#also still thinking about how john flansburgh has answered two of my asks where i asked him about media i like. and he likes it too. wow!!!

[juno0v]

gotta love media

[selfcallednowhere]

February 2, 2018 Houston, TX

When they came out, Flans said that this was "TMBG Country." Then he said that the venue was "surprisingly nice" (it actually was really nice--in spite of the show taking place in my hometown, this was my first time being here--not sure if it opened after I moved away or what). Then he said that they were going to be their own opening act but they were actually well-rehearsed, and that they were "the only They Might Be Giants tribute band that matters," and I was thinking "No, that's Sapphire Bullets!" cos that's what he would always say when they were doing that.

The first two songs were the same as the previous night, "Dinner Bell" and then "Damn Good Times," and I had a momentary flash of being worried that they were going to play a very similar set to the night before. They played some great stuff the night before, don't get me wrong, but one of the things I love about seeing them do multiple shows in a row is seeing them play a lot of different stuff. My fears turned out to be unfounded though--they did play some of the same stuff but also mixed it up enough to make it interesting.

The next song was "Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal," which is is really really fun live. Curt still wasn't with them for this early part of the tour, and I had to admit the performance was lacking without him after seeing how much he'd added to it at the shows I went to in Brooklyn about a month before this, but it was still fantastic.

After that John said, "This place is so nice that it feels inappropriate to do a high-energy show. We should be doing a TED Talk. We're being too rambunctious."

Then Flans said that they have a new album, and I didn't hear him but apparently some guy in the crowd yelled that it's great, because then Flans said, "Area man says 'great work.'"

Then Flans said that he had his "favorite cheat sheet" and was hoping it wasn't going to get blown away. John said it isn't really cheating if there are no losers. Then he went back to the TED Talk thing and said we'd be able to see it all explained in his Powerpoint presentation. Flans said that the Venn diagram shows that the crowd's acceptance of new material is directly related to the enthusiasm the band brings to their performance of it. Then John said, "I'm gonna flip some paradigms and blow your mind." Then Flans said that on this song he was going to take his mic off its stand "like a Little Lord Fauntleroy."

The song was "This Microphone." This was the live debut of it, so that was two new song debuts in a row after "Mrs. Bluebeard" the night before. Also like "Mrs. Bluebeard," I wouldn't have expected it to work live as well as it did (this has nothing to do with song quality, I just find some types of songs more suited to live performance than others), and it was cool to see the debut of it.

Afterwards, Flans said that it was the first time they'd played it, which he didn't want to say beforehand cos then he would have felt even more self-conscious. Then he thanked Dan for doing such a good job with the solo. Also Marty was using some kind of percussion that I'm not sure what it was exactly--some stick thing he was shaking. Flans said it's banned, and John said it's endangered. Flans said it's considered cruelty, and John said that's because it's still alive.

Then John said something like "How about John Flansburgh getting all the lyrics to that song?" and we all cheered, and I was thinking that the reason he managed to do that was because of the aforementioned cheat sheet, and that if he'd just done the same thing with "Mrs. Bluebeard" the night before he wouldn't have fucked it up so badly, but of course being able to read a cheat sheet would require the assistance of his glasses, and my motives for him wearing them were of course entirely pure and related solely to his ability to correctly sing his new songs and not at all to do with the fact that I think him wearing them is the sexiest thing in the history of time.

Then John said that they'd been playing long enough that they could remember when Youtube wasn't around to document the bad early performances of their songs, and improvised a song on his keyboard, the lyrics of which consisted of just "Makin' shit up/Cos I can't remember the words." Flans said that later they'd get to the stage where the people in the front row know all the words and they don't, and John said "Fucking you do it."

Then they played "Mrs. Bluebeard." John did much better with it than he did the night before, so he must have rehearsed it quite a bit--he still slipped up a couple of times, but he really mangled it the night before, so I was proud of him for doing so much better this time.

After "New York City," Flans said that it was time for an "on-stage Vibe Report." He started talking about how there's a place that he first described as a spa, and then described as an exercise place, and then described as a cult, and said that if you go enough times they give you some bag and Marty really wants the bag. He asked Marty if he's been enough times to get the bag yet, and Marty said you have to refer other people, and Flans said "Cult!"

