[Drjohnrock]

Not including local/regional bands. Also, looking for playing times, not including intermissions. Here are mine:

Longest:

Bruce Springsteen, 1978--2 hours, 45 minutes. I liked him better back then.


Shortest:

Gang Green, 2009--36 minutes. But that was okay because: (1) you don't expect marathon sets from hardcore punk bands like you would from someone, like, uh, Bruce Springsteen; (2) the show was a reunion of a sadly missed punk rock club and a benefit for one of the old scene's longtime movers and shakers; (3) a number of other acts were also on the bill, including an unbilled dance troupe!, and (4) admission was a very reasonable $5.00.

I look forward to interesting replies from others.

[Bertrand]

Longest:

The Cure, 1996 -- over than two hours

I'd like to say the shortest I saw was XTC in Paris, when Andy Partridge quickly stop playing due to vomiting problems, but I was too young and too far away from the capital then https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZrCL1aF_Zg

Must be then Jay Reatard, 2009 -- about 40 minutes, for the same reasons you mentioned

[stu666]

Longest for me was The Cure, they played for 4 hours or more I think and I'm not really a huge fan of theirs so I'd had more than enough by the time they'd finished!

Need to think about the shortest...

[Rob Instigator]

Longest was Phish, but they opened up for themselves, playeed 100 minutes, took a 15 min break then played 2 1.2 hours I was fried on hash brownies and I peaked around hour 3... it was everything.....

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

I'm a Deadhead should I even post on this thread?

For non-Dead shows Radiohead played for 2 and half hours including the encore.. this reggae band i love groundation always played two sets and would routinely finish around 3 hours..

Midnite is a beast. He performs for 3 hour sets, NO PAUSE, NO BREAK, and he never drops the mic!

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Longest punk sets are Subhumans they play two hour sets which is INSANE for punk. You barely come out the pit alive after that

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Shortest set:

I saw Ziggy Marley disappoint us and play three songs on the Santa Monica Pier when we were expecting an entire set having waited all day for it!

For a headliner I don't think other than that have I ever experienced a set under 45 minutes..

[Severian]

I feel really stupid but I don't think I could give you exact times for any of the concerts I've been to without looking them up. And that would take a lot of time and energy and memory that I'm not sure I have. Buy here are SOME of the longest:

Swans
Springsteen + E Street Band (notorious for long shows, man definitely lives up to the legend on this one)
The Cure (also famous for very long shows, and also noted multiple times in this thread)
Bob Dylan (I was ready to leave about an hour before the show ended. Can't believe this is the case, but it was. I was younger and maybe had a shorter attention span)
GY!BE (didn't mind the length, my first time seeing this band was revelatory)

Shortest? Fuck I don't know. Saw a ridiculously short Cat Power set once, but I think she was co-headlining with S-K. Saw a really short Modest Mouse show too, but again I'm not sure they were THE headliner. Need to think on this more.

[Rob Instigator]

shortest set I ever saw was at the old Vatican club in Houston, for They Might Be Giants during their Apollo 18 tour. too many people showed up and the place was overpacked,a nd the fire marshalls stopped the show about 209 minutes in. TMBG fended off the fire marshalls and played about 10 songs in those 20 minutes!

[Severian]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

TMBG fended off the fire marshalls and played about 10 songs in those 20 minutes!

Ok. That's pretty cool.

[Severian]

REM seemed like the longest show I've ever been to. I doubt it was longer than an hour and 10 min., but I didn't realize how little I cared for most of that band's material until I found myself waiting for them to start after 12 hours of standing at Bumbershoot. Uuughh.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Severian

Ok. That's pretty cool.

Haha i remember the Fire Marshall shutting down the encore at a free deftones show back in 2003 when they were at their zenith of popularity. KROQ gave away one hundred free tickets to a private and secret show at the Roxy on Sunset (venue is max capacity 145)... they also gave out "tickets" to a record signing at the old Tower on Sunset walking distance away to those folks who didn't get a ticket. I had driven all the way to some obscure Weinerstiztchel in San Bernardino (about 225 miles round trip from my house) just to get those tickets and was literally the first in line...

