TOP FIVE COVER SONGS

With millions of songs to choose from, putting together a set can be an arduous task for cover bands. Luckily, there are a few guaranteed crowd-pleasers that will keep any audience happy. Here are five songs Sergio Spiezia and Jordan Lazare say always get a response.

1. Wonderwall: The archetypal guy-with-an-acoustic-guitar song. Audiences love it. The musicians themselves? It’s a tad overplayed. Even Oasis seemed sick of it by the time they broke up.

2. Brown Eyed Girl: Jam Avenue’s Spiezia notes that audiences of all ages have requested Van Morrison’s 1967 hit. With more than 55 per cent of the population having peepers of that colour, perhaps it’s no wonder the song has endured.

3. Wagon Wheel: Originally a bootlegged Bob Dylan demo, the song was fleshed out by folk revivalists Old Crow Medicine Show. A relatively recent hit that sounds like an oldie, it’s perfect for those old-soul university students.

4. Takin’ Care of Business: “It’s BTO. They’re Canada’s answer to ELP.” Who are we to argue with Homer Simpson, who memorably demanded the Winnipeg rockers “get to the ‘working overtime’ part!” while they played their 1974 hit?

5. Sweet Home Alabama: Given the shots taken at Neil Young in this song, it’s a surprise Canadian crowds still love to hear it. Or maybe not: calling out for Free Bird is a joke that was old the second time somebody did it, so if you need to hear some Lynyrd Skynyrd, ask for this and spare the rest of us the 10-minute guitar solos.