Shows/1988-09-07

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Links:

• Villager listing, Sept. 1, 1988
• New York Magazine listing, Sept. 5, 1988
• New Yorker listing, Sept. 5, 1988

Setlist: (Incomplete!)

Count Drinkalot:

• I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die
• Kiss Me, Son Of God

They Might Be Giants
Knitting Factory in New York, NY
September 7, 1988 at 10:00 PM

Fan Recaps and Comments:

Admission was $10. This show, and all the subsequent September shows at the Knitting Factory, were advertised on Dial-A-Song. This can be heard on the Power Of Dial-A-Song II: More Power To You bootleg.

Show review/article by Mark Coleman for Newsday, titled "They Might Even Be Big; They Might Be Giants became darlings of the downtown club scene with their self-effacing wit and odes to absurdity.", published Sep. 18, 1988:

One recent Wednesday at the club at 47 E. Houston, for example, the Brooklyn-based duo appeared as their own opening act. Armed with accoustic guitar and accordion respectively, John Flansburgh and John [Linnell] introduce themselves as "Count Drinkalot" and then proceed to croak and stumble through drunken-sailor versions of Giants standards such as `Hope I Get Old Before I Die" and "Kiss Me, Son Of God." The crowd howls in delight.

"Lincoln," the group's second album, illustrates that contradiction. Each one of its 18 original songs (down from the 19 on "They Might Be Giants," their debut album) is densely packed with ideas and deftly arranged, like a miniature movie soundtrack. For every whacky ode to absurdity such as "Shoehorn With Teeth" or "Purple Toupee," there's a weirdly affecting tale of unrequited love such as "Ana Ng" or "I've Got a Match."

"We started off with a lot of songs that weren't particularly pointed towards an audience," says Flansburgh. The two Johns began collaborating as high school students in Massachusetts during the late '70s. When they both ended up in Park Slope in Brooklyn a few years later, they resumed their friendship and their bedroom recording sessions. "Gradually, we developed our show, and now I think it's very audience-friendly. In fact, I think we lose points with some people because of that," Flansburgh said."