Shows/1999-10-03

2 wikians attended: Einarfour Vroomfondl

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Links:

• Missoula Independent preview
• The Hellgate Lance review

• Listing

Setlist:

• Drinkin'
• James K. Polk
• She Thinks She's Edith Head
• Mr. Klaw
• Your Racist Friend
• Ana Ng
• Radio They Might Be Giants 1
• Radio They Might Be Giants 2
• Cyclops Rock
• Turn Around
• Birdhouse In Your Soul
• The Guitar
• Spy
• Counterfeit Faker
• Man, It's So Loud In Here
• She's An Angel
• Particle Man
• The Famous Polka
• Doctor Worm
• Older

Encore:

• Twisting
• Why Does The Sun Shine?
• New York City
• Maybe I Know
• Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

They Might Be Giants
— with You Were Spiraling opening —
University of Montana in Missoula, MT
October 3, 1999 at 8:00 PM

Fan Recaps and Comments:

"'Giants' entertain Missoula fans" by Meriel Collins
The Hellgate Lance, Oct. 8, 1999:

"Particle Man", "Dr. Worm", "Istanbul", "Mammals", "Bird House in My Soul" and other cooky songs are the hits that made They Might Be Giants famous to the world, or most of it anyway.

When my sister saw them play a concert at Central Park in New York City four or five years ago, I first thought They Might Be Giants was such a weird name, but after listening to their songs a few times their funky style really begins to grow on you. I am not a hard core Giants fan, but I was really excited to see them in concert.

This was not the first time the band had visited our funky little town. Quite a few years ago they came to play a concert at the Top Hat, to which they made several references at the show on Sunday night. They described their first show there as having an invisible line drawn between the over twenty-one drinking crowd and the under twenty-one sober crowd, that destroyed the atmosphere and made the concert miserable. This time, however, was the exact opposite.

They Might Be Giants was warmly welcomed by screaming fans at the University Theater, but before they took center stage, the concert took off to an extremely slow start, with opening act, You Were Spiraling. This New Jersey band played an interesting mixture of great eighties hits and their own original flops. I was not the only one who feels this was a poor lead-in to a great band, but there were those who thought the band was actually not all that bad.

"The first band was solid." said senior, Adam Young. "Their use of the synthesizer was amazing and the lead singer was pretty good. I thought they were an awesome opening band," He added.

After that band spiraled down to a finish and the Giants set up for their show, they got the crowd all riled up by throwoing out some TMBG memorabilia, like hats and shirts. In order to get one tossed to your side of the theater, you had to yell, scream and make more noise then the other half of the audience. It eventually became a strain on the vocal chords and caused a few headaches, but after this screaming match was over the crowd was ready to take on the band.

Once the concert started rolling the band/audience involvement was strong. TMBG did a great job talking and interacting with their fans. They would tell stories about the next song they were going to play and shared little tidbits about the band. I was fascinated to learn that the band is made up of three Dans and two Johns. During a song one of the Johns even held his guitar out to the audience for them to strum out a few chords. Even though I didn't get to put my magical touch to the strings I thought it was great, I am a firm believer that audience interaction is the key to a successful concert.

After a good two hour show by TMBG, the crowd called the band back for an encore, which was my favorite part of the night. One of the Dans came out with his accoustic guitar and played a solo for a while, then led the band into one of their most favorite songs "Istanbul"

"The encore with Dan on his accoustic guitar was great," said senior, Chira Gingerelli. "People had been cheering for 'Istanbul' and it was the perfect finish to a great concert."

After the Giants left the stage a satisfied audiance dispersed from the theater. TMBG had successfuly rocked the crowd with their quirky songs, leaving a lasting impression in the minds of many. THeir first concert in Missoula may have been a flop, but the Giants put on a real crowd pleaser last Sunday night.