Then John said that they actually got to sleep in a hotel room the night before. "There's a water spraying thing on the wall and a thing you dry yourself with. We don't know what to do with that." Then he said he'd done his laundry, and I was like "You mean the like three stripey shirts that you're gonna wear over and over for the whole tour?" Flans said that all he'd done all day was get a burrito (which granted does not sound like much, but I can assure you as a native Texan that when I get the chance to return home getting some quality Tex-Mex is always a high-priority activity for me as well).

Next they played "Letterbox," YES YES YES. I love that song SO MUCH and have only seen it a few times since way back in the day.

After that song, John picked up the contra-alto clarinet. Flans said that there's an entire chapter about this instrument in their autobiography, which is entitled In Praise of Inanimate Objects (I would totally read this, for the record). Then he said that it's "not made for drywall."

They played "All Time What." Afterwards, Flans said that we should "enjoy the restraint of the keyboard on the next song," and that Dan was going to be in his own "musical prison cell."

The next song was "Cloisonne." I liked this song with bass clarinet too, but I like it better with the contra-alto just cos I think it's a cooler-looking instrument so I like seeing John play it more.

Next, they played "Particle Man," which featured some quality JL spazziness. The song he inserted in the bridge this time was "Elusive Butterfly," which I haven't seen him do much at the shows I've been to lately--it's such a dumb song, so it amuses me to see him do it.

Afterwards, John said that the key of C is so conventional and he's sick of it, and Flans said he needs more black keys. Then John said that the next song was in the key of F#, if we were playing along.

The next song was "Doctor Worm," which is always so fun live, definitely one of my favorite accordion songs that they actually play on a regular basis to see. This was followed up by "The Famous Polka," which I feel the same way about.

People were yelling something or other after that, and Flans said that they have a computerized light show so it's confusing when people talk to them.

Flans introduced "Trouble Awful Devil Evil" by saying it's the best song on Phone Power. I've also seen him say that "Answer" is the best song on Glean. I don't agree with him in either case, but I do think it's sweet for him to say that the best songs on both albums are John's.

Afterwards, Flans said that they were happy to see that "the dudes in the back didn't bolt" like they normally do during slow songs. He said he wondered what they always do outside, and John said they were "bear-hug dancing." Flans said he has a feeling it involves menthol cigarettes. John: "We don't judge. Yes we do."

Then there was something really funny. John said that there were initials on the setlist and he had no idea what they meant, and Flans said "It's 'as fuck, John." I happened to be in front of a girl who got the setlist at the t-shirt stand after the show, so I can confirm that it did indeed say "AF" after the previous song. It just really amused me that a) Flans would write that on the setlist and b) he'd think John would be hip enough to know that that was what it meant.

Next they played "Bangs," which isn't one of my absolute favorite Mink Car songs, but it is pretty good and pretty fun live.

Next there was "Your Racist Friend," and then something I was really excited to see: "Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes." FUCK I love that song, and I've only seen it a few times, so yeh it was a big deal for me. It's superfun live too, so happy and bouncy.

Next was "Cyclops Rock," which is one of my absolute favorite Mink Car songs, and also one of those "Flans rocking your face off" songs that I love seeing live so dearly.

Flans said that they were going to take a 15-minute break. John said, "We'll be back in an hour." Then Flans said that the break was going to be "a strong New York 15," whatever that means.

Then they had the house lights turned up so they could count the beards in the crowd. John said that some people were "wearing their beards on the inside." Then they went off on this funny thing with Flans saying that in Austin the beard-to-person ratio was 2-to-1, and John saying that its nickname was "The Double-Beard City." Flans: "There was an ad campaign, 'Keep Austin Double-Bearded,' but it wasn't as successful as the 'Keep Austin Weird' campaign. I think people just hate sequels."

The last song of the first set was "The Mesopotamians." This song is fun live and all, but god, I've only seen three songs from The Else live and it's one of my favorite albums. I just wish they would mix it up a bit instead of always playing this one.

