Venue Songs

Venue Songs
Live album by
They Might Be Giants
ReleasedDecember 10, 2004
RecordedJuly 9 – September 30, 2004
GenreAlternative rock
Length48:20
LabelIdlewild Records
They Might Be Giants chronology
Almanac
(2004) 		Venue Songs
(2004) 		Here Come the ABCs
(2005)

Venue Songs is a 2004 album by the group They Might Be Giants. A live album, it is composed entirely of new songs. At each stop of their 2004 tour, They Might Be Giants wrote, arranged and performed a new song dedicated to that venue. Each song came together in one day as a surprise to the audience.

Initially, the album was only released in MP3 format from They Might Be Giants' online music store with the purchase of $9.99 or more during the 2004 holiday season. It is now available on They Might Be Giants' online music store in MP3 or FLAC format for purchase by itself.

In 2005, Venue Songs was re-released as a CD/DVD combo. It included studio versions of some of the venue songs, and other non-album tracks. The DVD includes music videos for some of the venue songs as well as other bonus videos.

Track listing

  1. "Celebrate Brooklyn" – 1:30
  2. "Starr Hill Music Hall" – 1:55
  3. "Sokol Auditorium" – 1:13
  4. "Houston-Meridian Theme" – 1:35
  5. "T-H-E-G-A-R-A-G-E" – 1:11
  6. "Richard's On Richards" – 2:00
  7. "The Stone Pony" – 1:05
  8. "The Egg" – 1:21
  9. "Leeds Irish Center" – 2:01
  10. "Anaheim House of Blues" – 1:04
  11. "House of Blues" – 2:09
  12. "The Blue Note" – 1:35
  13. "The Catalyst" – 2:03
  14. "First Avenue Stage" – 0:51
  15. "Mr. Small's Theatre" – 1:22
  16. "City Limits" – 1:55
  17. "Fillmore" – 1:01
  18. "Gibson Lounge" – 1:13
  19. "Music Farm" – 1:06
  20. "Trees" – 0:44
  21. "West Hollywood House of Blues" – 1:41
  22. "Variety Playhouse" – 2:04
  23. "The Downtown" – 1:04
  24. "Toad's Place" – 1:41
  25. "At The As-tore-eye-yea" – 1:19
  26. "Lincoln Theater" – 1:41
  27. "Recher Theatre" – 2:52
  28. "Mississippi Nights" – 1:16
  29. "T.L.A." – 1:33
  30. "Stubbs" – 2:45
  31. "The Orange Peel" – 1:30
Notes
  • Some tracks are recorded from their respective show's soundcheck, rather than the show itself.
  • New York City's Irving Plaza venue song was not included on this release, and no song was written for Nashville, even though it had a date on the tour.
  • While the official track names on the compilation are the cities in which songs were performed in, they are referred to by the venue names on setlists.

DVD/CD combo

Venue Songs DVD/CD
Compilation album by
They Might Be Giants
ReleasedNovember 11, 2005
Recorded2003–2005
GenreAlternative rock
Length69:36
LabelIdlewild Records
They Might Be Giants chronology
A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants
(2005) 		Venue Songs DVD/CD
(2005) 		The Else
(2007)

Venue Songs DVD/CD is a compilation album released in 2005 by They Might Be Giants on their own label, Idlewild Records. The bulk of the material comes from 2004's Venue Songs, which is included in here in its entirety, although its order has been rearranged. Venue Songs was composed of original live songs about the venue they were playing in at the time. They wrote a song for each of the venues in about a day. This album includes new studio recorded versions of 11 of the venue songs, as well as other non-album songs recorded in the past year. The DVD contains a storyline about Venue Songs which integrates videos for some of the venue songs, and includes other bonus videos as well.

Story

A Deranged Millionaire (played by John Hodgman) approaches They Might Be Giants and challenges them to write a new song every day on their current tour, celebrating the unique characteristics of every venue in which they perform. If they do not accomplish this goal, they will forever lose the talisman that grants them their magical musical abilities.

Song notes

Track listing

CD

  1. "Dallas" – 0:42
  2. "Albany" – 1:27
  3. "Los Angeles" – 1:42
  4. "Anaheim" – 1:04
  5. "Vancouver" – 1:44
  6. "Pittsburgh" – 1:21
  7. "Asheville" – 1:29
  8. "Glasgow" – 1:06
  9. "Charlottesville" – 1:50
  10. "Asbury Park" – 0:50
  11. "Brooklyn" – 1:15
  12. "Love Is Eternity" – 2:05
  13. "Renew My Subscription" – 2:18
  14. "Taste the Fame" – 0:59
  15. "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" – 1:38
  16. "Bloodmobile" – 2:22
  17. "Omaha (In Situ)" – 1:12
  18. "Houston (In Situ)" – 1:32
  19. "Leeds (In Situ)" – 1:58
  20. "New Orleans (In Situ)" – 2:06
  21. "Colombia (In Situ)" – 1:35
  22. "Santa Cruz (In Situ)" – 2:01
  23. "Minneapolis (In Situ)" – 0:49
  24. "Tucson (In Situ)" – 1:54
  25. "San Francisco (In Situ)" – 0:59
  26. "Memphis (In Situ)" – 1:10
  27. "Charleston (In Situ)" – 1:04
  28. "Atlanta (In Situ)" – 2:02
  29. "Farmingdale (In Situ)" – 1:02
  30. "New Haven (In Situ)" – 1:40
  31. "London (In Situ)" – 1:16
  32. "Raleigh (In Situ)" – 1:40
  33. "Towson (In Situ)" – 2:43
  34. "St. Louis (In Situ)" – 1:13
  35. "Philadelphia (In Situ)" – 1:31
  36. "Austin (In Situ)" – 2:43
  37. "Dallas (In Situ)" – 0:42
  38. "Albany (In Situ)" – 1:19
  39. "Los Angeles (In Situ)" – 1:40
  40. "Anaheim (In Situ)" – 1:03
  41. "Vancouver (In Situ)" – 1:59
  42. "Pittsburgh (In Situ)" – 1:20
  43. "Glasgow (In Situ)" – 1:07
  44. "Charlottesville (In Situ)" – 1:53
  45. "Asbury Park (In Situ)" – 0:59
  46. "Brooklyn (In Situ)" – 1:29

DVD

  1. Greeting from the Deranged Millionaire
  2. The experiment begins
  3. "Dallas"
  4. A concrete shrine
  5. "Albany"
  6. Paradoxically
  7. "Los Angeles"
  8. An oasis of hooch
  9. "Anaheim"
  10. The great walled city
  11. "Vancouver"
  12. Monongahela
  13. "Pittsburgh"
  14. You can’t go home again
  15. "Asheville"
  16. and so
  17. "Glasgow"
  18. Returning to the U.S.
  19. "Charlottesville"
  20. Skee-ball and saltwater taffy
  21. "Asbury Park"
  22. The tour nearly over
  23. "Brooklyn"
  24. Goodbye from the Deranged Millionaire
  25. "Damn Good Times"
  26. "Experimental Film"
  27. "Bastard Wants to Hit Me"
  28. "I'm All You Can Think About"