Shows/2008-02-23

23 wikians attended: Atomic liz CapitalQ Dairhenien DKC Drypaintsigns Frodolives HeyErikLeafinson Houseofmayors JasonDeLima KALEB JAMES Kathrynthenotsogreat Kayakcup Lawrencenyc Leetch2 Leolapyre Megatron MichelleMaBelle Mister Charisma Moofy TDK Teddyleevin Tmbjared Willie

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Links:

• Videos from Kayakcup: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]
• Videos from JasonDeLima: Soundcheck, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
• Flickr gallery by Ben Shirai (mislabeled as March 1, 2008)

Setlist: (photo of John Flansburgh holding the setlist)
Soundcheck:

• Apartment Four
• Flying V

Show:

• Alphabet Of Nations
• Apartment Four
• Doctor Worm
• Pirate Girls Nine
• Clap Your Hands
• Alphabet Lost And Found
• Flying V
• One Dozen Monkeys
• Particle Man
• Bed Bed Bed

They Might Be Giants
Borders in New York, NY
February 23, 2008 at 3:00 PM

Fan Recaps and Comments:

Dairhenien:

The show started right on time, and led off with The Alphabet of Nations. I can't remember the order of the setlist, but it included Pirate Girls Nine, Doctor Worm, Flying V, Bed Bed Bed, Particle Man, the Alphabet Lost and Found, Apartment Four, and One Dozen Monkeys. Marty did the vocals on Alphabet Lost and Found and did a really funky dance. Linnell flubbed the lyrics to Particle Man, and claimed it was due to the stiflingly hot and oxygen deprived environment.

There were anywhere from 70-100 kids in attendance, and probably three times as many adults.

JasonDeLima:

Today, was most probably the greatest day of my life. My first TMBG concert, my first time meeting TMBG, and my second time in New York City.

I hope some of you saw me there, I was wearing a yellow shirt with a duck on it, like Homestar Runner, and I filmed the entire concert.

My mom woke me up at 8 AM, and we left the house at 9 AM. Train came at 10:25, and we landed in NYC at 12 PM. We went straight to Columbus Circle, and straight to where TMBG was performing.

To my surprise, I saw 2 people there setting up, one had glasses on. I didn't believe it at first, but the people were Marty Beller and John Linnell. I was going to have a heart attack. Pretty soon, John Flansburgh came, and I started spotting more people, like Marty's kids, and Robin Goldwasser and stuff. It was REALLY cool to have been within 4 feet of everyone there. The Johns also look so much older in person. I filmed 2 songs they performed at soundcheck, "Flying V" and "Apartment Four".

Me and my mom sat in the same spot until 3 PM, when the concert was starting. All the little kids and their parents got to sit on the floor in front of TMBG, and the adults without kids had to stay behind them. I got to stand to the right, and my angle during most of it was pretty awesome. As more people came, the more we had to move back. I chatted up with some cool people there, like the people standing next to us, and I met someone that co-runs TMBW.net. It was all really cool.

When John, John, and Marty started walking up there, everyone started clapping and cheering. My favorite part of the show was when Marty Beller took center stage to sing my favorite kids song, "Alphabet Lost And Found". It isn't performed live very often, and I was glad to have seen it performed live myself. Marty Beller can dance! Another good moment was when during "Particle Man", John started singing the wrong verse at the wrong time. It was really silly, and everybody was thrown off-track. Someone in the crowd shouted "Now sing the verse!" after Linnell was confused. John Flansburgh singing "One Dozen Monkeys" and replacing the ages with his own was a silly sight too.

And there was a little kid crying because they didn't play "Robot Parade." I was crying on the inside too.

Meeting them was my favorite part. All 3 of them vowed to staying until everyone got what they wanted signed, and I found that really nice. When I came up, I was so damn happy. John Flansburgh looks at me, and says "Hey come up here." I handed him the covers to my "The Else", "Here Come The ABCs" and "Here Come The 123s" albums. I was really happy when he asked me what my name was, and the two Johns really made it personal when they wrote my name on my albums. I got to stand behind the two Johns (4 inches away!!!!) and take a picture. John Linnell wasn't looking at the camera, but who cares? I got to breathe the same air as them!

Meeting Marty was awesome. I got to talk to him a little bit. He signed a drumstick for me, and took a picture with me. His autograph says "Marty Beller! Drums!" It's the coolest thing ever. I'm so glad I got to meet the best drummer in the world, and my favorite musicians ever.

Oh, and the girl who lent me the red sharpie, I kinda never gave it back, sorry lol.

My version of the concert and soundcheck will be up on YouTube (hopefully) soon. Thanks TMBG for an awesome concert!

DKC:

This was a really nice show. Not much to add to the above reviews.

THEY are always good (IMHO), but it was really nice to see a stripped down set of guitar, accordion, drums and vocals. It was the first time I got to hear Dr. Worm in this stripped-down mode and it had a great sound. Marty's drumming gets more of a chance to shine. THEY also kept mixing it up; "Alphabet Lost And Found" for example was just three voices and a sequenced tape. It was also nice to see Flansy's custom mojo guitar, which I hadn't seen in years.

The big deal for me, though, was that I brought my kids (ages 4 1/2 and 3) who had a fantastic time. We were there at 1:10 and got a seat up front, right next to Linnell. This is their third concert--the indoctrination is going well.

Special shout out to Flans who dropped right into Mick Jagger from "Gimme Shelter" when one tot got too close to a display: "Just be cool!" I don't know who else got the joke, but I was laughing for hours afterward.

Also, I can't imagine the soul-crushing boredom that a signing must be. We were almost the last ones on line but Flans, Linnell and Marty were all extremely cool.