Shows/1987-04-08

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Links:

• The Indianapolis Star interview & show preview; Apr. 8, 1987
• Indiana Daily Student show preview; Apr. 8, 1987

• Listing

Setlist: (Incomplete!)

• Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head
• Hide Away Folk Family
• The World's Address
• Alienation's For The Rich
• I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die

They Might Be Giants
— with Arson Garden opening —
Second Story in Bloomington, IN
April 8, 1987 at 9:30 PM

Fan Recaps and Comments:

Photo by David Whittemore

David Whittemore:

In 1987, my roommate, Micheal Paul Pierce, convinced me to take a roadtrip from Purdue University down to Indiana University to see a band I'd never heard before. The band were a couple of oddballs with a drum machine and tape loops and an accordion. They called themselves They Might Be Giants and they were quite entertaining. The room held about 100 people and everyone was just awestruck and thoroughly enjoying the wacky performance.

Review from the Indiana Daily Student, April 10, 1987:

New York band captivates local crowd by Marty Young

With the wheeze of an accordion and strum of an electric guitar, the Bloomington stop on the "Give Me the Head of Kenny Rogers Tour" was kicked off last night at Second Story.

They Might Be Giants, the two-man band out of New York, started the show with "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head," the subject of an MTV video directed by Adam Burnstein. They proceeded to show off their musical versatility by moving from the country western sound of "Hideaway Folk Family" to the salsa beat of "The World's a Dress" and even played a down-home drinking song in "Alienations for the Rich".

The two band members, John Linnell, accordian; and John Flansburgh, guitar, captivated the crowd of about 80. Their charisma and wit on stage made their act worth watching without music. The fact that their music was as fun as they were made the act a real winner. Early in the evening, after explaining that they had a booth selling both T-shirts and albums, Flansburgh quipped, "Our gas money is depending on these sales. Please, give generously." It was the dialogue throughout the show, that made the band seem very much at home with the audience.

The climax of the evening came in the form of a good old audience sing-a-long. While Linnell kept the beat on his accordion, Flansburgh held up gigantic cue cards with the words:

It's a long long rope they'll use to hang you from I hope /

And I wonder why it hasn't happened / Why why why /

And I think about the dirt that I'll be wearing for a shirt /

And I hope that I get old before I die.

If you missed the concert, you can still experience some of the enthusiasm of They Might Be Giants on the album of the same name. However, this can't be substituted for the excitement of seeing the act live. The album is available at any music store that carries independent labels or at this address: Express Music, 175 5th Ave., New York, N.Y. 10010. The band's manager, Jamie Kitman, estimates the current record sales at around 7,000. They are expecting to release a second album in about six months. The Giants are planning to play at St. Louis and Chicago, and then finish their tour with a series of concerts on the West Coast.

The opening act of the evening was the local band Arson Garden. It featured the brother-sister combo of James and April Combs at lead guitar and vocals, respectively, with Chip Starr on bass and Joby Barnett on the drums. They played a series of very danceable, original tunes, but had problems overcoming audio problems, such as feedback and guitars that were too loud for the vocals to be heard. They did, however, seem comfortable on stage and were well received by the audience.