I’m a big fan of John Henry…if you haven’t heard the Demos, definitely do—the songs are even better with room to breathe from the final mix!
Listening to A User's Guide To They Might Be Giants right now. Just a sampler of their career up to that point, but they got ideas, hooks up the kazoo. It seems like they could keep doing this forever.
Saw them in Ithaca last week. I'm not gonna lie, while I found it amusing they played all but 1 of the songs from Flood, at mine one of my favorite songs from them wasn't their. I waited patiently, I even waited after the final encore and I didn't get to hear Road Movie to Berlin live Time won't find the lost... fair enough but it's probably one of the most memorable shows I've been to, even if I'm a casual fan - the stage chemistry was excellent, they pulled from a lot of their career per song, it's a lot of ambition to seemingly alter your setlist every show, not just in running order but in songs played. They played Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love backwards, and played it back after intermission to see how well they played the song. The encore delivered though, more or less took Istanbul and made it this 10 minute affair of really, really good musicianship - but these guys know that and choose to use their versatility to make every single show unique and are blatantly self aware and honest. Was a rough night getting their and back but holding onto the ticket is a decision I cannot say I regret - also, the sheer fact they played Fingertips in it's entirety is one of the most awkward but awe inspiring thing I have ever seen. To be this accomplished musically and play what are mostly verse chorus pop songs this quickly and improvised was super fun
Picture from an anonymous reddit thread of the night - think I'm slightly out of shot, but that's for the best. I was moving that entire show and it's certainly the most sweaty I've ever been in the context of a theater. I felt better knowing it wasn't just me.
TMBG is a band that has missed me. I only really know the TMBG Kids song 'One Everything', but that is a really fun kids song. And, a great pop song.
I still have my tickets from two years ago, with the show supposedly taking place in May of 2023. I find it strange that it's a Flood show but they're not playing the full album, which I assumed was the point of the tour. The long wait coupled with their demand that everyone wear masks just makes it seem less fun than it would have been when the tour was initially announced. I'll hang onto our tickets for now but I might just let this one pass me by. I've been wanting to see them for ages, as I've been a huge fan for nearly 20 years, but I'm not sure it's worth all the hassle and constant delays at this point.
As I think I established earlier in the thread, TMBG ain't for me. And yet... I'm going to their New Year's Eve show in CT. A good friend up there is a massive fan. He agreed to pay for my ticket if I acted as designated driver. Never been to a New Year's Eve concert that (presumably) goes past midnight. Saw Gaga 12/31/18 but she ended around 10PM. That novelty combined with some time with my friend = I'm there!
I would absolutely go. Kept my ticket from 2019 and I nearly didn't bother going myself being roughly a 2 hour round trip but seriously, I'm probably less fond of them and I'm not kidding about it being a memorable show. The masks are not required, it's Flansburgh being rightfully afraid of the consequences still. A lot of people at the show were not wearing masks, but quite honestly I commend and respect his fears as someone that doesn't wear a mask often anymore - I don't know, to me when I buy a ticket for sub $70 shows, it feels like I'm ripping off whoever is playing. I get to see Renaissance again next month and oh my, how much I paid for a 3 hour setlist felt like robbery
Weird. They played it the next night in Buffalo. I just checked the wiki and they've played it every night except in Ithaca. I wonder if it was on the setlist and they accidentally skipped it. It was mid-second set at the Buffalo show. I've seen a few "full album" shows where they've skipped songs. They've never played a complete Lincoln show because they won't play "I've Got a Match." I saw an Apollo 18 show where they skipped at least one song ("Hall of Heads") and maybe one more. They don't do a couple from The Else and Mink Car when they've done theme shows. But they usually do all of Flood. Until this tour where they're cheating by using intro videos for "They Might Be Giants" and "Hearing Aid." This one should. I've been to a few and they usually start the second set around 11:15 or 11:30 so that midnight hits in the middle of the set. Even if it's not quite your thing, they put on a good live show. The rhythm section is fantastic.You might actually enjoy some of it. Maybe.
Oh, I'm sure it'll go to/past midnight. Ticket time isn't until 9PM, so that implies an evening of music that will go later than 12AM. I have gone to shows by artists I disliked and changed my mind. And my friend is convinced that TMBG can do this. But... I've already seen them. I might even have mentioned it earlier in the thread: they opened for Squeeze a few years back. Did nothing to win me over. Might they be more engaging as the headliner? Possibly, though they were really 1b to Squeeze's 1a - the crowd had a lot of TMBG fans so it wasn't like they were a traditional opening act. Anyway, we'll see. My friend and his ex-wife - who's his best friend even though they divorced last year - are super-happy I'll be there. Because I said I'd be the designated driver!
I didn't mind missing They Might Be Giants, but man, when I realized they weren't going to do Hearing Aid live I was also again, a bit disappointed - I know that Flansburgh seems dismissive of it but it's one of my favorites from them in general - same with Road Movie, if it was accidental or not. I had half a mind to shout the title after Istanbul, but I was like, no way, they must have at least done a little nod to it... right? My only guess as to why they skipped it at this show outside of simply forgetting was how high energy the crowd was, it was very obvious who was dragged into this thing - most of non elderly people were standing for most of the set, including myself. It was a very awkwardly danceable concert but, in hindsight the unpredictability of that gig still has me thinking about it a week later. I knew I've A Got Match basically is never played but I assumed it was how interpersonal it was and not the obvious answer
Apollo 18 is my favorite albums of theirs, so if they agreed to play all of it for its anniversary that would make attending the show even more appealing.
Twice when I've seen TMBG they mentioned accidentally skipping a song on the setlist, then going back and playing it. So I am sure they just forgot "Road Movie". guess that's what happens when you have a 2000 song back catalogue and play full album shows that do everything out of order
Thing is I thought about shouting "Road Movie to Berlin!" since I had a direct line of sight with Linnell - the possibility of them responding with "oh wait John we forgot road movie that guys right" would of been hilarious
For many years I followed the music of this fun band. Too many kids records and too long between "adult" albums got in the way. This is the last song of theirs that really got my attention. Never Knew Love from their album Join Us. (NOTE: I love their songs that are simple and melodic)
