I am a Setlist.Fm and Facebook group STAN. I love both of these tools for figuring out setlists and other information and I am unlikely to ever stop using them. But in an age of information overload, isn’t it nice to have a little mystery?

Over the past few years, there has been a trend of artists who do not stick to the same setlist for each show on tour. Not everyone treats this element of surprise the same, and each method has its own pros and cons.

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Vampire Weekend and Modest Mouse

These are two groups who do an entirely different setlist each night.

The positive? Unique, deep cuts and bonding experiences for your specific show. Vampire Weekend plays obscure tracks such as “One (Blake’s Got a New Face)” or the SKBRT collaboration “New Dorp New York” at maybe three shows per leg, so getting to say you were at a show with a special song? Heavenly.

The negative? You may not hear a favorite of yours. Sure, this is true even if the group had a fixed setlist that happened to omit your song. But knowing that Modest Mouse fans in Indianapolis got “King Rat” and I didn’t? Legitimately heartbreaking.

Taylor Swift

The “Surprise Song” section of a Taylor Swift show is integral to the experience. And to my earlier point about information overload – this is a genius move due to how much of the tour makes it to social media. We’ve all seen countless videos of the Reputation snake suit at this point. But when Swift sits down at her piano and teases out a fan favorite, the energy changes and becomes something special.

I am not a Swiftie and I can probably say her non-surprise setlist with at least 75% accuracy. I cannot tell you a single lyric of “Snow on the Beach.” For the diehard Swifites at the one show that gets to hear that song? I cannot imagine what a special bond that is (similar to my thoughts on Vampire Weekend from above).

Wallows

Pop Culture Beast All-Timers Wallows had a fresh new strategy – the band released a voting form.

Now I am going to admit something unethical to you, dear readers. I was voting for “Pulling Leaves Off Trees” on multiple emails. I know, I know. But here’s the thing. I cannot be the only one doing that. It was way too easy to skew the data one way. (And serves me right, because I didn’t hear it in Vegas. Oh well).

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So what is the case for a fixed setlist? To me, it’s money. As the cost of living rises, the choice of attending a show can come down to if they are playing your songs or not.

BTS

My family traveled across the country to catch the Permission to Dance on Stage tour in Las Vegas, a once in a lifetime chance to see Bangtan Sonyeondan right before their military enlistment.

The encore songs flipped for each night of the residency, meaning that either my mom got to hear her favorite song, or my sister got to hear hers. However, my favorite is permanently on the setlist, so I won no matter what. (My mom won, in case you were wondering).

Traveling for that was… An Amount of Money… so the fact that my family was sort of gambling (ha, Vegas) on what we heard was one of the things we debated when deciding whether or not to attend.

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How do you prefer your favorite bands to treat their setlists? Full of surprises? Same every time? Somewhere in the middle? Let us know!