Shows/2002-11-20
From This Might Be A Wiki
< Shows
4 wikians attended: Bryce Doktorworm Drypaintsigns Zaph
Setlist:
You must be logged in to mark yourself for being at this show.
Setlist:
They Might Be Giants
Borders in Washington, DC
November 20, 2002
Fan Recaps and Comments:
- They performed on a small platform, about 15x15', and were surrounded on all sides by the Borders crowd. The stage was at the base of a staircase, so people filled the stairs and even looked down from directly above, leaning over the railing on the next floor.
- This was the first time I've ever seen them perform without a backing band. It's a very different sound from the full-fledged shows, and a much more intimate experience. Doctor Worm is such a powerful song that it's really hard to do it justice without the full band, but it sounded pretty darn good. The accordion wasn't mic'ed, and Linnell had to really pump it to compete with the guitar and vocals. The crowd really seemed to get a kick out of the lyrics.
- The cacophonic interludes of Bed Bed Bed were once again provided by "Dr. Sample," but he stole the show with his cash-register "kching" on Shoehorn, replacing the glockenspiel. They also used him for drums on Au Contraire, prompting Flans to call Dr. Sample "the real star of the show."
- They sang The Sun in the style of Peter Noone. The accents were hilarious, although Linnell couldn't keep it up through the spoken parts so Flans took over. He took a looooong pause before announcing the nuclear reactants, building up all kinds of dramatic tension. "between Davy Jones... and me, Peter Noone. It's down to just us two there on the sun..."
- Particle Man was actually my favorite song this time. They got the audience clapping along, and it just had a really good vibe. The clapping was in the same rhythm as the handclap sounds on the Flood version, it sounded really good once we got it working. Violin was on the written setlist, but they skipped it. At one point they claimed not to even have a setlist, but I think they must've immediately regretted saying it because everyone started shouting out requests.
- I got their autographs after the show, they were supercool. It went pretty quickly, and I was kind of dazed, so I didn't get to thank them adequately. But actually, I'm not sure that more time would have made my thanks more adequate anyway.
Adam V:
- The John's were hilarious last night. John L was having A LOT of fun with the sound effects during "Bed" so Flanny decided to use the sound machine for the *ding* during "Shoehorn" - They commented during and after the show that they had to compensate for the "mis-timed ding" but were able to overcome the problems with their musical expertise. For "Sun" Flanny announced that they have been working on songs in the style of "Peter Noone" and thus, would sing the next one ("Sun") in his voice - It was extremely funny and with some NEW lyrics. "Particle man" got pretty nutty when they tried to get the crowd to clap with them and they were debating on whether it would/was working. Finally, Flanny got it right with a timed guitar start and we all got the rhythm right. Great show for a freebie!
