Shows/1999-09-18

Fan Recaps and Comments:

Conspicuous on the pastoral northern quandrant of Trinity University, Laurie Auditorium hosted They Might Be Giants and a free show for students. The building seats 2,700 in a semi-circular arrangement. It's a tall concrete structure that stands out on the campus map, and yet inside the stage itself is fairly small and low--elevated perhaps two feet above a small parquet floor. The student union made this standing area available to those first in line. This made for an odd performance experience as the band--perhaps for the first time--played the entire show with fans violating their personal space. If you arrived early, you stood nearly eye to eye with a musician or bouncer.

The larger setting was also intimate. The audience seemed to be older and more self-possessed than is customary. Smoking was prohibited. Everyone sat in cushioned chairs or on the floor before and between sets. The band hit the stage on time and played a short, but sharp set. They seemed to enjoy themselves, chatting with each other at length and joking with the audience.

The following evening in Dallas, however, the band's impression of the previous evening was entirely different. Towards the end of what was a longer but mistake-filled set, Flansburgh told the crowd that the band's disorientation was due to the lack of merchandise sales the previous night in San Antonio. A free show, no album to sell and boxes of unsold tee shirts. This, he said, is the recipe for a bad gig.

-- Sydney C. (April 2006)