ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearances

Pretty self-explanatory
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bronxapostle
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ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearances

Post by bronxapostle »

okay all OCD people...read on! the rest: GO AWAY!! i can only write this in my casual NON essayist approach and hope you can derive some enjoyment. it is not intended as anything other than to illustrate how lucky i've been in selecting shows to attend. NATURALLY, mix into all this, my great luck by living in the new york city area all my life and being privy to many appearances that others could never hope to view. as i approached my one hundredth time seeing our hero, it became apparent that i would need to re-do my "bookkeeping." i had devised a graph several years back, which allowed for "ONLY" 100 times. each song played had its own section with 100 boxes that i write the number of the show if the song is played that night. so, i was left to decide: should i just add a second page to each song selection or start anew? with many additions of song fragments i had missed from the initial night of the show, there were several mislaid songs placed in non-chronological order. for the true neurotic, it became a no-brainer...START ANEW. so my new graph paper allows for 250 times of seeing ELVIS live. this surely is a pipe dream unless i wind up on his payroll one day. :lol: :lol:

i mentioned song fragments. let me clarify. my logic has always been this: if he yelps out "in the city, there's a thousand things i want to say to you." then that night, he DID THE JAM song "IN THE CITY" more than he did NOT do it. so, i have ALWAYS included tidbits in my setlist per show. naturally, some like THE KINKS "SEE MY FRIENDS" or THE SMALL FACES "TIN SOLDIER" both appearing in the Summer 1994 Attractions shows, were harder to decipher live and only with the internet boon, have many of these been properly labelled. hence my dilemma with adjusting for chronological placement problems and the need, again, for me to start anew.

my numbers are staggering, but again warrant a little discussion before proceeding. i like to think i am a well balanced partially strict/partially lenient judge. if i was trying to do this same task with BOB DYLAN live, it would never work. he so regularly and vastly reinterprets his own songs on a regular basis, that it is a near impossibility to credit "different" versions. but, with Elvis i think it is easier. naturally, when he works with orchestral or jazz acts, and calls them as "arranged by" this notates a "new" version. also, with the sugarcanes, i feel there were a good ten or twelve songs from Elvis back catalog that DID get a markedly different treatment, enough so to be called a DIFFERENT version. and then there are a handful of songs that Elvis on his own with his usual backing band reworked enough to be called a "new" track played live for my list. these would include things like: The Other Side of Summer (played as a waltz MSG 1991); Pump It Up '89 rap; Temptation '95 w/ Steve duo; Distorted Chelsea '96, Green Shirt '96 or Veronica #2 and National Ransom (attractions version) both from this year 2011. however, let's take a song like Everyday I Write the Book. yes, i have it as THREE different versions, whereas some might feel there are more. i have only credited the Ron Sexsmith version from Spectacle and The Sugarcanes version. whether it gets slowed a little, funked a little, punked a little or Motowned a little was immaterial to my list. please feel free to discuss.

so, a little history is in order. despite loving the artist from the get go in 1977, i could not get someone to take me until 1979. so i did indeed miss the first two or four tours and subsequently a very small handful of early regularly performed songs. but, since then, i guess i have NOT missed a tour (other than the opening slot for The Police due to illness). i get to most neighboring shows and sometimes take a short road trip and very rarely a LONG road trip. i have seen him in eight states (NJ, NY, PA, OH, NV, CA, CT, MA) and D.C. the most i've seen on any one tour is six shows in 1986. and i'm on a great consecutive year streak right now seeing him at least once a year since 1993. i've seen an appearance, naturally, every day of the week, every month of the year and everyday of the month except, NEVER on the 17th. i've seen him in fifty two different venues, twenty times at the Beacon and there have been forty eight different opening songs. i caught three soundchecks, all at Pier 84 in 1982 and 83. without these, i would have never have seen THE WORLD AND HIS WIFE, BOY WITH A PROBLEM, KING OF THIEVES, CHA DOOKIE DOO or THREE TIMES A FOOL FOR I LOVE YOU SO with Elvis playing bass guitar!!!

