Why people are interested on setlists? I think they are a way for hardcore fans to keep an eye to the activity of their favourite artists, outside of the usual “listen the music, analyze it, discuss it, find something to do with their work while still respecting it”. Or for simple curious people, who want to know what to expect from the gig they’ll go soon or if their favourite song is played live. I know there are people who don’t give a crap about setlists and they are happy as long as they see an artist live, and that’s what you should consider in first place, but anyway.
Talking about setlists and co. is something I carried from back when I was an huge fan of a certain English band (still love them but I calmed down). The funny thing is that while the main complaints about their setlist were “they are photocopied with almost no variation between each date” (back when I saw them live in 2009 I was perfectly able to predict each song) and “they completely ignore their first albums”, for BUTAOTOME are “they focus too much on their 2010 Touhou singles” and “some of the few recent Touhou tracks they keep playing :coughRougetsucough: are not that good”. I’m perfectly aware that we are talking about two different worlds, but the truth is that Complaining is Life! And after this pearl of trashy wisdom, let’s start.
With BUTAOTOME’s setlists being posted on Twitter almost always, I think it’s natural to try to do some stats. In this post I’ll list every song played during this year and also the last one (because why not?) with their respective playcount.
I’ve bolded the winner songs from their respective categories (most played Touhou track and most played original track) and I’ve italicized the songs that got their live debut during the year. Note that they are not all the songs released on albums from that year: mostly notable, Radical Shoujo and Motelab. existed since 2015 and got their long awaited album release only this year. Oh, and I miss only one setlist from 2016, but it’s from a Touhou Livebox and won’t radically change the results.
Starting with 2016!
1. Gensou no Satellite x23
2. Kakoinaki yo wa Ichigo no Tsukikage x18
3. Machibito wa Kozu. x17
4. Kyou En x9 (+1 medley?)
5. Rougetsu x8
6. Sharekoube x7
7. Saru x7
8. Haruka Tooi Sora no Koe x7
9. Pyrite x7
10. Tiramisu Cowboy x6
11. Yurara Kamishibai x6
12. Hakanaki Mono Ningen x6 (+1 medley)
13. Yumezakura x5
14. Mou ii yo x5
15. Radical Shoujo x5
16. Kyoai x5 (+1 medley)
17. Panorama Girl x5
18. Shikaban Hyakkiyakou Emaki x5 (+1 medley)
19. Circus x4
20. Itsumo no Futari x4
21. Ikeru tokoro made iki, shikarubeki basho de shine x4
22. Warp On x4
23. Kiraware x3
24. Otona Gum x3
25. Y x3
26. Good Master x3
27. Mou Nani mo hoka ni iranai hazu sa x3
28. Ningen ga daisuki na kowareta youkai no uta [COOL&CREATE cover] x3
29. Itami Honpo x2
30. Ikiru x2
31. Koi no Yamai x2 (+1 medley)
32. Mittsu Kazoero x2
33. Futatsu no Cinema x2
34. Anata ni wa Miete Watashi ni wa Mienai Mono x2
35. Yubi Shaburi
36. Kyouzon
37. Shinsan Game
38. Motelab.
39. Heisei Kaisei Dottenshan
40. Kakera
41. Aoi Miren, Aoi Namida
42. Jigoku Kakurenbo
43. Fuwari Kakusei
44. Fuwa*Kira
45. Moonstone
46. Towa no Maigo
47. Hoshi no Kiseki
48. Mirai
49. Sakebe
50. Aru Haru no Hi
51. Let’s Matsuri
52. Dance dance dance
53. Gen’ei no naka de
54. Ane no Ekaki Uta
55. Ikkagetsu
56. The fear is oneself 1 medley
57. Yume ja nai Nanika 1 medley
Now, with 2017’s songs:
1. Gensou no Satellite x24
2. Machibito wa Kozu. x18
3. Kakoinaki yo wa Ichigo no Tsukikage x18
4. Furubokko x16
5. Radical Shoujo x15
6. Hakusen x14
7. Kyou En x14
8. Sharekoube x9
9. Saru x9
10. Hakanaki Mono Ningen x9
11. Mou ashita nanka iranai x7
12. Tiramisu Cowboy x6
13. Motelab. x6
14. Rougetsu x5
15. Sorairo Ribbon x5
16. Panorama x4
17. Haruka Tooi Sora no Koe x4
18. Ikiru x4
19. Fuwari Kakusei x4
20. Shikaban Hyakkiyakou Emaki x4
21. Yumezakura x3
22. Kyoai x3
23. Yurara Kamishibai x3
24. Moonstone x3
25. Mittsu Kazoero x3
26. Futatsu no Cinema x3
27. Taikan Rolling x2
28. Trauma Recorder x2
29. Ikiru no ga Heta na dake x2
30. Zurezure na Hibi x2
31. The fear is oneself x2 (+1 medley)
32. Panorama Girl x2
33. Hatenabito x2
34. Itsumo no Futari x2
35. Yakeru you na Aka de x2
36. Chosha Fumei wa Tayasuku Nusumareru x2
37. Nawatobi x2
38. Anata ni wa Miete Watashi ni wa Mienai Mono x2
39. Futari dake no Kotoba x2
40. Circus
41. Kaimenkasseizai
42. Ikkaishoubu
43. Kudaranai Hibi
44. Usotsuki
45. Itami Honpo
46. Yuukeimukei
47. Fusoku Hokou
48. Yodare
49. Mamorubeki Mono
50. Unmei no Wa
51. Aoi Miren, Aoi Namida
52. Jigoku Kakurenbo
53. Eiga no Saki
54. Kitto Todoku
55. Y (+1 medley)
56. Tsumi to Batsu
57. Katte Ninjou
58. Koi no Yamai (+1 medley)
59. Mirai
60. Namida Tojikometa Sora
61. Sakebe
62. Warp On
63. Mou nani mo hoka ni iranai hazu sa
64. RAKUEN
65. Ikkagetsu
66. Himawari Sunset
67. Cirno’s Perfect Class [IOSYS cover] [DOES IT EVEN COUNT?!]
Observations: with the major debut, the new original songs got lots of love and promotion, and we can expect Trauma Recorder to get them with next year’s tour! But the same can’t be said for the Touhou releases: almost all of them got ignored with Giji Kazoku Nyuumon being the lucky one and how I personally think a new album should be promoted at minimum: play the best/key track from it at least during the timespan until next Touhou album’s release. But let’s try to be in their shoes: I think now it’s hard for them to rehearse new tracks each time and they are already spending their energies for the major/original songs, which are far more important especially if they want to expand their audience; everybody knows BUTAOTOME in the Touhou music world, and that’s probably why they often bring the 2010 singles: a lot of people got into them thanks to Gensou no Satellite, Machibito and co., in their multiple media. But outside of that they are still a small and unknown band.
As a reminder, I’m just a poor overseas fan who never saw BUTAOTOME live in first person and can only rely on random footages and the reports from my friend Scott. The day I’ll finally see them live, I’ll cherish that moment, regardless of what they’ll play.