![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
An Event 17 Years in the Making
I had planned to write a post about how going to my cousin's Bat Mitzvah this morning left me with mixed feelings about the faith I occasionally remember I technically belong to. However, all such deep reflections have been overwhelmed by the new post: OMG TMBG yay!
When I was 8, my brother - than 13 - and I had virtually nothing in common. We hated each other, hated spending time together, and had caused my dad so much trouble that he had stopped taking us for visitations together. However, through that all we did have one thing, just one, that we felt the same way about. It was 1991, and my brother had brought home a CD - god knows where he heard it - that I had fallen in love with. I'd never heard the expression "Bee in your bonnet" before, and I wasn't sure why Triangle Man had beaten Person Man, but I thought Universe Man would kick Triangle Man's butt so it didn't matter, and I knew where both Istanbul and Constantinople were. I thought Flood was just about the coolest thing I had ever heard.
My brother being the kind of kid he was, he ended up with two concert tickets to see They Might Be Giants in a little bitty venue on the lower east side, but in the end he couldn't go, so my mother and I went instead. It kicked serious ass. Okay, the opening band blew, but I was SO excited to see TMBG live that I didn't care.
I've gone through periods where I've been much less in to them than others, but I've always come back to them. Flood, Lincoln and Apollo 18 were the first three CDs I bought myself (the fourth was Ace of Base, ugh!) and I've wanted to see them live again for ages. About two years ago, I started getting more in to them again, bought the CDs I'd never heard, and I've been on a kick ever since.
Then, when I got back to NYC, I passed the Beacon Theater on 75th and Broadway, and saw that they were playing there on February 2nd. Decision made. I was not missing that show, no matter what.
And oh man, was it worth it. I went in with only one hope: that'd they'd play "Museum of Idiots." The chances didn't seem good. In the first set, they opened with "Damn Good Times," and they played a bunch of stuff - some songs I didn't know from their latest CD, "Memo from Human Resources," "Birdhouse in Your Soul," "Meet James Ensor," "Ana Ng," and a whole bunch else. Second set started, and they got my hopes up by bringing out a trumpetist, but it was for a different song, and I began to gave up hope. But they came through in the end, and it made my night, I was probably the most excited person in that theater for that song. ;) Then, to top it off, I was thinking, "now that they've played that, it'd be awesome if they played Dr. Worm." And they did. I did the happy dance, truly.
Anyway, it was a great set. In addition to that stuff, they played a bunch more, I'm sure I won't think of them all - "Purple Toupee," "Istanbul not Constantinople," "Particle Man," "Metal Detector," "The Guitar," "The Alphabet of Nations," "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head," "Spy," "Older," a venue song (er, sort of), a song about a moth which I liked and didn't know that made me think of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
saracariad, "Mr. Me," "Cyclops Rock," "In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle," (uh, and, looking at a track list, the ones from the newest album were "Take out the Trash," "Bee of the Bird of the Moth," "Upside Down Frown," and "The Mesopotamians."
They also did two encores. The first was clearly scripted and included fingertips, "Turn Around," and Cow Town. The second, though, I'm not sure was scripted. They came out - just the John's - and played New York City, which was really spiffy. :) If you're wondering why I'm going in to this much detail, by the way, it's because I'll completely forget in a week unless I write it down now while it's still fresh.
I could have wished they'd play "Don't Let Start," "I Should be Allowed to Think," "They'll Need a Crane," "The End of the Tour," "Dead," "We Want a Rock," "Till My Head Falls Off," "Man It's So Loud in Here." But the truth is, the only one of those I thought of before looking at track lists was "Don't Let Start," and either way I had a great time and I'm really glad I went.