i've seen with The Attractions, + Martin Belmont, + Glenn Tilbrook, + T.K.O. Horns, + Gary Barnacle, SOLO, with the Confederates, the Coward Brothers, the ONLY 1986 Benmont Tench Confederates (never knew he did the '87 shows until now!), with Nick Lowe, The Rude Five, The Brodsky Quartet, w/ Steve Nieve, The Jazz Passengers, Debbie Harry, Burt Bacharach (duo), Burt full band, Lucinda Williams, ONE AMAZING NIGHT, FIRE AT KEATONS BAR AND GRILL and WELCOME TO THE VOICE, with the Charles Mingus Orchestra, The Imposters, Metropole Orkest, The only Pick Ups + Steve Nieve, Hubert Sumlin, Emmylou Harris, Larry Campbell, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Deathcab for Cutie, Fiona Apple, Billie Joe Armstrong, Allen Toussaint, Marian McPartland, Tony Bennett, Lou Reed, The Sugarcanes, Sheryl Crow, Neko Case, Ron Sexsmith and Jesse Winchester, with BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & The E STREET BAND, The Speaking Clock Revue, Jeff Bridges, The Secret Sisters, Bible Code Sundays, Tennessee Thomas, Alex Turner and Questlove. surely i've omitted someone.

a couple honorable mentions for THE IMPOSTER only played at my 3rd and 4th show, until my 83rd and 84th show. BEATEN TO THE PUNCH at my 4th show and then even Elvis himself did not play it again until my 84th show and has not yet played it since. and another oddball fact...HUMAN HANDS only twice live for me; BOTH on NEW YEARS EVE's in 1981 and 2007!!! there are 242 songs i have only seen performed ONCE!

and the TOP FIVE SONGS PLAYED ARE:

ALISON 63
PUMP IT UP 62
DETECTIVES 60
PLU 50
CLUBLAND 42

and for the last sentence: i have seen 616 different songs played live with a grand total of 2611 songs played so far before my eyes and ears! i'm tired....
Last edited by bronxapostle on Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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krm
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by krm »

wow! ba rules! I dont even know myslef how many time Ive seen him!
Last edited by krm on Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
bronxapostle
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by bronxapostle »

how do you mean? my bookkeeping? that's the only thing i do. it's our hero i brag about here. sometimes, i just pick the 'right' shows to attend. :lol:
sulky lad
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by sulky lad »

This is an amazing record, BA - I first saw Elvis at the Roundhouse in 1978, then not again until Exeter University 1981 (with a cassette recorder the size of a shoe box up my jumper ) the not again until 1984. From then onwards I've seen every tour but I've missed a few years - I didn't see The Juliet Tour come to think of it - but I think I've more or less surpassed 100 shows. I can add John Harle to my list but I've never sat down and worked out the songs I've seen. :shock: Your work in recording (in the broadest sense) all this information from these shows is truly breathtaking. I'm totally blown away by this - any chance of the list of the shows you've attended please ? :D
bronxapostle
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by bronxapostle »

you can do it too sulky. i mean, you MUST know every show you saw, no??? do you want me to type out all 100 dates? i can do it....just about off the top of my head after all this time spent re-doing the archives! i'll bang it out later. but really, you MUST see favehours list. THAT is impressive!
sulky lad
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by sulky lad »

One thing that really bugs me is this - I'd swear on my son's life that I've seen Poor Napoleon wit5h the strobes and all that feedback as in the 1986 SSS tour with The Attractions but I now I only went to 2 shows at the Royalty Theatre and saw the SSS and a solo show - I can't figure it out at all. When I'm working away from home, I intend to take my old diaries with me and knock up the list for completeness sake. Dave must be close to being the all time record holder isn't he ??
bronxapostle
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by bronxapostle »

i forgot SULKY...i had it readily available from when i had emailed it to fave dave. he swears he is NOT near to number one!!!

