There was, from time to time, the odd multi-band charity show or Battle of the Bands and I suspected Demon Rhythm, as the newest outfit on the block would end up hitting the stage early in proceedings, which would, as I saw it, tie in nicely with a mission to blow anyone yet to appear off the stage.
OK, the attitude would have been. See if you can follow this.
Inquiring minds would, of course, be wondering what you'd choose as a three-song set in such circumstances. I'd have headed straight towards Small Faces territory for the set, starting with Afterglow of Your Love, following it with All or Nothing and concluding with (of course) Tin Soldier.
A reader who happens to have those tracks in their iTunes could sample what would be close to a perfect little ten minute mini-set, and if you were to set the crossfade in your iTunes Preferences about half way across the sliding scale, you’d see that the recorded versions crossfade rather nicely, and it doesn’t take much imagination to figure a couple of little adaptions that would work pretty well in the live setting.
But in that territory we’re still looking at an environment where the short set was the standard modus operandi. As we moved beyond that territory, and as ticket prices went, effectively, through the roof, a half hour set from a headliner isn’t going to be seen as acceptable, and even the hour-long show that sufficed for most acts through the seventies isn’t going to satisfy people who’ve paid over a hundred dollars for a seat, and have probably incurred other significant expenses along the way.
Of course, there are some artists who’ve been instrumental in lifting the bar (as far as concert duration is concerned) along the way.