The place was so jammed packed the fire marshal literally took the stage and kicked everyone out IMMEDIATELY with police presence. So we get outside and I'm thinking, "Hey why not I should go to that record signing I mean I am here after all.."

The line was extended at LEAST ten blocks down Sunset. There must have been four or five thousand people there in line. I simply walked by them, shirtless and soaked in sweat, and said, "FUCK THIS LINE I JUST SAW THE SHOW!"

One of the all time greatest shows I ever was a part of! They played over a 2 hour set. ALL my favorite songs up to that point indeed they said, "Oh yall want to hear some new shit? Not until midnight!"

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

If i remember correctly the fire marshal shut down a Sleater-Kinney show encore at the Henry Fonda too. In mid-2000s the fire marshals were strict as fuck about set times... shows would routinely get shut down just before the encores.. I think the zoning laws required a specified time for exiting the building before "last call"

Its clearly changed because most clubs and venues not only play shows until last call, a lot of times the venue doesn't turn the lights on until near 3AM

[Torn Curtain]

Longest was probably Noir Désir in 1996 (around 2h40 / 2h45). Great show even if I wasn't too keen on the record 666.667 Club (the one they were touring at the time).

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

If i remember correctly the fire marshal shut down a Sleater-Kinney show encore at the Henry Fonda too. In mid-2000s the fire marshals were strict as fuck about set times... shows would routinely get shut down just before the encores.. I think the zoning laws required a specified time for exiting the building before "last call"

Its clearly changed because most clubs and venues not only play shows until last call, a lot of times the venue doesn't turn the lights on until near 3AM

Yeah now that you mention it, I've had this happen to me as well. I forget where, but I remember griping about "the Fire Marshall shutting gigs down" probably at the Showbox or some such place.

I feel stupid for how little I remember of my concert going history. I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen the Melvins, S-K, Mudhoney, or dozens of other bands who I just went to see every time I could without a second thought. I'm not even sure how many times I saw Sonic Youth anymore.

Might have something to do with all the drugs, but still. Feel like a freakin' moron.

[Drjohnrock]

There's a club in the Cincinnati area that everyone is convinced has bribed the fire marshal. They overbook constantly. I don't go there that often and won't if it's a show by a well known act that is likely to pack 'em in like sardines in a can. It's one of those things where you don't have to be aware of the exact capacity, you just know it's unsafe. Like Bob D. said "you don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows".

[Drjohnrock]

Originally Posted by Drjohnrock

Not including local/regional bands. Also, looking for playing times, not including intermissions. Here are mine:

Longest:

Bruce Springsteen, 1978--2 hours, 45 minutes. I liked him better back then.


Shortest:

Gang Green, 2009--36 minutes. But that was okay because: (1) you don't expect marathon sets from hardcore punk bands like you would from someone, like, uh, Bruce Springsteen; (2) the show was a reunion of a sadly missed punk rock club and a benefit for one of the old scene's longtime movers and shakers; (3) a number of other acts were also on the bill, including an unbilled dance troupe!, and (4) admission was a very reasonable $5.00.

I look forward to interesting replies from others.

As of Saturday March 26, 2016, I have a new shortest set winner--if "winner" is even the appropriate word in this context. I saw Jad Fair of Half Japanese play a solo set that lasted all of 23 minutes at a museum in Indianapolis. Yes, it was a free show at a music festival where $ was necessary to see a lot of the acts. Yes, Jad was there primarily--although at first it wasn't advertised as such by the festival's promoter--to display (and sell) his artwork at the museum. But it wouldn't have killed him to give us more time.

[Toilet & Bowels]

Guided by Voices (2003/4) approx 2.5 hours
Magic Science Quartet (Marshall Allen, Henry Grimes & co, last year) approx 3 hours with a 20 min break in the middle - bear in mind, Marshall Allen is 91 years old, and Henry Grimes is 80-something.

[gambra]

I saw GY!BE play for about three hours, I believe that's the longest headliner i've seen. I've seen some tourning noise acts play for maybe 15 minutes before.

[Toilet & Bowels]

Yeah, noise sets and stuff like that can be short. I saw Magik Markers play a lack lustre 30-40 mins last year.