Shows/1990-12-07
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Links:
Setlist: (incomplete and possibly out of order)
- Hearing Aid
- Whistling In The Dark
- Where Your Eyes Don't Go
- Lie Still, Little Bottle
- Kiss Me, Son Of God
- I'll Sink Manhattan
Encore:
They Might Be Giants
Shibuya Club Quattro in Tokyo, Japan
December 7, 1990
Fan Recaps and Comments:
(Loosely translated from Japanese)
A review of the show by Sakae Yoshimoto
Crossbeat, Feb. 1991:
I never thought it would be a live show that would make the floor shake so slowly...
They Might Be Giants' first Tokyo performance in Japan on the 7th of December was exactly how I felt after watching "Animal House," a half-male and half-male Schizo Kids show. The stage began with me feeling strangely intrigued by the cute chants of "John, John!", but the performance was quite good, including songs that were only included in the previous three albums and singles. The speed and variety of songs that were played out in rapid succession made me appreciate the real pleasure of TMBG.
John Flansburgh runs around the stage strumming his guitar, sometimes holding two trumpets in his mouth, or holding a big drum and banging, changing hands, changing items, and making a lot of comments. Therefore, the audience had no choice but to become idiots when dancing. In fact, it was hard to believe it was their first time visiting Japan, and TMBG's fans were so impressed that they took the initiative, dancing like fish out of water and even singing along in chorus. Of course, John was the only one on stage, but his gigantic face appearing on the back screen and other strange moods were accompanied by the metronome, equipment and detectors introduced as support members.
The lighting effects during the live numbers (that atmosphere that familiar atmosphere of a flashlight illuminating a face from below that is familiar to many creepy stories) seem to have filled out the atmosphere well, I think. Contrary to expectations, no props were used, but their quick maneuvering within the size of a club was effective in itself. The effect of the tape is not inorganic, but rather strongly imprints the dance beat. I think the sound was acid house-like, and the voltage was turned up high enough.
It was hilarious to see the audience bobbing their heads from side to side when they performed the nostalgic "Kiss Me, Son Of God" and "I'll Sink Manhattan." In any case, the fun of TMBG's albums, which are like flipping through TV channels, turn out to be even wilder in the actual live performance, proving without a doubt that they are a rock 'n' roll band. Encore "Famous Polka" was a mix of Linnell's polka accordion and Flansburgh's noisy guitar, and I think it was a hyper-active moment that I really enjoyed.
