Shows/2001-05-05

3 wikians attended: Gistheman22 Seancdaug Sirubberduckie

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Links:

• The Oberlin Review preview
• The Oberlin Review review

Setlist:

• Still A Young Intro
• How Can I Sing Like A Girl?
• James K. Polk
• Cyclops Rock
• Particle Man
• The Famous Polka
• Drink!
• Don't Let's Start
• The Guitar
• Everybody Conga
• No One Knows My Plan
• Spy
• Mr. Tambourine Man
• Born In A Graveyard
• Shoehorn With Teeth
• Pet Name
• Purple Toupee
• Older
• Subliminal
• Doctor Worm
• Birdhouse In Your Soul
• Boss Of Me
• Why Does The Sun Shine?
• New York City

Encore:

• Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

They Might Be Giants
— with SR-71, Muckafurgason opening —
Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH
May 5, 2001 at 2:00 PM

Fan Recaps and Comments:

Oberlin College's Spring Fling event; the concert took place on Dill Field.

"Home Again Home Again With TMBG" by Jacob Kramer-Duffield
The Oberlin Review, May 11, 2001:

They Might Be Giants Came on, and everyone was happy. Truly; for the next hour and a half or two hours, however long the set plus one lasted, everyone was smiling, bouncing, mouthing the lyrics. There were all the fan favorites ("Istanbul" was the encore, one song and out again), some new stuff and just enough talking from the two Johns. They made the crowd conga -- saying "Everybody conga;" "We're not fucking kidding;" "This is not a choice." And they didn't stop until almost the entire audience was, indeed, conga-ing, or some approximation of it.
The set was well constructed, starting with the new and slower stuff, finishing off with several old poppy favorites in a row. The Johns said on more than one occasion that, other than the frigid on-stage conditions, they really loved being here. Sure, always say that, but one was inclined to believe them. Why wouldn't one? Here is a pretty good place to be some times. Thought so, going home.

John:

This was my first ever TMBG concert, and it was all I could have imagined. First, I have to give credit to the openers: SR-71 and Muckafurgason. SR-71 was solid and entertaining. At one point, the drummer played a simple rock beat, and the lead singer/guitarist played several different classic rock songs (Judas Priest, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc). Muckafurgason was absolutely hilarious, opening their segment with "You Ain't A Man (Until You've Had A Man)", and thanking SR-71 for "opening the show for them." After a long wait, TMBG finally came out on stage, and everyone went crazy.

After the first three songs were finished, Flans commented that they hadn't even noticed while making the setlist that those songs all had a Dan Miller guitar solo in the middle. Flans and Linnell joked about how you can't think about that beforehand, only find out afterwards and feel badly. Before playing Particle Man, Linnell introduced it by saying "This song has had accordion solos, guitar solos, drum solos... I guess if you don't like any of those, you'll hate this song." (The crowd loved it.) Flans got the crowd moving with the conga line intro ("Shy people conga... high people conga..."), and then everyone kept dancing wildly for No One Knows My Plan. Spy was great; during the freeform solo at the end, Flans stopped the band, everyone became dead silent, and he started singing Kumbaya to huge laughter. Dan Hickey came forward (after a cool version of Mr. Tambourine Man) to play the glockenspiel in Shoehorn With Teeth; Hickey received the usual cheers after each note. Someone in the crowd requested Purple Toupee, and Linnell said they couldn't do songs by request because of the computerized nature of the electric lights. Flans added that it would throw off all the jokes and skits they had planned, and that it would ruin the costume system. After all this, they went on and played... Purple Toupee.

Once Older was finished, the rest of the show was just classic after classic. Dan Miller switched from guitar to keyboard to play the melody line in the chorus of Doctor Worm while Linnell played accordion. In WDTSS?, Linnell and Flans went on for a few minutes about different kinds of "equipment" that is a gas on the sun. ("Sewing equipment, construction equipment... spools, spindles..." "What about those things that make yarn?" "That's a spindle." "Oh... right." "And ALL of this is a gas on the sun.") The crowd screamed for TMBG to return after NYC was finished; they did, and played Istanbul. Dan Miller played electric guitar for his solo, and would cut out at the end of a musical phrase for Flans to hit something on the drumset. Istanbul was a great encore.

After the show, Flans went over to the T-Shirt stand. He signed my newly-bought TMBG Lincoln shirt, and I got a picture with him. I was walking away from him when I saw Dan Hickey. I got a picture taken with him, and spoke with him for a while. I went over to the crowd behind the stage, and got my new TMBG hat signed by Linnell. I was waiting for a picture with him, and Dan Miller walked by, so I got a picture with him. Linnell had to leave, but I got a picture with him as well as he walked away.