since the early 90's.

Not only do those bands put on better shows cause they play for longer, but they are just better on stage and more talented. Bands that have stood the test of time to keep releasing music have stayed together and popular because they are the top talented bands out there.

However some bands do play weak sets. Just last week I caught Incubus in concert, they played for a total of 85 minutes and that includes the 5 minute encore break. That I didn't understand, cause they have loads of material (6 albums).

Also, it has NOTHING to do with the venue, some places have a curfew set, but thats almost never a factor unless the band plays over 2.5 hours anyway. I have seen bands do 1.5 hour sets and 3 hour sets at the same venue, with the less popular band playing longer. IF their was a fee they'd be the ones unable to pay it. Trust me, its all up to the band on how long to play.

For the opening act, some bands don't but I like it when a band does. It exposes me to good music that is similar to what I like. It also is supposed to get the crowd pumped up and ready to go. I love going to concerts and the opening act is somebody I already know. Then I get 2 good shows for the price of one.

Answer 4

It's VERY HARD for alternative rock bands to stay more than 1 hour and 15 mins because they do not have any very long songs. They also never improvise/jam and come up with a nice tune, or play something completely different, I have no idea why. Is it not 'cool'? I will never know. But imagine that 1 hour and 15 mins - 15 mins of break/talking, is 1 hour full of 3-6 min songs.

Answer 5

I think that in general 1 1/2 to 2 hours is a good, tried and true set length where people won't get bored. Die hards always want more, but it can get excessive. I saw a Reverend Horton Heat show where as much as I dig him I got bored because he played for close to 3 hours. I actually left the show early because I got tired. I think that is just kind of the industry standard. Some play more, some play less, but I think that is just the standard.

Answer 6

DEAR MISS ARE SIR

EVERY CONCERT THAT I HAVE SEEN FROM BILLY

JOEL AND ELTON JOHN ON THE FACE TO FACE TOUR

IT WAS (4) HOURS LONG AND NO OPEN ACT AT ALL

AND WHEN I SAW BARRY MANILOW AGAIN NO OPEN

ACT AGAIN HE PLAYED (3) HOURS

WHEN I SAW LIONEL RICHIE AT THE HOUSTON

ASTRO'S DOME BEFORE IT CLOSE HE PLAYED (90)

MINUTES BUT IT WAS BECAUSE THE HOUSTON LIVE

STOCK SHOW AND RODEO SET THE TIME LIMIT ON HIM

SAME WITH BOB DYLAN KENNY ROGERS BROOK AND

DUNN NEIL DIAMOND AND MARTINA MCBRIDE BUT NO

OPENING ACT THEN I SAW ELTON JOHN BY HIM SELF

ON THE BIG PICTURE TOUR (3) HOURS AND THEN

AGAIN

ON THE PEACH TREE ROAD TOUR (3) HOURS AGAIN

NO OPENING ACT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD OPENING

WAS WHEN I SAW HANK WILLIAMS JR HE HAD EARL

THOMAS CONLEY

AND THEN I SAW GEORGE STRAIT

WHO HAD HIGHWAY ONE OH ONE OPENING FOR HIM

THEN THE BIGGEST I SAW WAS GEORGE JONE MERLE

HAGGARD AND CONWAY TWITTY AS A PACKAGE

DEAL MERLE OPEN FIRST THEN

LEE GREENWOOD HAD EXLIE OPEN FOR HIM AGAIN

OK

TAKE CARE

Answer 7

You see how much energy they put in up on that stage? Sheesh, nobody could keep that up for an excessive lenth of time. How long do you think a concert should last?

Answer 8

I don't think all concerts have opening bands.

I saw Fleetwood Mac in 2003 - it was just them, and they played for just over 2 hours.

Answer 9

because every venue bands play at charge a certain amount of money for their time on stage,for energy usage mainly.And every minute they play over time they are fined.

Answer 10

I've always wondered this myself. Mabey they can't manage to play very long, especially when they're on tour and have to perform almost every day. Idk...