Shows/1993-08-08
You must be logged in to mark yourself for being at this show.
Links:
Setlist: (incomplete and likely out of order)
They Might Be Giants
X-Fest in Salem, OR
August 8, 1993
Fan Recaps and Comments:
Justin Richter - jar111raj@yahoo.com:
- I remeber this show. Me and my X went to it to se TMBG (instead of the Grateful dead at Autzen). Social Distortion, Helmet, X, Everclear, Belly and TMBG is all I can remember. The whole crowd was Bouncing back and forth for TMBG (which rocked the F out!!). Helmet was awesome, Everclear was really good (before the hit single, and bleached hair), social distortion were really raw, and X were the best! oldschool punk but laid back groove. I have 1 picture from outside before the show. (I had to piss really bad for 1 hour waiting in line.)
Jeremy Kowalis - jkowalis@msn.com
I worked production at this event. I have been looking for a copy of this poster for many years. I would be very interested in buying an original or a copy of this show poster! please contact jkowalis@msn.com
Thanks-
Review by JM Stockman:
It was called the Ex-Fest, but it could have been called Salempalooza.
Seven bands that cross the spectrum of alternative music filled the Salem Armory on Sunday. And considering the stature of the bands that played later in the day, it was difficult to pinpoint who the actual headliner was.
Helmet, Social Distortion, X, Belly, They Might Be Giants, Best Kissers In The World and Everclear each had their high points, making the day a concert worth remembering for the estimated 3,000 people who attended.
The crowd favorite played early in the day. The quirky, diverse sounds of They Might Be Giants brought cheers from the audience.
Who would have expected it, considering the media hype some of the other bands have received?
And who would have thought the crowd favorite would be a band whose instrumentation included accordion and clarinet?
For one song, the Giants drummer pulled out a small box with pieces of metal attached to it.
"The glockenspiel, perhaps one of the most mysterious of rock instruments," Giants guitarist John Flansburgh said.
It wasn't the only odd thing the Giants did. One song was basically the lecture you heard about the sun in your junior high science class set to music.
The crowd didn't seem to mind this blend of silliness and science, cheering the band on.
Fans also got a treat as Flansburgh signed autographs at the T-shirt concession stand after the set.
"Sunday crowds find alternative sounds" by Fiona Martin
The Oregonian, Aug. 10, 1993:
Sunday was top-heavy with three alternative music festivals in Portland and Salem. Still, each of the three ostensibly out-of-the-mainstream lineups managed to attract a crowd.Several thousand music fans followed the corporate beer sponsors to the Salem Armory for the Ex-Fest, where seven acts, from rootsy punk to college-radio smart-rock, mapped out the post-Pistols trajectory of sound rebellion.
Guitarist and co-vocalist John Flansburgh's arhythmic, anti-rock prancing is a parody of guitar heroics that works for about 2 seconds and then looks obnoxious.
Smaller throngs with higher tattoo quotients and more desperate rock 'n' roll hearts flocked to fests AIM (free, local bands on Portland's waterfront) and Punk (expensive, hard-core bands from near and far, in an iron shed in Northwest Portland with surprisingly decent sound).
Although Ex-Fest was the most commercial event of the day, the music wasn't exactly a disappointment. But it was yet another confirmation of that much-belabored truth: Rock 'n' roll is infinitely better in clubs.
The bottom line is that the blue-jean army summer concert is worth doing twice for the sake of experience. After that, stay away from armories, coliseums and even civic centers. Eliminate the stress on your ears and pocket book, express loyalty to the old school by buying CDs, and support emerging acts in Intimate, better-sounding smaller venues before they ink megabuck recording contracts.
[...]
The first of the day's five national acts, They Might Be Giants, was the only complete failure on the bill.
The duo's absurdist ditties "Don't Let's Start," "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and "Your Racist Friend" were all easy aural fixations when they came out on record, but their witty lovity was lost on stage.
The tunes came across snotty and nasal, (true fans call it twangy) and the whole effect was that of a snob-by, East Coast, '90s version of Camper Van Beethoven.