001. 3-30-79 meet Springsteen
002. Bottom Line 4-1-79
003. 1-31-81
004. 2-2-81
005. 12-31-81
006. Philly JFK 8-21-82
007. 8-27-82
008. 8-30-82
009. Allentown, PA 8-3-83
010. 8-7-83
011. 8-9-83
012. 8-10-83
013. Asbury Park, NY 8-14-83
014. 4-14-84
015. 4-15-84
016. 8-16-84
017. 8-18-84
018. 10-21-86
019. 10-22-86
020. 10-23-86
021. 10-24-86
022. 10-25-86
023. Upper Darby, PA 10-27-86 METS WIN WORLD SERIES
024. 4-11-89
025. 8-23-89
026. 8-24-89
027. 8-27-89
028. 6-22-91
029. 8-10-91
030. 3-18-93 meet Townshend BEFORE (he did NOT attend show)
031. 4-1-94 Letterman
032. Cuyahoga, OH 6-2-94
033. 6-8-94
034. 6-11-94
035. 6-15-94
036. 8-2-95
037. 8-3-95
038. 8-4-95
039. 8-6-95
040. 8-7-95
041. 5-22-96 late show after 7:00 Yankee game
042. Washington D.C. 8-9-96
043. 8-12-96
044. 8-13-96 last Attractions NYC!
045. 2-12-97 Jazz Passengers E laughs when he sees it is I who dances with Deborah and escort her back to stage.
046. 4-8-98 loads of pictures back stage during & after show w/ EVERYONE! my ONLY pic with E despite six meetings. ONE AMAZING NIGHT
047. 10-3-98 w/ Burt duo Virgin Records
048. 10-13-98
049. Las Vegas, NV 5-29-99
050. San Diego, CA 5-30-99
051. and with Lucinda Williams 6-26-99 although NO previous connection, i predicted he would play with her and was sure to catch set.
052. 10-19-99 my 40th bday
053. 10-24-99
054. 10-25-99
055. 5-5-000 Roy Nathanson Fire at Keaton's Bar
056. 6-8-000 Welcome to the Voice
057. 11-7-1
058. 4-19-2 CBS Plaza
059. 4-23-2 Tower Records
060. 6-18-2
061. Asbury, NJ 6-20-2
062. 8-30-2 Rockefeller Plaza
063. 10-22-2
064. 10-28-2
065. Annandale, NY 5-3-3
066. 7-11-3
067. 9-22-3
068. 9-24-3
069. 2-27-4
070. 7-13-4
071. 7-15-4
072. 4-22-5
073. Atlantic City, NJ 4-23-5 PICK UPS with STEVE. first A.C. concert!
074. 7-19-5
075. Wallingford, CT 7-22-5 a record 45 song setlist!!
076. 9-28-5 talk & song
077. 5-12-6
078. A.C. 5-19-6 VH1
079. 7-10-6
080. 7-11-6
081. Lenox, MA 9-2-6 Marian E responds to my heckle re: Diana "DON'T YOU EVER SING TOGETHER?" "that's the next show!"
082. with Tony Bennett 9-26-6
083. 5-14-7 webcast
084. A.C. 12-31-7
085. 4-16-8 Lou Reed
086. Red Bank, NJ 6-9-9
087. 6-10-9 meet FAVE DAVE
088. 9-21-9 Jesse, Ron, Neko, Sheryl
089. 11-7-9 with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
090. 4-15-10
091. A.C. 4-16-10
092. 4-23-10
093. 10-20-10 speaking clock revue
094. 11-1-10 webcast
095. 4-1-11 Gramercy
096. 5-23-11
097. 5-24-11
098. 7-26-11
099. 10-1-11
100. 10-5-11 Rose and my 9th wedding anniversary

i only mentioned super important notes!!!
The imposter
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by The imposter »