After the break and the "Last Wave" video projected onto the back wall, it was time for the Quiet Storm portion of things. I was really looking forward to it, more than any other part of the show in fact, cos I was counting on them to not let me down by skipping "A Self Called Nowhere" like they did the previous night.

The first few songs were the same as the night before--"Older" and "I Like Fun," both with John on the contra-alto clarinet. During the parkour part of the latter Flans was holding one arm up and out and everyone was cheering a lot, particularly after the "at the age of 58" part--presumably they thought it's his actual age, but I of course know that it's really John's age, not his.

After that Flans said that Marty was playing electronic drums and it was a "once-in-a-lifetime experience." Then he said that this is the Quiet Storm part of the show, partially because they're "playing storm sound effects, quietly" and partially because it was "stormy emotionally" because they were "testing the outer limits" of what Febreeze can do.

John said that the next song was from 1840.

JL: When we played this song in Pensacola, when we said "1840," people went absolutely ape-shit. And we still don't know why. JF: It's "ape-shit bananas." That's the show-biz term.

So then they played "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," and I was kicking myself for not listening to it a lot on the bus to memorize the lyrics so I could sing along, and resolved to make sure to get them down by the show the next day.

Then John said that 1840 is the old-timey time, but the next song is from the future--1844. One of them said that in the future there are flying beards, and John said, "Flying beards leaving beardtrails. You know what that means." Then he said "Heavens to Betsy!"--I thought it was very cute for him to be using such an old-fashioned expression that no one uses anymore, but I always think it's cute when he does this. (Well, I always think it's cute when he does literally anything pretty much, I guess.)

So then they of course did "James K. Polk." I really do like this song on accordion--I may be really upset by him playing accordion songs on keyboard, but when he does the reverse I definitely am not gonna complain. I mean, if it were up to me he'd play accordion for the entire show like he did in the duo days. Just before the bridge he told Flans "Let your beard fly," which was silly.

And then, at long last, was the moment I've been waiting for for sixteen and a half years, the moment I thought would never come before this tour started: they played "A Self Called Nowhere." I cannot even put into words how special it was for me to see my favorite song for the first time, the song I've been wanting to see more than any other song for as long as TMBG has been my favorite band. I literally got goosebumps. It was unlike anything I've ever experienced at a show. It was everything I hoped it would be and more, and I don't see how any future concert-going experience could ever top it.

After that, Flans was walking over near Marty's drums, and John said, "Don't get those drums angry."

Then Marty walked off stage and it was just The Johns. They did "Istanbul" that way, the version where they're both being really silly with the long drawn-out part with them doing silly things with their voices and stuff, and I think that version is very amusing, but apparently not everyone thinks so, because some woman by me was yelling insulting remarks at them ("I paid $50 for what?" and worse, including swearing I won't repeat). It really pissed me off, and if she'd been closer to me I would've gotten into it with her.

The rest of the band came back for the end of the song for a crazy jam session. Flans introduced them all afterwards and said that they were "re-introducing long-term hearing loss. Save your complaints for the band tomorrow night, because we'll be gone."

Next they played "We Live in a Dump"--Flans gave it its standard intro, which is that it's "about apartment living." I was thinking about how great John's backing vox are on the "then"s, which I'd never fully appreciated before.

Next came a major show highlight--"Don't Let's Start"!!! I was FLIPPING OUT the moment I heard that classic opening riff. I've seen this song shockingly few times considering how popular it is, probably fewer than five times, and it's very close to the top on my list of favorite songs, so yeh it was a really big deal for me. And godDAMN what a good live song! And there was just so much energy in the room, because of course everyone loves that song.

After that Flans said, "We have a new album out. It's a complicated album. It's strictly for adults." I'm not sure what he meant about it being complicated, but I'm pretty sure an album that's jam-packed with death and despair at a level that's high even by their standards is "strictly for adults," yeh.

Then they played "I Left My Body." I do really love this song, and it's also a great live song.

After that Flans said that during the next song Marty's hands never leave his arms. Then he asked how everyone was doing, and, after everyone cheered, said that he could see that there had been some beards grown during the intermission.

John introduced the next song with, "This song is in the key of F, for those of you who give a shit." The song was "Number Three," which is a really fun live song. I still don't understand why they'd put it anywhere in a setlist besides being the third song, but I'm pretty sure that's how it's been every time I've seen it.

