Thanks guys, unfortunately I'm having to work 2 gigs a day sometimes just to survive!
I am now officially working 7 days a week.
Don

It's easy to tell we've got some experienced 'giggers' around here .....
Set list- NO WAY .... list of tunes by tempo, yes, but this too could be varied as mentioned by UD above ('Girl From Iwo Jima' as a swing instead if bossa) ...
I agree that each gig is unto itself, and we have to "read the lines" as they develop ... I've done the piano bar/lounge (which I still enjoy A LOT!!!), where some nites I've played 4 1/2 - 5 hours straight through, and other nites was told by the owner that I may as well pack it up after 2 - 2 1/2 hours, because the place was DEAD ... if you're in a place for any length of time, it all evens out ... As to "What to play" ... also depends on the venue and the crowd ... the lounge crowd doesn't look as much for the 'line-dance' set as a wedding crowd would .... but again, you have to get the 'sense' of what they are looking for ... AND some nites you will bust your butt answering requests, keeping them on the dance floor, tolerate the 'singer' in the crowd, and walk out with nothing more than your nite's pay, and other times you think people couldn't care less to what you were playing, and the tips are overflowing ... speaking of tips, in a lounge setting, do you guys put 'seed money' into whatever it is you're using for tips? ...
Whatever the situation, I love this stuff, especially when I'm on my way home after a gig, thinking .... "to think I get PAID to do this.."
t.

I do seed the pot. I have a jar on which I put a sign that says: "Needy Musicians Fund, Give Until It Hurts"
DonM

I never put money in. If it doesn't come from the heart ... it won't come out of pity.
Besides, I only accept "gifts" and not "tips". You have to claim tips.

The sign is a gag, not intended for pity.
But pity is o.k.
DonM