Shows/1990-11-20
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Setlist: (incomplete and possibly out of order)
They Might Be Giants
— with Crown Of Thorns opening —
National Theatre in Melbourne, Australia
November 20, 1990
Fan Recaps and Comments:
Show review by Francis Leach
Juke, Jan. 5, 1991:
Arriving at the National Theatre to see They Might Be Giants and finding the joint plastered with posters for an upcoming Judith Durham show seemed appropriate. Great dag value in that. I bet this cooky duo from Brooklyn could easily relate to spending an evening tapping their toes and singing along to 'Puff The Magic Dragon'. I'm sure they wished they'd written that one first.Where their critics claim that they are wilfully obscure and too clever by half, they are genial and self-effacing. There is none of the pretension or cynicism peddled by local pranksters such as This Is Serious Mum. The Giants reaffirm that above all else, life is absurd and should be treated as such. Brooklyn's ambassadors of love are amongst us and diplomacy has never been this much fun.
Tonight was the opening stouch on the Giants' Australian tour. It must have seemed a daunting task. "We've never played to a theatre of 800 silent people before", quipped John Flansburgh. Not to worry, the audience hadn't seen anything like them before either. We are talking here about two guys that have made being nerds a status symbol. This is no mean feat. Why anyone would make this their mission in life is baffling, but these boys seem to relish the challenge. How scary.
They sure cut a strange figure on the huge stage. Two Johns, a backdrop that features the face of a dead Mongolian peasant woman and a bizarre assortment of the most un-rock'n'roll instruments ever assembled. From this they manage to conjure up the most delightful array of weird and sublime pop tunes. Somehow, I don't think these guys have checked into Hotel Planet Earth for a while. Anyone who sings about being reincarnated as a bag of groceries or wanting a shoe horn with teeth is definitely out there with Major Tom. When John Mk I began rolling around on the floor screaming, "awesome guitar solo!, awesome guitar solo!" instead of actually playing it, you couldn't help but wonder if we were among the world's first preschool acid casualties.
It was 'Birdhouse In Your Soul' that finally broke the spell of theatre etiquette. As the first chords began to build the audience was on its feet, surging towards the stage, dancing madly. It was partytime from here on as such songs as '32 Steps', 'Ana Ng', 'Twisting' and 'Purple Toupee' went down a storm.
Both Johns looked truly shocked at the extraordinarily affectionate response they were receiving. With 'Don't Let's Start' came the stage invasion. Twenty or thirty people wheeling around the Giants who stared back in disbelief.
They Might Be Giants are truly unique and for this alone they are to be treasured. Live, it becomes apparent that their music works on different levels. Sure, it's extremely funny, but it also carries a few home truths. Songs such as 'Lucky Ball And Chain and 'Your Fascist Friend' are proof of that.