After that John said that they've been playing with Marty for a long time, "but we still don't know what the drums ever did to him. It's his dark secret." Then, Flans said that there's a profile of Marty in the new issue of Modern Drummer, and that Marty told him when he was being interviewed he said, "Kids, school is for fools" but they didn't print that part (a minute later he said he didn't really say that).

Next they played "The End of the Tour," which is another amaaaaaazing song that I've only seen a few times, so that was exciting.

Next they played "Spy." That song is so much better live than it is on the album just cos the improv conducting part is so fun. Afterwards, Flans said that that song was "a musical question with no right answer" and thanked us for joining them in their "musical aquarium," whatever that means. Then he said he thought he heard someone on a walkie-talkie, and that sometimes in New York you'll be at a diner or something and there will be construction workers talking on their walkie-talkies and it's weird.

Then they played "When the Lights Come On." I'm so glad they're doing this one live--in addition to being my second-favorite song on the album, it just KICKS SO MUCH ASS live cos it's so rockin'. It really is unusual for John to write a song that's this rockin', that's much more Flans's territory than his, so I was glad for him to have a chance to play a song like that, plus it's just generally a fucking fantastic song.

After that they collaborated on a silly improv song:

JL: We've got a brand-new album. It's the reason we're here. JF: Don't forget about the other songs, John. JL: We also have other songs.

It doesn't really sound funny when I just write it out, but having them actually make it into a song was, trust me.

After that Flans introduced the band again, and then introduced the crew too--he mentioned two people named John, and then asked, "Do we only hire people named John?" But then he said that they also have Fresh, who's on two teams: Team Beautiful and Team Drums.

Next they played "Answer," and after it was over I was randomly thinking that I'd love to see them play "When Will You Die," and they actually did play it next! It was so strange. I don't even know why I was thinking of it right then since the two songs have no connection. Anyway, I love that song live--so much fun, and easily one of the most fun songs to sing along with ever. John apparently thinks it's really fun to sing too--he's always smiling a ton when he does, which always amuses me.

That was the end of the main set. The first encore started with "Why Does the Sun Shine?" That's another really fun live song. They're currently doing it with Flans singing and John doing the spoken parts. Things that were a gas on the sun included "magnets--how do they work?", and the heat and light of the sun were caused by "the nuclear reaction between magnets, hydrogen, how do they work, and magnets." So yes folks, John Linnell has discovered ICP, heaven help us.

After that they played "Wicked Little Critta." I can't believe how fun that song is live when I'm not really into it on the album.

They closed the first encore with that song they always have to play--"Birdhouse in Your Soul," of course. I will never ever ever get sick of that song live, no matter how many times I see it. It still manages to be one of the highlights of the show for me, even though I've seen it at every single show I've ever been to.

They opened the second encore with "Spider." Silly and fun, as always.

They closed with something I've seen a lot but don't think I've ever seen them close with: "Twisting." I think it's a great closing song--it really ends the show on a high note. John was hopping some and it was adorable. Also Flans somehow managed to knock his mic onto the stage (I didn't see exactly what happened cos I was staring at John as per usual) and then had to spend a minute down on the stage, trying to pick it up. Poor Flans--I'm sure he was really embarrassed. But the rest of the band just gamely continued playing.

So that was the end of the show. The Apollo 18 stuff the night before was amazing of course, but if I take out that stuff and just think about the rest of the set, I thought the setlist at this show was actually better. They played some of my absolute favorite songs, many of which I either have only seen a few times or saw a bunch when I was first going to shows years and years ago but haven't much since then. Finally seeing my theme song was most definitely the highlight for me!!!

Other notes: John seemed particularly energetic and happy. I don't know if it was being well-rested from sleeping in a real bed at the hotel or what, but he seemed to be smiling and boppin' around more than usual, and it was adorable. Also he continued his "wearing pretty much nothing but stripey shirts" streak he's been on this year, with this red-and-blue stripey one he loves.

[alexanderwrites]

The A-Z of TMBG

#2: Lincoln, 1988

“Our entire earlier career would be delineated by the development of drum machines.”

