Celebrate Brooklyn

[vovat]

Yesterday, bethje, her cousin Dorothea, and I went up to New York City. First, we went to Manhattan, and went shopping in a few places. First we went to Opane, which had a considerably different store arrangement from the time Beth and I went there with not_glimmer a few months ago. We wondered if it might have changed ownership. After that, we went to the Sanrio store in Times Square, where Beth and Dorothea bought a few things, and I got Beth a Chococat umbrella. I took special note of the music that they played there, and it didn't seem to be anything much different from what you'd hear on the radio. I remember they played Billy Joel, Moby, and some emo-esque crap.

Our next stop was Books of Wonder, which was kind of disappointing, but I was able to pick up a copy of L. Frank Baum's Animal Fairy Tales. I hadn't read it before, so expect a mini-review, or at least a few comments, in the near future. I wanted to get a copy of Sky Island, but they only had it in hardback, and I didn't want to spring for that. I'll probably eventually want to get hardback versions of all of the Oz and Baum books I have, but I'm not in any big hurry to do so, nor can I really afford to right now.

After spending some time in a pizza parlor and a Barnes & Noble, we took the F train to Brooklyn. It turned out that the train wasn't going to make the stop we wanted (15th Street at Prospect Park), and it was pretty much impossible to hear the announcement. We probably wouldn't have found out at all if it hadn't been for other people who were going to the park. They really need to make things like that more obvious. Stupid New York subway system. I hate Metrocards, too.

Anyway, we got to Prospect Park in time to see They Might Be Giants play for Celebrate Brooklyn. Actually, to be more accurate, we only HEARD TMBG play. We were too far back to really see anything. I caught a few glimpses of opener Corn Mo, and didn't see TMBG at all. They could have had a tape player that made appropriate pauses for applause, and I wouldn't have known the difference. The show itself was good, though. Corn Mo played most of the same stuff he did last time we saw him, but he had a guitar player and drummer on a few songs, and he didn't talk as much. He did his cover of "We Are The Champions," but didn't include his long, curse-filled rant about how he followed his dreams. He said something about not wanting to swear because of all the children there, so maybe he just played it safe by not talking much at all. I wouldn't say Corn Mo is a great musician or anything, but his enthusiasm and the fact that he can always get a reaction out of the audience make him hard to dislike. He might be my third favorite of the TMBG openers I've seen, after Muckafurgason and the Moldy Peaches. I guess that puts him above the Gravel Pit, Mike Doughty, Afroman (not that he didn't get a reaction out of the audience as well), and Spiraling.

Here's what TMBG played, with my own comments wherever relevant:

Celebrate Brooklyn--They've been doing unique opening songs for most of the venues they've played on the current tour. I think they should make these available somehow (in a way other than making you buy and download every single concert, that is).
Particle Man--John Linnell sang the last verse in some fake Eastern European style accent.
Spine
Memo To Human Resources
Experimental Film
Twisting
Bastard Wants To Hit Me
Stalk Of Wheat
John Lee Supertaster--With the spoken word introduction
Doctor Worm
Meet James Ensor
Fingertips--While this is still pretty cool, I kind of think they should stop playing it at every single show. Or at least cut out a few of the Fingertips so it won't be that long. I mean, the Fingertips are all supposed to work individually, right?
It's Kickin' In--I was glad to hear this one, as it's one of my favorite Spine tracks.
Clap Your Hands
I Palindrome I--The first time I'd heard this live
Wearing A Raincoat
Older--Okay, this was really cool when I first heard it, seven years ago. It doesn't hold up that well, though, yet they insist on playing it at pretty much every show. At least they make an effort to keep "Particle Man" interesting. This is the same every time (aside from the occasional lengthened intro and long pauses, which only serve to make the song even MORE tedious), and it's boring every time.
Damn Good Times--My favorite John Flansburgh song on The Spine, and the first time I'd heard it live. It included the ending guitar solo from Dan Miller.
James K. Polk--They said something in the intro to this song comparing Polk to George W. Bush, mentioning that they both started unprovoked wars. I'm sorry I couldn't hear it better. The song itself is getting a little old, though.
The Guitar
Birdhouse In Your Soul--I thought it was kind of odd that they waited until so late in the show to play this. It was the last song before the encores.
Robot Parade
Violin--I know other fans have complained about it, but I still like The Wave, including Flansburgh's overly long explanation. Give me a few more times and I'll probably be bored of it along with everybody else, though. TMBG has a knack for keeping gimmicks in the show past their prime.
The End Of The Tour--I'm glad I was able to hear this. I was hoping for "Stomp Box" as well, but you can't have it all.
New York City--They played the "you wrote me a letter" verse before the "we met in the springtime" one. Not to sound mean, but I was actually hoping they would cut the song short, as I'm getting kind of tired of it. TMBG seems to be unable to play shortened versions of songs, though. It's either all or nothing. While I don't really want to make one of those annoying "TMBG should be more like Band X!" statements that show up on the TMBG forums from time to time, Weird Al always does a medley of songs he doesn't want to play in their entirety, and Beth told me that Blur did much the same thing. I kind of wish TMBG would look into doing that, as it would be a good way for the songs they feel they have to play every time not to be quite as tedious, as well as to fit in more songs. I sometimes think TMBG is heading in the direction of playing as few songs as possible, while drawing out each one to a ridiculous length. Maybe someday a TMBG concert will consist of one song, with a thirty-minute solo from each member of the band. Which brings us to the final song of the night:
Istanbul--Miller's acoustic guitar intro seemed to be as long as the whole rest of the concert. Interesting that the final encore was made up of two songs that I kind of wish they'd give a rest. Not that I really mind "Istanbul" in and of itself. It's a fun song. But come on! It should be a quick novelty number, not a huge production.

