Shows/2004-09-18

19 wikians attended: Bapslap Brian miller Funatic Garybot Harrycalder Leebenningfield Lunarstr42 MrBig PlayfairMoriarty Pvtadamgod RecipeForDisaster Riptor3000 RonAmoriM Surveysez Tmb G TMBG FOREVER Vdaq Younghickory Zak

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Setlist:

• Thunderbird
• Twisting
• Wicked Little Critta
• Spine
• Memo To Human Resources
• Older
• Damn Good Times
• I Palindrome I
• It's Kickin' In
• Bastard Wants To Hit Me
• Alphabet Of Nations
• Avalon
• Doctor Worm
• Particle Mo
• Drink!
• Fingertips
• Cyclops Rock
• Violin
• John Lee Supertaster
• Experimental Film
• Stalk Of Wheat
• Jazz Waltz In C
• Birdhouse In Your Soul

Encores:

• Clap Your Hands
• Shitty, Shitty Jazz
• James K. Polk
• Robot Parade
• The End Of The Tour

They Might Be Giants
— with Corn Mo opening —
Avalon Ballroom in Boston, MA
September 18, 2004

Fan Recaps and Comments:

Dan Miller wrote:

We love playing Boston - it is the second home of the band as the John were raised in its vicinity and Danny and I went to school here. The Avalon is an excellent venue with a great staff and PA. The day was smooth as silk for the Band and crew. The initial venue song was tabled, but was replaced by a spontaneous one created during the show. Check out the sample section for an mp3 of this venue tune.

The recording came out really well. One technical snafu is that the bass is missing from the first verse and chorus of Thunderbird (the opening tune). Think of it as a new spontaneous arrangement because when it does come in it takes the tune to new heights of molten rock. The raps are excellent in this show, and even though during the show the Johns requested that some be taken out, I've left them all in.

For those on the Eastern Seaboard - we'll see you next week. For everybody else, come in to NYC for our shows at Irving Plaza on October 1st and 2nd. They will be the last TMBG shows for quite some time.

Funatic

My first TMBG show! I was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed college freshman with no new friends to see a show with, but that didn't stop me from taking a 3 hour bus ride to Boston to see my new favorite band! (Plus, I could listen to all their new albums I bought along the way!) I arrived at the show an hour before the doors opened and was surprised to see that there were already 30-40 people in line ahead of me - my first taste of the true dedication of TMBG fans. I recall that a lad next to me in line could have easily passed for a 16-year-old Flansy, it was UNCANNY! At the end of the show it was revealed that Linnell's dad was in the audience, so maybe it was Flans' son in line for a father/son themed show? ;)

The Avalon was a great venue. Not too big, not too small, good acoustics. (I heard they recently remodeled it, so maybe it's even better now?) I got up nice and close to the stage and was pleased to hear 'Am I Awake' during the warmup music, which is probably my favorite TMBG song, in addition to being the only recorded TMBG song I've ever heard played before a show. The opening act was Corn Mo, who was fabulous: kind of a bubblegum Jack Black with an accordion in his hands and a drum stick ductaped to his foot to hit a cymbal on the stage floor. Definitely the best opener of any TMBG show I've seen.

The Giants opened with 'Thunderbird,' which is my favorite Spine track, so they had me from the beginning. This segued thru 'Twistin' onto 'Wicked Little Critta,' a track I was obsessing over at the time and was definitely NOT expecting to hear at a show - an awesome surprise. 'Older' was a spectacular showcase of dramatic pauses and lighting. There was a performance of 'The Alphabet of Nations' (before Here Come the ABCs had been released), during which Linnell came up with a venue song for the Avalon off the top of his head: "We'll do this song, and while were doing this song, we'll be writing the next song!" The improv tune was basically the iteration of the syllables of the word "Avalon" ("Av, Av-A, Av-A-LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!") accompanied by a catchy piano ditty, but it was a total hit. Other highlights were Corn Mo's killer accordion duel with Linnell during the 'Particle Man' bridge, and the traditional wave for 'Violin,' during which the Johns poked fun at the people in the way-back ground level (which was further back than the balcony), surmising that it was for smokers and people with babies. The regular set ended with a smash hit of 'Birdhouse,' and the last encore was 'End of the Tour,' which was a perfectly appropriate closer to my first Giants show. I recall my smiling muscles being sore the next morning from the pure euphoria of the event!