Shows/1985-11-12a

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Links:

• Daily Collegian review
• Oh No! Noho! listing, Oct. 1985
• Iron Horse listing, Oct. 1985
• Iron Horse listing, Nov. 6, 1985
• Valley Advocate Springfield listing, Nov. 6, 1985
• Hartford Courant listing, Nov. 7, 1985
• Iron Horse listing, Nov. 13, 1985

• Poster • Listing

Setlist: (incomplete and possibly out of order)

• Everything Right Is Wrong
• Youth Culture Killed My Dog
• Cowtown
• Nothing's Going To Change My Clothes
• Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head
• Number Three
• I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die

They Might Be Giants
Iron Horse in Northampton, MA
November 12, 1985 at 8:30 PM

They Might Be Giants performing with big papier-mâché hands. (Photo by Brian Guarnotta)

Fan Recaps and Comments:

Both shows were presented by the Northampton alternative arts and music publication, Oh No! Noho!^[1] Tickets were $5 and available in advance. On the day of the show, the band was interviewed by WOZQ Northampton, with their flexi-disc also being played.^[2]

In an interview with the Daily Collegian in 1996, John Linnell recalled how the band began playing in Northampton:

We played Northampton at a party at a friend's house off Main St., before getting a record deal or a booking agent. We met a bunch of friends at the show and we got a gig at the Iron Horse largely because of these friends. That show was great — a ruckus scene. So we came back a bunch of times and each time was more hysterical.

Preview of the show from the Valley Advocate Amherst, Nov. 13, 1985:

They Might Be Giants, hailed in the Village Voice as "one of the finest entertainment values in show business today," brings their wacky eclecticism to the Iron Horse on Tuesday. Listen for their time-defying "Everything Right Is Wrong."

"They Might Be Giants" by Brian Guarnotta
The Daily Collegian, Nov. 14, 1985:

Going to the Iron Horse to see a band called They Might Be Giants, I was a bit anxious.

This anxiety was quickly calmed by the sober atmosphere of this humble club. The environment quickly changed as the crowd perked up once the happy duo of guitar player, John Flansburgh and accordion player, John Linnell, hit the stage. Although they were musically sound, the show became very jocular.

The combination of lyrics and stage props proved to be really entertaining and almost circus-like. They made their mark with such songs as, "Youth Culture Killed My Dog," "Cowtown," and "Nothing is Going to Change My Clothes." Their stage props led to even more amusement with toys such as a square cardboard guitar, a lizard head, a large mexican hat and last, but most impressive, huge paper mache hands. The accordion, an almost obsolete instrument added to the frolic.

The last song, "Number Three," [sic] involved the crowd in the show as they held up cue cards with the lyrics. The only weakness of the show was the actual stage size and the sound. Both were limiting, and seemed to suffocate the performers. The players, who hail from Lincoln-Sudbury Massachusetts, are due back within a month. I would definitely recommend seeing them.