Shows/1986-01-15
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Setlist:
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John Cale
— with They Might Be Giants opening —
Larry's Hideaway in Toronto, ON
January 15, 1986 at 9:30 PM
Fan Recaps and Comments:
This was the first They Might Be Giants show outside of the United States. The band served as the opening act for John Cale, one of the most prominent artists they had shared a bill with up to that point. Nico was originally booked to perform with Cale but withdrew shortly before the gig.[1]
Following their opening set, the band was interviewed and photographed backstage by Chris Buck for his project Things People Carry. They discussed the cardboard masks used in their performance, offering absurd responses to Buck's questions. This recording is the earliest available audio interview with They Might Be Giants. A transcript can be found here.
This show was reviewed by Zev Asher in the March 1986 issue of Rear Garde magazine:
Straight to Larry's Hideaway and the rudest, most obnoxious audience since, since... Since the last time I was in Toronto (Johnny Thunders at the Starwood). The opening band, They Must Be Giants, seemed like they could have been interesting. They certainly sounded interesting. Travelling around Larry's from pillar to irritating pillar, they even looked interesting. Unfortunately, I couldn't see enough of them to keep me interested.
They Must Be Giants are John Flansburgh on electric guitar and John Linnell on accordion. They make fun music. Harmless. They have a theatrical approach and a witty sense of humor. This act has to be seen and not just heard.
John Flansburgh recalled this gig in a 2023 Tumblr post:
We played at a place called the Pyramid Club A LOT which was really THE SPOT in downtown Manhattan in the early and mid 80s. A lot of very decadent nights roaring until dawn. And because we were part of it, folks from elsewhere would approach us and others about getting "the downtown scene" to their town. Our show in Burlington, VT in the early days was billed as a "Downtown NYC" show, and I suspect the John Cale opening slot was given us for similar reasons. I do remember finding the dressing rooms very unprivate and the cocktail party atmosphere with tons of kinda sketch people just floating through a bit unfun, but nothing I wasn't well familiar with from playing discos.
- This was at Larry's Hideaway, a divey place on Carlton Street, between Jarvis and Sherbourne. In one of the Diamond shows in 1990, Flansburgh referred scathingly to their experience at Larry's.