- John Flansburgh

If you start looking at They Might Be Giants’ discography closely enough, it starts to become clear that they’re a band who put out music in cycles and movements. After their first couple of albums, Flood and Apollo 18 feel like two cohesive parts of a movement, and similarly, Lincoln closes a movement that The Pink Album began. While each album stands boldly as its own satisfying piece, they often feel like one half of an equation, and Lincoln certainly answers what The Pink Album asks. 

The Johns very much downplay their artistic progression, but it is hard not to hear on this album a band pushing the boundaries of what these kind of bands are supposed to do. So yes, some of the drum machines might sound a little more ‘professional’, and some songs are produced so lushly that it’s hard to believe it’s effectively a DIY album. But their progression as a band is best evidenced in their increasing ability to casually write absolutely flawless pop songs. You know i’m talking about Ana Ng.

There’s not much I can say about this song that hasn’t been said before, but I find myself in a pretty exciting and unique position: i’m a big TMBG fan who doesn’t, or didn’t, know the song all that well. Listening to the song properly for the first time felt like a gift, one that everyone else in the world has been enjoying for so long that they’re looking at me and thinking “you asshole, why didn’t you open it sooner?”. I’m asking the same thing. It’s a song that demonstrates the brilliant dichotomy that exists with this band. The sad and frustrated verses should be completely at odds with the insuppressible, manic chorus but the two moods mingle to create a song that demonstrates the complicated light-and-dark of love. I’ve often thought you only need to hear the first song from a TMBG album to understand just how good they are, and this one is maybe the best example of that. 

Ana Ng contains the first of many lines throughout the album that have stuck with me so strongly, without me being able to explain why. “I don’t want the world, I just want your half”, “Everything sticks like a broken record, everything sticks until it goes away”are just a couple of lines that i’ve not been able to shake off. It’s kind of amazing that this is an album that features a song so piercingly human, followed by a song called Cowtown with the lyrics “I’m going down to cowtown, the cow’s a friend to me”. It mirrors The Pink Album’s ability to jump from songs like Everything Right is Wrong Again to songs like Number Three. There’s a delight in never being able to anticipate quite which bag of tricks the band are going to reach into for the next song, and the result is like a toy chest that you can’t wait to dive into. Maybe I should use a more grownup metaphor, like a plate of hor d'ourves instead of a toy chest, but we’re talking about TMBG, so to hell with anything that isn’t intensely fun. 

Santa’s Beard, a song about a man paranoid that his girlfriend will run off with Santa Claus, is a good example of the band’s storytelling abilities, and their ear for the absurd makes me kinda wish they’d write a book of short stories. But then, isn’t that what their songs are? The Pencil Rain sounds like it’s from an N64 game in the best way, a little pocket-sized fanfare with a deceptively pretty guitar chord progression and a deep commitment to its own strangeness. And speaking of progression, the band also develop their individual personalities on this album, their voices becoming their own distinctive tools which are implemented to great effect in more specific genre songs. Flansburgh’s voice is made for songs like Lie Still, Little Bottle, a minimalist jazz piece with a killer bassline. 

The quality of songs like this make it hard to use words like “pastiche” because they’re so much better and so much more than that. Elsewhere, his kind and familiar voice makes songs like Snowball in Hell legitimately beautiful, and he delivers that terrific wordplay so well: “if it wasn’t for disappointments, I wouldn’t have any appointments” being one of my particular favourite lines. And If you want any proof that they’re not a pastiches or novelty band, listen to Snowball. The accordion gives the song a friendly sweetness, while the mid-song vocal sample from a self-help cassette adds layers of intrigue. I’m a huge hip hop fan, and I also love when musicians outside of the genre use old, untouched samples like this, similar to how Grandaddy’s song Fentry uses clips from the Robert Duvall movie Tomorrow. There’s something weirdly comforting and layering about hearing old voices like this, and it shows just how successful TMBG are at experimenting not just with instruments, but with sound and media in general. 