Hats off to you ba! A man after my own heart. Now we wanna see that graph!
bronxapostle
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by bronxapostle »

not that kinda graph. five songs per page!!! so, for instance, page one...FIRST SONG: I STAND ACCUSED. next to it are the 25 boxes per line, ten lines given for each selection. with this song, only 1 & 2 are written in the corresponding boxes as this is the only two times i've seen it performed. a song like say RADIO RADIO, will have 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,16,22,32,33,34,35,60,61,63,64,66,71,72,73,78,83,84,91,95,96,97,99,100 filled in. get it now? wish i was computer savvy to show a picture. oh, i know what i'll do tomorrow. i'll take a photo of a random page or two and up it at twitter!!! sound good???

okay imp...you've inspired me. IT IS DONE! http://twitter.com/?photo_id=1#!/bronxa ... 76/photo/1 once there, click directly upon photo for a better "close-up" and
"follow me" while there too!!
bronxapostle
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by bronxapostle »

http://twitter.com/?photo_id=1#!/bronxa ... to/1/large

okay all, ba IS getting more compusavvy...think above link should take you directly to the large version. homework assignment: EVERYBODY MAKE THEIR OWN FOR THEIR SHOWS! and don't tell me about spreadsheets, microsoft word, etc; it's much more fun on PAPER!!! use pencil; easier to correct errors.
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krm
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by krm »

did my homework today! Malmö tomorrow would have been the 26th time! Spread over 5 countries (sweden, denmark, uk, germany and Japan). Don´t know what songs he played but artists he played with are Pogues, Jackson Browne, Fabolous Thunderbirds. Performing w attractions, Imposters, brodskys, sugarcanes, solo, and w Nick Lowe. I hope it will be additions to this next year. and ba, I still havnt nailed it down on paper properly. sorry for that. :-)
michaelp
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by michaelp »

Great stuff. Thought it was just me who loved the stats side of things. I've kept a record of every Elvis gig I've been to since the first one in 1981 until I saw him support Macca last year. Couldn't tell you which songs he played though. My first post by the way!!
bronxapostle
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by bronxapostle »

well GET BUSY krm & michaelp too! 99% of setlists are here.....http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/index.php/Gigography GOOD CLEAN FUN!

oh, and welcome aboard Mike...you'll have fun here.
redsfan720
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by redsfan720 »

Great stuff, bronxapostle. An immensely enjoyable read.

It says something for the man's catalog that the most popular song was only played at 63 percent of the gigs you've seen, and it's a pretty good sample size spread out over a lot of years and different tours.
bronxapostle
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by bronxapostle »

redsfan720 wrote:Great stuff, bronxapostle. An immensely enjoyable read.

It says something for the man's catalog that the most popular song was only played at 63 percent of the gigs you've seen, and it's a pretty good sample size spread out over a lot of years and different tours.
glad you dug it Cincy! that is indeed something about the NUMBER ONE song only being played 63%, huh? as much as i LOVE Bruce, i'm sure BORN TO RUN would be more like 85%. and equally statistically stunning now that i re-read my own numbers....imagine: ONLY FOUR SONGS played more than 50% of these sample one hundred shows!! thanks for your input.
bronxapostle
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by bronxapostle »

go ahead, dare me to list all 616 songs.... :lol: :lol: :lol: i can type them out slowly but surely and post as a Thanksgiving gift to the free world. :D
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migdd
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by migdd »

ba, wouldn't it be simpler to list all of the songs you HAVE NOT heard EC play live? :lol: :lol: :lol:
bronxapostle
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Re: ba statistical analysis of first one hundred EC appearan

Post by bronxapostle »

now, THAT is funny migdd AND semi-accurate. EXCEPT for if i was to name very song EVER recorded!!! even still, if i was to try to list every song Elvis ever sang live that i did NOT see, i would be willing to bet that THAT number surpasses 616 as well. thanks for the thought provoking post. cheers, ba
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