Statistics

With a day off after the most recent shows, I spent some time updating the spreadsheet I keep of TMBG songs I have seen live. I hadn't updated it at all this year, so it needed some major revision. I must admit, I am somewhat fascinated by the statistics it reveals about songs I've seen most or least often. I can track which albums have been best represented in my live experience and which the least. Things like the rarest songs I've seen and the most common. And often, the results are pretty surprising (though occasionally not surprising at all). So I thought I would share some of the statistics I find most interesting.

Total Number of Songs Heard Live: 201

25 Most Frequently Heard Songs

1. Istanbul - 133
2. Birdhouse In Your Soul - 114
3. Doctor Worm - 109
4. The Mesopotamians - 101
5. Damn Good Times - 94
6. Clap Your Hands - 90
7. The Guitar - 77
8. Alphabet Of Nations - 74
9. Ana Ng - 70
10. Cloisonné - 68
11. New York City - 67
12. Particle Man - 66
13. When Will You Die - 66
14. Fingertips - 57
15. Drink! - 56
16. Withered Hope - 56
17. Can't Keep Johnny Down - 50
18. James K. Polk - 50
19. Why Does The Sun Shine? - 50
20. Battle For The Planet Of The Apes - 49
21. Dead - 49
22. We Live In A Dump - 48
23. Whistling In The Dark - 46
24. Celebration - 45
25. The Famous Polka - 44

26 Songs Only Heard Once

Auld Lang Syne
Charleston
Columbia
Contrecoup
Everything Is Catching On Fire
Hall Of Heads
Horse With No Name
I Can Hear You
Live Free Or Die
Metal Detector
Mink Car
Minneapolis
Phone Calls From The Dead
Raleigh
Reptiles Eat With The Bones We Hear With
Spine
Spiraling Shape
The Bells Are Ringings
The Cap'm
The Shadow Government
Till My Head Falls Off
To All The Girls I've Loved Before
Token Back To Brooklyn
Towson
Tubthumping
Violin

Albums By Songs Heard Live

Flood - 19 of 19
Apollo 18 - 38 of 38
The Else - 11 of 13 (1 remaining has been performed)
Factory Showroom - 11 of 13 (both remaining have been performed)
Lincoln - 15 of 18 (all remaining have been performed)
No! - 12 of 17 (none of the remaining have been performed)
The Spine - 9 of 16 (4 of the remaining have been performed)
Join Us - 11 of 18 (none of the remaining have been performed)
Here Comes Science - 10 of 19 (none of the remaining have been performed)
Mink Car - 5 of 17 (10 of the remaining have been performed)
Long Tall Weekend - 3 of 15 (9 of the remaining have been performed)
John Henry - 6 of 20 (all of the remaining have been performed)
They Might Be Giants - 5 of 19 (all of the remaining have been performed)
Here Comes the 123s - 9 of 24 (none of the remaining have been performed)
Nanobots - 9 of 25 (1 of the remaining has been performed)
Here Comes the ABCs - 3 of 23 (4 of the remaining have been performed)

For the record that puts John Henry, Mink Car and Long Tall Weekend at the top of the list of albums with songs that have been performed that I haven't seen. I'm not currently counting the Pink Album since I'm gonna see that whole thing twice in just a few months :-)

(There is no recorded setlist for my very first show, but, based on other songs being performed at similar shows at the time, there are two other songs from ABCs that I may have seen but can't confirm.)

Venue Songs Heard Live

Asbury Park - 15 (3 times in original venue)
Los Angeles - 11
Albany - 4 (2 times in original venue)
Pittsburgh - 4 (2 times in original venue)
Asheville - 3 (all in original venue)
Atlanta - 3 (all in original venue)
Brooklyn - 3 (1 in original venue)
Charlottesville - 3
Dallas - 3
Anaheim - 2
Glasgow - 2
Philadelphia - 2 (all in original venue)
Vancouver - 2
Charleston - 1 (original venue)
Columbia - 1 (original venue)
Minneapolis - 1 (original venue)
Raleigh - 1 (original venue)
Towson - 1 (original venue)

Rarest Songs Heard

Reptiles Eat With The Bones We Hear With (only performance)
Tubthumping (only performance)
Token Back to Brooklyn (only performance)
The Bells Are Ringing (1 of 2 performances)
Live Free Or Die (1 of 3 performances)
How Many Planets? (3 of 3 performances)
Black Ops (3 of 3 performances)
Three Might Be Duende (3 of 4 performances)

