Shows/1983-10-18
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Links:
- New York Times listing; Oct. 16, 1983
- New Yorker listing; Oct. 17, 1983
Setlist:
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They Might Be Giants
— with Agitpop, The Black Tights, Guitar Pete opening —
CBGB in New York, NY
October 18, 1983
Fan Recaps and Comments:
This might have been Bill Krauss' first show with They Might Be Giants. Krauss had seen the band perform at Dr. B's in early 1983, and started collaborating with them shortly after.[1] His first show with them was at CBGB, at some point in 1983.[2] The exact date of that show is unclear, but this is the closest known match.
This show was on a Tuesday night and featured four acts on the bill, so it was likely audition showcase gig. John Flansburgh explained in a 2018 interview:
CBGB was very much the official gatekeeper of the New York rock scene at that time. It seems so surprisingly democratic, but there was so much demand for bands to play there that they set up this very clear structure for bands to march through to get to a weekend gig. There'd be an audition night, and if you passed that, they'd give you a Monday or Tuesday show, and if you brought in a lot of people, you'd get up to a Thursday or Friday or Saturday show. It took the better part of a year to get from audition night to a Thursday night, and if you didn’t keep on playing, you’d get pushed back.
Bill Krauss spoke about the band's early CBGB shows in a 1994 interview: "We did a lot of shows like Amateur Night at CBGB's, where we would come home with two dollars apiece at the end of the night. If, after paying for the cabs to move the equipment, there was any money left over, the evening was an unqualified success in the beginning."