If this album can be described as an experiment, then it is an entirely successful one. Listening to it, you can sense that the band are about to break out, perhaps not to become the biggest band in the world, but to be heard by more people. With this set of songs, you can just feel that there is a world full of people waiting to hear songs like these, and that the people that come to like the band don’t stop at liking them, but graduate into falling head over heels with the band. How can you not? TMBG are so idiosyncratic that casually liking them seems like an impossible task. If you like them at all, how do you not dive headfirst into the toy chest and find your new favourite band inside? I think that’s what Lincoln maybe best demonstrates: a band building a prolific world that people can explore, and then realise that they don’t ever want to leave it. And since listening to this album in full, i’ve not been able to stop. It’s a scarily moreish album, the audio equivalent of a packet of chocolate digestives. I know i’ve described this album both as a toy box AND as a packet of chocolate biscuits now, but I feel it’s apt. 

I’ve found myself whistling, humming, singing and even dreaming some of the songs (yes, Where Your Eyes Don’t Go made a guest appearance in a dream of mine), and i’ve never been so pleased for a bunch of songs to bury themselves into my life so deeply. There’s now a TMBG song for every occasion and hell, there’s a song just from Lincoln for every occasion. 

It’s an assured album, and it’s so exciting to hear a band on the verge of getting wider recognition, with the comfort that where they go next doesn’t dilute them in the least but instead, grows them into a band that’s even more exciting, adventurous and even more fucking fun.

[selfcallednowhere]

March 6, 2018, Eugene, OR

Pictures

This was my first time going to a show at this venue, which is to be expected since it was my first time being in Eugene at all. It was all right--smallish, which can be nice.

The initial banter when they first came on stage was also about the venue. Flans said that because they've been touring for 30+ years he always has trepidation when saying they've never played somewhere before, but he was pretty sure they'd never played here before. He said they had played in Eugene before, but the last time they did they were touring in an Econoline van. He said they did a college show and were "doing eightballs of cocaine and heroin."

They once again opened with "Pencil Rain," followed by "I Palindrome I," both of which were cool to see again. Then John picked up the contra-alto clarinet, and Flans said they wanted to remind people that the show was going to be featuring it. John: "'Remind' is a strong word. Notify." Then Flans informed us that it was not the contra-alto clarinet that could be seen on signs put up by the local high school saying one was missing.

JF: We don't even know that custodian! JL: I did take one of the pull-tabs with the phone number to say that I don't know where it went.

Then Flans said the thing again about how they'd be playing two sets, and we should treat them like an opener and hold our applause till the second set. "Talk to your friends about how we're like They Might Be Giants but not as good."

Then he said the thing he also keeps saying that makes me so sad about how they'd be playing new songs and we should just pretend we like them. Then he said Joe Franklin had told them "It's all about sincerity, and if you can fake that, you can do anything." Then they played "All Time What" and then "Damn Good Times" (both fantastic as per usual).

Then they were starting to play "James K. Polk," and John was talking during the intro. He said that on the album he mispronounced the name of this state. "But I'm here to make amends. That's why we're here." He pronounced it correctly as he sang (like he normally does, so it was only notable because of him calling attention to it) and people cheered. Afterwards Flans said, "Well played. They were buying it." John said again that he said it wrong on the album, and then said it the incorrect way, and people booed. "Yes, let's let the dirty laundry air." Flans said that when people ask them how to get to Houston St. (pronouncing it like the name of my hometown and not the name of the street in Manhattan) they just tell them where it is, and John said they give them directions to Texas. Then Flans said that's a New York joke that doesn't really work here.

Flans asked John how his day was, and he said he went to a coffee shop that he couldn't remember the name of. Flans said he went to a bagel shop where the wifi password was "bagelbagelbagel," and John said he would've guessed only two "bagel"s. Then Flans said he'd tried to go to some shoe store called Shoeaholic but he got there just as they were closing, and that he'd wanted to beg them to let him in by telling them "I've hit my rock bottom." John: "I think you've bought enough shoes, John Flansburgh."

Then Flans said they were about to play two songs from their new album, and that before the show they'd been "doing shots of truth serum" and so he could tell us that it's "so much better than it has to be." Then he said this is their 20th album, and when they were making their 18th they'd looked at the list of other bands' 18th albums on Wikipedia and found a surprising number of good ones, but he thinks this one stand alone as the only quality 20th album.

