Shows/1984-09-21
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Links:
- The Record listing; Sept. 21, 1984
Setlist:
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The Replacements
— with They Might Be Giants opening —
Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ
September 21, 1984
Fan Recaps and Comments:
This was one of They Might Be Giants' most notable early shows, serving as the opening act for the Replacements. The gig took place just two weeks before the release of the Replacements' acclaimed third album, Let It Be. John Flansburgh has described this show as "hard to forget,"[1] stating in 2024: "Everyone loves the Replacements. We actually played a show at Maxwell's in Hoboken with them in 1984. Some great songs, crazy show."[2] They Might Be Giants' 1987 song "We're The Replacements", which references the group and its members, may have been partially inspired by this show.
This was the band's second gig outside New York and their second time opening for a larger act. The slot was booked with help from Glenn Morrow, who persuaded Maxwell's owner Steve Fallon to include them on the bill.[3] It was the first time Morrow worked with the band, eventually signing them to his record label, Bar/None Records, in 1986. He recalled booking the show in a 2020 interview:
I was in Tompkins Square Park and ran into a girl I knew from high school (Margaret Seiler) and John Flansburgh was with her, who was her boyfriend at the time. She said, 'Yeah, he’s got a band.' He came over to my apartment with a cassette. I said, 'Maybe I can get you a gig.' He was sort of really aggressively pursuing me to do stuff for him, I was a little taken aback. But I did help them get some shows, including one opening for the Replacements at Maxwell's.
A preview of the show, written by Robert Christgau, appeared in the September 25, 1984 issue of The Village Voice:
- Replacements: The hard-touring ways of these rowdy reformed high school students have become legendary on the hardy American indie scene, and on this visit to these environs they're letting a whole bunch of first-rate opening bands challenge their hegemony. Thursday, it'll be the Dancing Hoods (Glenn Morrow-produced pop-plus) and the Last Roundup (austere, smart country-plus); Friday, They Might Be Giants (creators of the stirring "Youth Culture Killed My Dog"); and Saturday, a bonanza of the Clintons (locals with good general buzz), the Neats (Boston strummers), and Dumptruck (Big Star lives). September 20 and 22, CBGB, 315 Bowery, 982-4052. September 21, Maxwell's, 1039 Washington Street, Hoboken, (201) 656-9632.
This brief mention is the earliest known instance of They Might Be Giants being described in print. The band quoted from the preview in one of their earliest press releases.