Finally, Music Lovers Can Share Concert Sets via Wiki. Introducing SetList.fm.

This post is in honor of my set-list-fanatic daughter who missed out on snatching Andrew Bird’s list last Friday night at The Fillmore for reasons that will go unmentioned.

As fervent concert goers know, grabbing the set list from a favorite band’s gig is like nabbing a trophy. But as fervent concert goers also know, not everyone can get their hands on that sweaty and smudged piece of paper. Which is why Setlist.fm was launched, a free wiki-site that allows users to upload and browse concert set lists.

As Springwise explains: the process is easy: users sign up, select an artist from the site’s extensive database (or add in someone up-and-coming), input a venue, and then list the songs the artist played during that particular show. They’re encouraged to add whatever they remember, relying on ‘crowd memory’ to fix errors and add missing songs. Once saved, a list is added to an archive of an artist’s performances that also includes ‘most played’ statistics and links to live videos.

Each user is given a personal page of the set lists they added or edited, as well as their comments and concert attendance statistics. Helping promote the site, a Setlist.fm widget is popular on music websites, and is also available for Facebook pages. Its pseudo-handwritten ink-on-paper format combines a sense of authenticity with the convenience of a digital database.

As you can see from the picture above, somebody better quick log on and add in the songs Andrew Bird played, brilliantly assisted by Martin Dosh and a trippy, talented Swedish band called Loney Dear. The whole concert was such a tribute to true musicianship and songwriting genius that I was too mesmerized to remember much of anything, much less titles. And no, it wasn’t the sweet scent wafting in from the street.

Launched in September 2008, Setlist.fm’s current database consists mainly of recent concerts, although there’s nothing to stop enthusiasts from listing shows dating back to Bruce Springsteen’s glory days. (But as they say, if you can remember the 70’s, you probably weren’t there.) Amazingly, Setlist hails from tiny Liechtenstein.