Proper length for a concert without feeling ripped off

15 minutes of Dylan, 90 minutes for everyone else. Baby bands are the best. They cannot do more than an hour or so.

 

Even that depends group to group. The Swans play 2 hour sets that contain only 6 songs.

 

I agree with about 90 mins for a headliner. Seems good.

I did go to see a MC once at a dance club that was billed, sold tickets and was on stage for maybe 15 minutes. That one was pretty lame.

 

I was rather disappointed at a 1hr/20min Neil Young/Crazy Horse show in '91, but at least he didn't do the 30 minute Down by the River.

 

I was at that show! Yes, it was Winter Hours opening, probably the largest venue they ever played. I'm a big Winter Hours fan, and they were excellent, so I didn't mind the shortened Squeeze set too much.

 

It depends. If it's a big card with 4 or 5 or more bands, I don't mind if the headliner plays a little less. Example: I saw Lilith Fair in 1998, and Sarah M played only 6 or 7 songs. But we'd gotten our money's worth all day, so we got over it.

I saw Sarah herself a few months later (with maybe one opening act), and she played for much longer. As I would have expected.

 

Saw The Smiths in 1984. Felt cheated with 45 minutes. Some years earlier JJ Cale played for 55 minutes and was bold enough to mention the fact in his band introduction - "For the last 55 minutes you have been listening to ......"

Happy with 90 minutes to two hours. Anytime longer is a bonus unless your name is Stevie Wonder.

 

The Smiths in 1984 would have had about an hour's worth of recorded material, and that includes b-sides.

 

45 minutes for starting bands, hour and 15 minutes for headline sets.

 

If they have been around for more than 10 years,
At least 2 hours.

 

The 1982 Imperial Bedroom tour more than made up for his abrupt 1978 shows. I saw it in New York, with Marshall Crenshaw opening.

 

People tend to forget that that was when they had one or two albums out.

Haha, in todays "value for money" climate even a new band has to do 90 minute shows. People who think like that probably are convinced that large paintings are more valuable/ expensive than small ones

 

98.6 minutes

 

I wouldn't expect a new band with a lack of material to play for two hours, but I would feel a bit short changed if a long-running band only played for 60-90 minutes.

 

I saw Diana Ross a couple of months ago...she performed not quite an hour total. What she did was great, but for the $$....I expected more....too much left out...

 

You could have been at a racetrack "Blue Notes" tour show that ran nearly 2 1/2 hours with an interminable "Tonight's The Night"!

 

depends on price. . . fix the question please.

 

Duration of a gig is never a decision maker to me. The concert is either good or it's not.

I saw Jerry Lee Lewis once. 45 minutes total ...

... but wait, around half an hour was intro and outro without Jerry. So i got net 15 minutes with the Killer. Did I feel ripped off? Not really. Would I have wished to hear more. Certainly.

 

90 minutes for club show headliners, 105 minutes for arena headliners. I give a little exception to Napalm Death or other groups with really short songs and go down to 70 minutes for them, these type groups always play clubs anyway. Co-headlining is a popular thing for club shows now but those always go down to about 70 minutes each which I can live with.

 

Tell that to the kids today. They won't believe you.

 

90 minutes is an absolute minimum for a headliner for me. Anything less than that and I will likely be going home a little disappointed. Conversely, I will usually go home feeling I got my money's worth with headliners that do at least 2 hr shows. I don't think I've seen many headliners that didn't even do a 90 minute show though.

 

I saw the Stones in 1973. 14 songs, about 75 minutes, no encore. Greatest show I've ever seen.

 

You reminded me--Jerry Lee was one of my shortest shows, too. I think it was a shade under an hour. No into and outro, though. In fact, he stalked onstage before the announcer could even give him an intro. Man, he was ornery that night!

 

An hour or so if they're not playing their latest album in its entirety.

 

two different shows
Gnod 40 minutes
Charlemagne Palestine over 8 hours
both were perfect moments