Shows/2003-09-28a
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Links:
Setlist:
- Violin
- Au Contraire
- Fun Assassin
- Metal Detector
- Bed Bed Bed
- Dirt Bike
- Shoehorn With Teeth
- Idlewild
- Boat Of Car
- Stalk Of Wheat (they played this twice)
- Ant
- Museum Of Idiots
- Caroline, No
- No Plan B
- Mr. Me
Encore:
They Might Be Giants
Joe's Pub in New York, NY
September 28, 2003 at 7:00 PM
Fan Recaps and Comments:
Selfcallednowhere: Ok, so, if they weren't so short these probably would've been the best shows I've ever been to. They played a bunch of super-rare stuff. John was wearing a suit (so was Flans...actually, I think they were all wearing suits, but I, uh, wasn't paying quite so much attention to them) and his glasses, WHOO. I'm only mentioning this cos it greatly contributed to the "best shows ever" vibe.
JF: We did a jam band show earlier in upstate New York, which is the only way I can explain our costumes.
JL: I'm trying to figure out if the accordion will fit over the jacket, and the answer, I think, is "maybe."
JF: The only thing more exciting than dinner theatre is watching under-rehearsed songs. *starts tuning his guitar*
JL: I think watching you tune is up there too.
JF: This song involves the wave. It's not too early in the show for crowd participation, are you with us? *cheers* Of course you're not! It's way too early for crowd participation! ...If you've been to sporting events, or maybe you've only heard about them-we've only heard about them-you know what this is. We've been told that it's crazy cool. When it goes back you make the ascending sound, and when it comes back you make the descending sound.
JL: Yeh, you know what that means.
JF: *introducing Fun Assasin* This is a rock song. We would put swear words in it if we put swear words in our songs.
JL: This song is called Metal Detector. It's about an actual metal detector. It's not a metaphor for anything.
JL: *after the creepy version of Bed Bed Bed which I do not like at all* Wake up, little ones!
JF: This song is off our controversial Lincoln album. It features a bell that we bought at a Staples in Connecticut.
JL: I think I have a different setlists...I think we all have different setlists.
JF: This song is about a dirt bike with spiritual powers. That's all I'm gonna say.
*They play Dirt Bike*
JF: Now I'm warmed up for Shoehorn with Teeth! I was thinking about it the whole time!
JF: It's weird when you call people by the name they have. Like...people call me Flans, for John Flans--Flansburgh. It's not very creative.
Flans had a great deal of difficulty trying to figure out which airport had been Idlewild, and when lots of people in the audience told him it was the one in Queens, he still insisted it was in Brooklyn.
JF: Idlewild is more a state of mind. Kind of a Car 54, Where are You? state of mind.
JF: This is another nautical-themed song, off our first album. Our first album is all on Casio, but we can't afford that stuff anymore. Vintage is expensive.
JF: *after Stalk of Wheat* My fretboard is warm from...me staring at it. Let's play that one again. I didn't mess it up, but let's play it again.
JL: You gotta stay humble and screw it up.
JF: Gotta keep it real...should we play it faster? How much faster? *audience yelling to play it a lot faster* We don't wanna wreck it.
JL: Oh, we'll wreck it.
JF: This isn't a democracy. This is New York City, where the pushy people win.
*They play it again*
JF: It's total repeat Sunday!
JL: "I was there the night those guys lost it."
JF: "People talk about that show, but it sucked. Then they locked the door and they made us pay to leave."
JF: *explains that Studio 360 had them do a bunch of summer songs* Like that guy, uh, the really tan guy...
JL: George Hamilton.
JF: This is part of our early Alzheimer's.
JF: *after Pender plays some crazy stuff at the end of No Plan B* The musical term for that is strafing. From the Latin "scrafus."
JF: *introducing Mr. Me* This is a blues. *JL seems highly amused*
JL: This song is in F#.
JF: That's news to me. I was gonna play it in F...we're doing a swear-free kids' show at Symphony Space.
JL: The kids are going to be shocked.
JF: The kids are going to go, "I want my fucking money back." And by "kids" we mean "sixteen-year-olds," who are horrified about being in a crowd of kids. You can't say "all ages" because that means slam-dancing.
