Shows/2007-09-12
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Setlist:
- I'm Impressed
- Take Out The Trash
- Birdhouse In Your Soul
- The Shadow Government
- Alphabet of Nations
- Ana Ng
- Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head
- Upside Down Frown
- Spider
- The Guitar
- Experimental Film
- New York City
- Phone Calls From The Dead (Edgar Allan Poe)
- We're The Replacements
- Contrecoup
- Particle Man
- Memo to Human Resources
- Withered Hope
- Twisting
- The Mesopotamians
- Damn Good Times
Encore #1:
- Maybe I Know (Just John & John)
- Doctor Worm (with Confetti)
- With The Dark
Encore #2:
They Might Be Giants
— with Oppenheimer opening —
Rams Head Live in Baltimore, MD
September 12, 2007 at 7:00 PM
Fan Recaps and Comments:
Chris: The "poem" was the lyrics to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica. They also played "Take Out the Trash" after "I'm Impressed."
BlixieB: This was a somewhat mellow show. My husband and I, desperately needing to conserve energy in the midst of a super intense week, arrived after the opening act. We'd never been to Rams Head Live, and it seemed really spacious (our most recent TMBG shows were at Stone Pony in Asbury Park, then Bottle and Cork in Dewey Beach, where the stages and floor were much smaller - or miniscule in the case of Stone Pony). Here the stage was really big - I think that Flansburgh and Linnell even did a bit about it - that the audience members would need to constantly turn their heads from side to side to take turns seeing each of them, like the tennis match scene in Hitchcock's Strangers On A Train? (I couldn't hear a lot of the patter - am hoping the show was taped - I mean, digitally recorded). And the audience was distributed among 3 vertical levels.
I was very aware of the benefit of seeing the first show in this segment of the tour - they really seemed refreshed and relaxed. They invited everyone to come to the show on November 23 at 9:30 Club in DC, saying we could witness the effect on the group of 49 shows in the intervening time.
And this was a really good show! Phone Calls from the Dead featured Edgar Allan Poe (I predicted this choice, and thought it a good one). There was a faux Poe poem read - again, couldn't really hear it but I'm sure it was cutely lame, and they seemed to have the meter right. And then Dan Miller was shaking his head and saying that wasn't a real Poe poem.
All the performances were really solid and fun - though one of them had an interlude of much swearing (really, Flans - it was a 14+ show with lots of young'uns). At one point Flans asked the audience to scream "you call this shit a show?" or some such thing, repeatedly. Anyhoo...
During Particle Man, the audience was invited to clap in rhythm, and Linnell sang a bit teasing the people who weren't clapping - "Particle man, particle man, I didn't clap during particle man..." and the house lights came up at one point, during which time Flans must have taken the picture that appears today on their blog.
We *will* be there to see them in November (we will try to hear Oppenheimer next time), and hope they'll add The Cap'm and Climbing the Walls to the line up - my favorite songs from The Else. With the Dark is such an exciting song! - was very happy to hear it. They have such a wealth of material! Bed time, now.
Arrogant Oriole: That was my first ever TMBG concert and BY FAR, the best (only) concert I've ever been to.
First of all, Oppenheimer is one of my new favorite bands. I cried during "My Son, The Astronaut."
John and John made jokes about the name of the venue, Rams Head Live. They called it "Rams Head Live," pronounced like "living." Horror movie jokes galore throughout the night. Apparently Marty Beller will star in "Rams Head Live 3." At one point, they said that they called CDs "records" and the place where they sell stuff the "merch booth." I promptly shouted "You're old!" I don't think they heard me.
There was a funny exchange between Flans and the guy in front of me.
Flans: "...This song was originally written for children, but we found that adults like it too."
Audience Member: "What song is it?"
Flans: "... I'm not taking questions right now... and what we were just about to do would've answered your question."
Audience Member: "Then I guess you're gonna have to show me!"
Flans: "We ARE gonna show you! In fact, we're gonna show you IN SONG!"
Then they sang "Alphabet of Nations."
Linnell kept looking DIRECTLY at me during the show. I think it was because I was the only person carrying a clipboard. The clippboard came into play for me during "Particle Man," where we had to clap over our heads... Let's just say it was really awkward. At one point, I had to stop and readjust the papers on the clipboard. I SWEAR, that was when Linnell started singing "I didn't clap, I didn't clap..." (You can see me in the picture on their blog. That gray thing is the clipboard.)
Also, the not-quite-drunk-but-getting-there people to my left had convinced themselves I was writing a review of the show for the newspaper. Every time something happened, they told me "Write that down! Write that down!" Quite entertaining.
During "Doctor Worm," confetti was shot out of a cannon or fell from the ceiling (or something like that). After they were done, Flans told us to pick up a handful of confetti on out way out. "Confetti? What confetti? There was no confetti here. What are you talking about?" (That's what Flans said.)
The only part that I didn't like was that I had to leave during "Older." Because apparently, there's this really important place I have to be called "school."
Overall, awesome.