Songs Heard At Soundcheck But Not Performed

You Don't Like Me
9 Secret Steps
Wearing A Raincoat
Destination Moon

Songs Performed Most Often That I Have Never Seen

Man, It's So Loud In Here - 164 times
Sleeping in the Flowers - 144 times
Exquisite Dead Guy - 139 times
AKA Driver - 89 times
Counterfeit Faker - 77 times

Songs On The Dial-A-Song Collection I Have Yet To See

You might remember that I have a personal goal to someday see all the songs from the Dial-A-Song compilations performed live (since that was my first album). These are what remains.

Man, It's So Loud In Here
Bangs
Another First Kiss
(She Was A) Hotel Detective (soon to vanish from the list!)
I Should Be Allowed To Think
Stormy Pinkness (yeah right! This is the one that is going to prevent me every reaching this goal)
Exquisite Dead Guy
Boat of Car (also soon to vanish from the list!)
Number Three (this one too!)
Nightgown Of The Sullen Moon (and if Stormy Pinkness doesn't do it this one will)

Other Fun Stats

I have seen about 13% of the known performances of Istanbul and 11% of the performances of Birdhouse.

I've seen just about half of the performances of all performed songs from Join Us, Nanobots, Here Comes Science and Here Come the 123s.

I have seen the live premieres of about 34 songs.


And finally, for the super curious and/or bored, I am gonna post my whole spreadsheet as a page in the side bar so you can all go "wow, I can't believe you haven't seen _____" or "I am so jealous that you have seen ______" as the case may be.

Gang Activity Threatens TMBG Show

Fairfield, CT - Hundreds of music fans were left scratching their heads after threats of gang activity severely hampered a concert by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants at Fairfield University Saturday night. School officials increased security on campus Saturday night in response to unsubstantiated rumors of gang initiation rites that were to target Fairfield University students. All cars were restricted to entering campus through the main gates and drivers and passengers were required to show IDs. Hundreds of concert goers were delayed nearly an hour as traffic backed up onto the interstate.

The resulting traffic jam even caught band founders John Flansburgh and John Linnell, as well as many employees and volunteers for the Quick Center for the Arts where the concert was taking place. Joked Flansburgh, "We had to show the guards the clarinet in the back seat to prove we weren't gang members."

The concert organizer credited poor planning on the part of the University for the traffic and long delay. While he understood the need to protect students safety, he said the concert has been on the books for months and campus security should have been prepared for the increased traffic with additional gates open for concert goers to access the campus.

At the time the show was scheduled to begin, only 20-30 of the ticket holders in the 400 seat theater had made it through security. Many said they weren't even required to show ID when entering campus after stating that they were there for the concert, bringing into question the effectiveness of the additional security measures. The show was delayed about 45 minutes before the band and the majority of the audience finally made it through security. Free foam hands were passed out to everyone in the audience to apologize for the wait.

The majority of the crowd remained in good spirits despite the delay. Many fans said they were frustrated by the delay but most also seemed bemused. Said one fan, "They Might Be Giants is about the least likely band to get caught up in anything to do with gang activity. It seems like something someone would write for a comedy sketch. Most of the fans here are more likely to be members of their local library than a gang." Another fan joked that the audience looked more like a gang once they were in the theater all displaying identical foam fingers. Upon taking the stage Flansburgh asked the audience, "Do you all feel nice and safe? Everyone's IDs been checked? Good, good." He was obviously frustrated but  in surprisingly good spirits despite the setbacks.

When the band did take the stage it was without lead guitarist Dan Miller, who had reportedly been escorted from the premises for suspected gang associations. Said Linnell, "He was throwing gang signs at our earlier show." Another source stated that aggressive demands for cake may have also been a factor. Also missing was the band's electronic drum kit whose "boom car" sound effects were deemed a security risk.

After the concert, which was a success despite the delays and missing band members, Flansburgh said, "We've had a lot of weird stuff happen in almost 30 years on the road but I think this is the first time we've ever been delayed by a complete lack of gang activity."



(Please note: the above is a complete joke I concocted for your amusement. Though based on fact, I made most of it up. Hopefully, it made you laugh at least a little. Actual recap coming soon.)