The two new songs they played were "Mrs. Bluebeard" and "I Left My Body," both of which were great (I suppose at this point I don't even need to note the fact that John did mess up the lyrics on the former though).

After "Your Racist Friend," Flans said that he wants to "dedicate my performance to the people standing directly next to my amp. I have a lot of dreams, and one of my dreams is to never have to stand directly next to my amp. I don't want to leave a permanent memory on your left ear. And I noticed you were having a conversation, which seems impossible. I'm making a dedication to long-term hearing loss."

Then Flans was introducing Curt, who was standing at the back of the stage. John said it makes him feel self-conscious when people are standing behind him, cos it feels like they're looking at his hands as he plays his keyboard. "Am I folding my thumb under the right way? Is my total ignorance of technique that obvious? The answer is yes." (Awwwww John, I'm sure you're fine darling!)

Next they played "Turn Around," YES YES YES. There was some quality JL spazziness adding to the usual amazingness of the song.

Next they did "Spy." During the part where they were just playing the song normally (before the improv section I mean) John kept lifting one arm up into the air after he played something--I'm not really sure why, but it was cool. He played the "Here Comes Santa Claus" sample during the improv part when he was conducting again.

Afterwards, Flans was complimenting how well we did the part of the song where he directed us to cheer. "That was nimble. Sometimes it's like directing a dinosaur in hospice. That was delicious."

Flans introduced "When the Lights Come On" by saying it's "relentless," which is a good description. He also reminded us that "Dan Miller's fingers never leave his hands." The song was rockin' and terrific as usual.

Afterwards, people were smoking pot (annoying me as it always does, not because I have any problem with pot in itself but I just hate the smell). Flans: "The pot smell begins. And once the pot smell begins it will never end." He said it smelled like cheap pot, and "this is the HiFi. There are standards." Then he told that one story that's immortalized in the one TMBG Unlimited recording, about how there was a time when they kept smelling cheap pot at their shows but then one member of their crew left and they suddenly stopped smelling it.

Then he said that it reminded him of the next song, and he wanted John to introduce it. He asked John something about making a Laugh-In reference and John said he didn't want to. Then he said that they're older than the rest of the band and they've gotten into fights with them about whether Laugh-In was funny, and that it's like being a parent and defending something you don't really believe. Flans said that it was like saying George W. Bush wasn't really that bad, and that he was, it was just easy to forget, like a scar on your hand is easy to forget. Then John said that he did remember the Laugh-In reference he was supposed to make. Flans: "Jesus christ! Show business professional!" John said he was just confused from all the pot smoke, and he was struggling to find oxygen molecules. Then he said the next song was from a TV show that was on before Laugh-In. The song was "The Mesopotamians" (as expected, since I'd seen him do this joke before).

Before they played "This Microphone," Flans was talking about the percussion thing Marty plays during it that looks like an orange. He said that it was a real orange, and Marty had lanced it with a drumstick and replaced the pulp with magic beads.

Afterwards Flans said that for being a sold-out show in a small venue it was surprisingly comfortable, and that usually at this point in such a show they were puddles on the floor begging for the A/C. John said some people want to see that, and Flans said they were trying to change their reputation of just being puddles.

They once again closed out the first set with "Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal" into "Birdhouse in Your Soul." TOO MUCH ROCKIN'. I CAN'T HANDLE IT. No seriously it is an amazing way for them to end the set, but I'm not kidding about all the excited boppin' around and really really enthusiastic singing along I can't stop myself from doing on both those songs having an intense physical effect on me. I guess I should just be grateful I then got the whole between-sets break to recover.

So then after the break they came back for the Quiet Storm, opening with the contra-alto version of "Older" as per usual. Afterwards, Flans said that even though this was an acoustic set Marty had "opted in with the limitless noise potential of the electronic drums." Then he made him play whatever that bit of that Phil Collins song he keeps making him play is.

After that they played "I Like Fun," then Flans started to introduce "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too." He said the hostility of the song is "comforting," because it means people being that way now isn't new, and that things suck right now, but they will get better.

