Shows/1990-11-03
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Links:
- The Cord show review and interview with John Flansburgh (pg. 18)
- Imprint show advertisement and interview with John Linnell (pg. 14)
- Imprint show review (pg. 22)
Setlist: (incomplete and possibly out of order)
Encore 1:
They Might Be Giants
Federation Hall in Waterloo, ON
November 3, 1990 at 11:00 PM
Fan Recaps and Comments:
Tickets for this show were $5.
"They Might Be Giants among men" by John Hymers
Imprint, Nov. 2, 1990:
They Might Be Giants are rolling into Federation Hall tomorrow night, and if you haven't already rushed to buy a ticket, now would be a good time. This duo (John Linnell and John Flansburgh) is responsible for three albums of hilarious pop; this feat must be regarded with awe as there is no novelty factor here. The songs are as good as they are funny.
"They Might Be Giants concert at Fed Hall or, how I like being on the guest list" by Sarah Welstead
The Cord, Nov. 8, 1990:
There it was — only 8:30pm, and already a lineup out the door at Fed Hall for They Might Be Giants, what I thought was a hitherto little-known band, This was one of those times when the Cord press pass proved invaluable as I strolled to the front of the line and announced I was on the guest list.
So we had pretty good seats. Fed Hall was more packed than I have ever seen it — every seat was taken, the dance floor was full — I almost wondered if I was waiting for the same They Might Be Giants that none of my friends had heard of.
But no, at 11 o'clock John and John bounded on stage with instruments difficult to identify and launched in with "Your Racist Friend." Considering that all that was on the stage were six enlarged pictures of postage stamps, a metronome and two mike stands, They Might Be Giants managed to generate quite a stage presence.
Probably this had to do with audience participation: it seemed as though most of the people there were avid Giants fans who could sing all the words to most of the songs, and John and John got everyone involved by helping with "background vocals" or asking people to grab a partner and square dance.
The loudness problem that hindered deForrest only added to the Giants show — on the album, the songs are pared down and you have very little choice but to sit down and listen to the lyrics, but in concert, the songs seemed fuller and this encouraged dancing or singing as loud as you could.
They Might Be Giants played most of the best songs from their two albums, but might have included their first release "Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head" which was notably absent from the set. However, the music and presentation was pretty much perfect, one of the best bands in a smaller venue that I have seen lately.
"Live at Fed Hall" by John Hymers
Imprint, Nov. 9, 1990:
The knowledgeable, the curious, and the ignorant: Fed Hall was full of all kinds when They Might Be Giants sauntered on stage last Saturday night. As for the knowledgeable, they were blown away and then some; and the curious, satiated and then some; and the ignorant, knowledgeable and blown away and then some.
They Might Be Giants pulled off one of the music's hardest feats: they were able to put on a great live show with the severe handicap of tapes. TMBG are simply a duo, and their sound is defined by over-dubbing and much electronics. Thus, in order to capture their sound live, they needed to use a barrage of prerecorded and sampled sounds. Often it is hard to coordinate this with the live musicians, especially if the mood desired is one of spontaneity.
But TMBG, through a combination of superb showmanship and technical expertise, were able to transcend the pitfalls of such a process and produce a near seamless set that still had all the charm that they are noted for.
The dudes have a fantastic song catalogue, three albums with about fifteen to twenty songs on each. And these songs don't just fill space on a disk; the majority of them are practically pop masterpieces. Though they are all so short, most of them contain unforgettable hooks and melodies.
And with such a base to draw from, TMBG couldn't help but choosing anything but chestnuts. Thus, the show essentially became a greatest hits show, with no obvious bias towards their most recent album.
From John Flansburgh's frantic jumping to John Linnell's weird insights, it was a concert unlike any other. And for five dollars, you couldn't ask for anymore.
The decision was a prudent one; for though it is a good album, it doesn't quite reach the standards set by the first two, and doesn't come close to their sublime singles. That, however, is not to detract from Flood, their live version of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" was among the highlights of the show, what with the way they kept varying the pace and all.
They also explored songs that I never expected them to do so, most notably, "The Famous Polka," a polka number played at an insane speed. It is a perfect Oktoberfest song.
If there were any real problems with the show, they were but two in number. First of all, they only played for an hour. And secondly, their first encore was essentially a lip-synch to an otherwise fine song, "Shoehorn with Teeth".
Yet, these two relatively minor flaws could not drag down a fantastic show. The band is all about fun, and they exhibited this well all night.
