Shows/1988-03-26
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Setlist: (incomplete and possibly out of order)
They Might Be Giants
— with Carmaig de Forest opening —
Kennel Club in San Francisco, CA
March 26, 1988 at 10:30 PM
Fan Recaps and Comments:
Tickets were $7 at the door and the doors opened at 9 p.m.
Preview of the show from the Sentinel, Mar. 25, 1988:
Tonight's headliners are from the East Coast and have one notable hit song with "Don't Let's Start," a frolicking charmer of a single with irresistable jangle-pop hooks, digging in 'till you grin. Unfortunately, no one seems to play TMBG's other material on the radio. We'll see about the rest. DeForest is a prolific songwriter who abandoned his solo ukulele sets of the past for a full band, an acclaimed LP and a new live EP. Lots of changes and I missed them all. (3/26, Kennel Club, 10 pm, $7)
"NEW YORK GIANTS" by Will Amato
The Daily Californian Mar. 30, 1988:
They Might Be Giants is just two guys, John Linnell and John Flansburgh. Linnell plays the accordion − the second most corny instrument on earth − and sax; Flansburgh the guitar. They play on top of carefully built backing racks of percussion and occasionally bass, or sometimes sing a cappella, as on the opening "Kiss Me, Son Of God." All their songs are funny, some funnier than others, but all of them funnier than anyone else's. Funny, however, is not their only merit; nor is their humor a mask. Aside from gleaming tonnage of sheer pop craft − however bizarrely employed − and alongside the wiseguy irony, attentive ears can't fail to detect the humane strains of... yes, real and meaningful stares of distress, heartbreak, despair, indignation, rage. In short, the bog. The bog of the heart. Are we getting stuck?
They've got a million great gags − from pounding a five-foot limb near a mic on "Lie Still, Little Bottle," to the hideous four-foot plush-velvet hats on "Shoehorn With Teeth," to just the sight of Flansburgh's dancing or Linnell's humongous sax − on songs ranging from polkas to funky dirges. Of course, the problem with gags is they tend to wear thin, if not for the audience − who are probably seeing it for the first time − then certainly for the perpetrator, who's pulling it for the zillionth. At times, Linnell and Flansburgh seemed absolutely bored with their gimmicks, and bored with an audience that falls for them. But those moments passed, and a really great gag lay just round the bend. You betcha.
One of the best, most inspired gags of all is the TMBG Song Line − 718-387-6962 − with a new song every day, or every three if they're on tour. Call Today! And be sure to leave a message after the "beep." Oh yes, they might be giants, and soon.