Before "Shoehorn with Teeth," Flans said that Marty was "abandoning his electronic drums manifesto of the last five minutes and returning to his vaudeville roots." He also said that the bell Marty was playing came from the same high school that had put up the signs for the missing contra-alto clarinet.

Then something really funny happened. Flans said John should move over cos he wasn't in the light enough (which he wasn't). John said it's hard to light him when he has his accordion on, because it creates shadows on him. Flans: "The accordion is like Dracula." Then some girl (not me, I swear!) yelled "IT'S SEXY" and John said "No it isn't," which was the part that amused the hell out of me because of course he was DEAD WRONG. Then he said "But thank you for saying that" but did not exactly seem sincere--I think he was rather uncomfortable honestly so that made me feel bad for him, but yeh I was still really amused. But I did also have this feeling of wishing it hadn't happened at a show I was at because I figured anyone who knew about it and knew I was there would figure it was me and I would never do that (I had the same feeling a time I was at a different show and some girl threw her bra at him).

So then they played "A Self Called Nowhere" and y'know, the usual--really really intense and emotional for me, the best part of the show, etc etc.

Flans introduced "How Can I Sing Like a Girl?" by saying it was "about being in chorus."

Next they did "Istanbul." During the crazy jam part at the end, John spent some time playing (using the word "playing" loosely here) his keyboard with both his fists and also with both his hands entirely vertical.

Flans introduced "Bills, Bills, Bills" by explaining how the AV Club Undercover thing works. He said that they'd given them a list of songs "that should never be recorded or even talked about again." He said they'd first done "Tubthumping" but they weren't going to play that tonight. "It's too exciting. It's too exciting for our crew. It makes them burst into tears." Then he said after that they'd covered a Destiny's Child song, which forced them to grapple with the fact that Destiny's Child is a much more popular band than they are. He said they'd considered becoming a band whose entire act was just performing this one single Destiny's Child cover. Then he said they were going to keep performing this song both cos they'd taken the trouble to memorize it and cos it always spreads joy.

So they played that one and then "Particle Man." Then:

JL: We spent our formative years in the greater Boston area. JF: I don't know if you've ever played lacrosse. I've had lacrosse played at me. JL: You've been played by lacrosse. JF: Lacrosse is like it's the end of days and civilization has broken down, and there's still an organized way of killing people. That's basically what lacrosse is like. JL: That's basically what the greater Boston area is like.

So then they of course played "Wicked Little Critta" [insert swooning over all the video closeups of John's hands on the Kaoss Pad and his keyboard here], then "New York City." Afterwards, some guy yelled "THEY MUST BE GIANTS!" Flans was amused--he repeated it and thanked him for saying it. Then he said that sometimes when shows are ending they're getting ready to leave and they'll hear the owner of the club come over the PA and ask everyone to give another hand for "Ain't They Giants," and they realize he cares less than anyone else there.

They closed the main set with a run of familiar but still always very fun songs: "Number Three," "Twisting," and "Doctor Worm."

When they came back for the first encore, John said they'd come back sooner than it had taken them this time. Then he said that next they were going to play a quiet song, and it was "inappropriate because everyone is all hopped up." The song they played was "Dead," which I was most certainly not going to complain about seeing, quiet or not!

I was hoping they were going to play "Don't Let's Start" next since that was the second encore song for almost all the shows I'd seen so far, but instead it was "Fingertips," which I know is always a big hit live, I've just seen it many, many more times than I've seen "Don't Let's Start" so yeh not as exciting for me at this point.

They closed the show with "The Guitar," which is definitely one of the all-time best show closers!

So yeh great show overall, and I had some personal excitement afterwards too--Marty gave me a setlist!!! This was my first time managing to snag one in an exceptionally long time. I also managed to get the show poster that had been hanging in the venue's front window, which also rarely happens and featured one of the new promo pictures I'm quite fond of, so that was also thrilling!

The all-important JL wardrobe report: For the first set he was wearing the same black long-sleeved shirt he wore the previous two nights (he always wears the same things over and over, but the same shirt three nights in a row is a bit much even for him), and then for the second set he was wearing that red-and-blue stripey t-shirt he really loves, which made me happy because I really love it too and think it looks fantastic on him.