Shows/1995-03-17
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Setlist: (incomplete and possibly out of order)
They Might Be Giants
— with Matthew Sweet, Eugene Chadbourne opening —
Northeast Missouri State University in Kirksville, MO
March 17, 1995
Fan Recaps and Comments:
"Giants bring Sweet Success" by Joe Arechederra
Echo, 1995:
When They Might Be Giants took the stage, most of the audience left their seats to crowd at the stage. They Might Be Giants performed many different songs spanning their entire career and encouraged crowd participation. At one point during the concert, the band encouraged the audience to form a huge conga line while they played. Over half of the audience complied, creating one large conga line encompassing the entire floor of Pershing Arena.
- I had some friends that went to NMSU (now TSU), some of whom were TMBG fans. When I heard that TMBG was going to be in Kirksville, I could barely contain my joy! I informed my friends and they got some tickets to the show. Matthew Sweet was opening for them if I remember correctly, as well as some guy named Eugene Chadbourne(?). I don't recall which order the opening acts performed, but it seems like Matthew Sweet went first. I thought Matthew Sweet put on a good show, but I don't remember much about it specifically. I had not heard much of his music before and I was relatively impressed. Needless to say I came out of the show with a bigger appreciation for Mr. Sweet's music and am now something of a fan of his. I wish I could remember more about that performance. The show was held in a large auditorium/gym type facility. There were bleachers in the back, but the show was not crowded enough for those seats to be filled. There were probably a few hundred people at the show. The other opening act was a lone guy playing a banjo. The audience did not warm up to this guy at all. His music was really, really out there and he got booed several times. I have to admit I admired the guy's resolve because the audience was fairly hostile to him. His music was memorable in that it was pretty terrible, a sentiment shared by the majority of the audience. Once TMBG hit the stage, the crowd went nuts! They played a lot of good tunes from Back To Skull as well as Flood and Apollo 18. One of the memorable performances was a rockin' electric rendition of 'Why Does The Sun Shine' that the audience ate up. There was a little bit of moshing going on, much to the band's chagrin, but the performance was great nonetheless. A long ad lib of 'Spy' was also well recieved by the audience. Shortly after the conga line formed for 'No One Knows My Plan', several of us made a beeline for the front of the stage (we were lucky enough to be close when the song ended) and got a great view of the majority of the rest of the concert from the barrier separating us from the stage. I was exhausted afterwards, having rocked hard to Matthew Sweet and TMBG, and from standing up for a few hours straight. Overall it was a great performance, and regretfully, I have not seen TMBG since then. :( I think it was a great thing for them to be on a college tour since you could really get close to the band and there was definitely a sense of joy in the audience from being able to experience a great concert to break the lull of the boredom of Northeast Missouri.
- Having been a TMBG fan for several years at this point, I was thrilled when I found out they would be playing at my school! So thrilled, in fact, that I convinced my mom to drive my younger brother (who was 17) and youngest sister (who was 10) up for the show. My brother was allowed to come down on the floor with my friends and I, while my sister and mom stayed in the bleachers (probably wisely).
- I don't remember the name of the guy with the banjo, but to this day, my sister and I refer to him as the "Fresh Garbage" guy, because of a song he sang on that subject. I also barely remember Matthew Sweet's performance, though I was a huge fan of him at the time. I do remember the conga line, though, and ever since, we always hope they will play "No One Knows My Plan." When they don't, we just pick another song to conga to. :)