And my mom went with me this time, too, though it was more a pity this time because it kept from hitting on the cute guy with good rhythm who seemed to like the same songs as me who was sitting next to me. Ah well, next time. :)
The Marquis at the Beacon
The John's
I took other pictures, too, but I haven't deleted the crappy ones yet, so they're not uploaded. I'm WAY behind on my photo uploading. ;)
When I was 8, my brother - than 13 - and I had virtually nothing in common. We hated each other, hated spending time together, and had caused my dad so much trouble that he had stopped taking us for visitations together. However, through that all we did have one thing, just one, that we felt the same way about. It was 1991, and my brother had brought home a CD - god knows where he heard it - that I had fallen in love with. I'd never heard the expression "Bee in your bonnet" before, and I wasn't sure why Triangle Man had beaten Person Man, but I thought Universe Man would kick Triangle Man's butt so it didn't matter, and I knew where both Istanbul and Constantinople were. I thought Flood was just about the coolest thing I had ever heard.
My brother being the kind of kid he was, he ended up with two concert tickets to see They Might Be Giants in a little bitty venue on the lower east side, but in the end he couldn't go, so my mother and I went instead. It kicked serious ass. Okay, the opening band blew, but I was SO excited to see TMBG live that I didn't care.
I've gone through periods where I've been much less in to them than others, but I've always come back to them. Flood, Lincoln and Apollo 18 were the first three CDs I bought myself (the fourth was Ace of Base, ugh!) and I've wanted to see them live again for ages. About two years ago, I started getting more in to them again, bought the CDs I'd never heard, and I've been on a kick ever since.
Then, when I got back to NYC, I passed the Beacon Theater on 75th and Broadway, and saw that they were playing there on February 2nd. Decision made. I was not missing that show, no matter what.
And oh man, was it worth it. I went in with only one hope: that'd they'd play "Museum of Idiots." The chances didn't seem good. In the first set, they opened with "Damn Good Times," and they played a bunch of stuff - some songs I didn't know from their latest CD, "Memo from Human Resources," "Birdhouse in Your Soul," "Meet James Ensor," "Ana Ng," and a whole bunch else. Second set started, and they got my hopes up by bringing out a trumpetist, but it was for a different song, and I began to gave up hope. But they came through in the end, and it made my night, I was probably the most excited person in that theater for that song. ;) Then, to top it off, I was thinking, "now that they've played that, it'd be awesome if they played Dr. Worm." And they did. I did the happy dance, truly.
Anyway, it was a great set. In addition to that stuff, they played a bunch more, I'm sure I won't think of them all - "Purple Toupee," "Istanbul not Constantinople," "Particle Man," "Metal Detector," "The Guitar," "The Alphabet of Nations," "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head," "Spy," "Older," a venue song (er, sort of), a song about a moth which I liked and didn't know that made me think of
saracariad, "Mr. Me," "Cyclops Rock," "In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle," (uh, and, looking at a track list, the ones from the newest album were "Take out the Trash," "Bee of the Bird of the Moth," "Upside Down Frown," and "The Mesopotamians."They also did two encores. The first was clearly scripted and included fingertips, "Turn Around," and Cow Town. The second, though, I'm not sure was scripted. They came out - just the John's - and played New York City, which was really spiffy. :) If you're wondering why I'm going in to this much detail, by the way, it's because I'll completely forget in a week unless I write it down now while it's still fresh.
I could have wished they'd play "Don't Let Start," "I Should be Allowed to Think," "They'll Need a Crane," "The End of the Tour," "Dead," "We Want a Rock," "Till My Head Falls Off," "Man It's So Loud in Here." But the truth is, the only one of those I thought of before looking at track lists was "Don't Let Start," and either way I had a great time and I'm really glad I went.
And my mom went with me this time, too, though it was more a pity this time because it kept from hitting on the cute guy with good rhythm who seemed to like the same songs as me who was sitting next to me. Ah well, next time. :)
The Marquis at the Beacon
The John's
I took other pictures, too, but I haven't deleted the crappy ones yet, so they're not uploaded. I'm WAY behind on my photo uploading. ;)
no subject
no subject