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Kansas City
shone with the light of greatness Saturday, Oct. 8th, when They Might
Be Giants played at the Beaumont club.
The opening act, Muckafurgason, was a surprise to anyone who hadn’t
heard them before. A pleasant one, that is. Labelmates on Deep Elm with
local heroes Appleseed Cast, Muckafurgason was an excellent choice to
set the stage for TMBG. Also of note is the fact that John Flansburgh
of TMBG produced their most recent LP, Pretty Good. Opening unapologetically
with “You Ain’t a Man Until You’ve Had a Man” off
their Gay EP, the band was confident and highly entertaining. Fresh
as an open wound, Muckafurgason kept their act lively with members rotating
from instrument to instrument, and a healthy sampling of different colors
from the music spectrum, including punk (“Punk Rock”), pop
(“Atari (2600)”), country, “I’m Falling In Love
With You,” which sounded like a show tune, and human beatboxing,
featuring MC Choking Victim (aka bandmember Chris). With love songs
of more wit than Weird Al, this band is a definite winner.
Amidst a burst of color and raucous noise, They Might Be Giants followed
Muckafurgason. They started off their set with a rousing rendition of
their tribute to our eleventh president, “James K. Polk,”
and to the cheers and cries from a packed venue of loyal fans, most
sporting the “over 21” bracelets, they continued through a
crowd-pleasing and distinguished set. “We are the Beatles. It’s
nice to play in America again,” said John Linnell. Mixing in old
favorites with items of their most recent release, Mink Car, and relying
heavily on Apollo 18 material, few could leave the Beaumont that night
unsatisfied.
The band consisted of the founding members, John and John, and three
additional tour members, Dan, Dan, and Dan. This is not a lie. John
Flansburgh was responsible for guitar, John Linnell for keyboards, sax,
and accordion. Both can be held responsible for the singing, with its
notable lack of harmony. Dan played a second guitar, Dan bass, and Dan
quite skillfully perpetrated the drums.
“The new album has everything you like, and stuff you don’t
like too,” proudly boasted Linnell near the start of the set. And
this appears to be true, judging from the mixed reviews the album has
already accumulated. Critics have grumbled about alleged lack of hooks,
sub par lyrics, and semi-recycled material as reasons for their disenchantment
with it. Nevertheless, called the “essence of college radio”
by Lawrence fans, few true devotees were shaken, and Kansas City’s
audience was no less enthusiastic.
TMBG, with their usual aural collage of music styles, rocked the venue
with an energetic mood, obvious instrumental skill, and of course, a
have ladle of hilarity. To delight and amaze the fans, Linnell and the
rest of the band improvised to the quickly changing tunes of the radio
that Flansburgh held as he switched from local station to station. “And
we thought New York radio sucked,” he commented. Senses of humor
unblunted by age, John and John paraded rampantly through past hits
such as “Particle Man,” “The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent
Gas,” and “Make a Little Birdhouse in Your Soul.” “Istanbul”
was finally played to meet their fans’ ardent demands as the third
encore. Also played was “Boss of Me,” theme song to the sitcom,
Malcolm in the Middle. The audience, obviously well-versed fans, mouthed
the words along with the band to almost every song. Before beginning
the last song, Flansburgh had a moody outburst: “Don’t touch
[Linnell]’s keyboards. Just don’t do it,” he warned rowdy
crowd members. “Yeah,” Linnell replied, “There’s
two John Linnells, the nice one, and THE ONE YOU DON’T WANT TO
MEET!!”
“Don’t come near us, or we’ll f*** you up!” threatened
Flansburgh menacingly, before they started singing their dancy tune
about Constantinople’s historic name change.
A bombardment of applause pelted them as the anti-rock stars left the
stage.Meredith
Vacek, www.lawrencerock.com copyright 2001
SETLIST
James K. Polk
Cyclops Rock (new)
Bangs (new)
I’ve Got a Fang (new)
Yeah Yeah (new)
I Palindrome I
The Famous Polka
She’s Actual Size
Fingertips
Spyglass
Older (new)
SEXXY
The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas
Man, It’s Loud in Here (new)
Robot Parade (?)
Shoe Horn with Teeth
Make a Little Birdhouse in Your Soul
The Guitar
Encore:
She’s an Angel
Boss of Me
Everyone’s Your Friend in NY City (?)
2nd Encore:
Maybe I Know (Ellie Greenwich)
Dr. Worm
3rd Encore:
Istanbul
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