This review probably sounded overly negative. I really didn't intend for it to come off that way. They did nine songs I hadn't heard live before, including some of my favorite new material. The Johns were in good form, in both the music and the between-songs banter. And, while I wouldn't mind not hearing "Particle Man" or "James K. Polk" at another concert, at least they're short, and as long as some people still enjoy them (and I'm sure they do), that's cool. It's mostly the unnecessarily expanded songs that bug me. That and the fact that I couldn't see, but that's hardly TMBG's fault, and is to be expected at a free show, unless you show up hours ahead of time. I understand that TMBG is supposed to be playing in Philadelphia in October, and I'm sure they'll play a lot of the same songs there, so I'll be able to SEE the band perform Spine songs, as well as hearing them.

After leaving New York, we ate at the Phily Diner in Runnemede. I wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so. Not only was the food not that good, but we were seated at a table next to a large group of possibly the loudest, most obnoxious kids (and I use the term "kids" loosely, since I think at least some of them were around 23) we've ever had the misfortune to encounter. The waitress moved us to another table, but even that didn't help that much. True, those kids aren't the diner's fault, although I kind of think that, if I had been the manager there, I would have had them warned and, if they didn't quiet down after that, thrown out. Sure, a lot of people means a lot of money (assuming they all bought something, and I'm not even sure that they did), but I think the amount of noise they were making could have constituted a disturbance of the peace.

Comments

[tisok.livejournal.com]

you liked the peaches better than doughty and spiraling? what gives?

also, i've never seen the gravel pit, but sometimes i really like jed parish and sometimes i really don't like him.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Doughty and Spiraling were good, but didn't really grab me, while the Peaches did. I know a lot of people disagree, though.

The Gravel Pit opened at my first TMBG show, back in 1997. I remember not liking them, and that the lead singer made some comment about college campuses usually being "a bunch of fucking stiffs," but not much else about them. For all I know, they could have gotten better since then.

[bethje.livejournal.com]

I liked the Moldy Peaches better than Spiraling, too (I own some Moldy Peaches albums, as a matter of fact), and I've seen Spiraling open for TMBG what seems like a thousand times. I can't get into them at all.

[not-glimmer.livejournal.com]

i gotta disagree about dan's istanbul opening. dan miller freaking SAVES that damn song and i only ever like hearing it when he's playing with the band... in a similar vein, i have to mention that i don't hate particle man, but i don't understand it's mass appeal. it seriously isn't that good of a song. it has such an odd pacing... arrg.

also, you guys could have totally come up to the stage, there was plenty of room. :/

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I know "Particle Man" got some people into the band back in the Flood era, but I don't really see why they still play it now. I tend to think it's overexposed, and for little reason. It's much the same way with "Older," I think, although I'm pretty sure I liked "Older" more than "Particle Man" when I first heard it.

I pretty much figured the front would have filled up really early on. I guess we should have checked, though. Oh, well.

[bethje.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I kind of think the Istanbul intro feels a little too long. I especially feel this way, when my feet hurt.

also, you guys could have totally come up to the stage, there was plenty of room.

I didn't even think to check! I'm still mad at myself for that. I don't recall that being the case at many (any?) other shows. :(

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's just a bad idea to play a long song as one of the last ones in the show.

[3x1minus1.livejournal.com]

you never saw lincoln open for tmbg? they were awesome. (so awesome, that half of lincoln are in tmbg. hehe)

Older--Okay, this was really cool when I first heard it, seven years ago. It doesn't hold up that well, though, yet they insist on playing it at pretty much every show.

lol.. and there's always a scattering of people laughing all by them selves, who think it's the funniest damn thing they ever heard. {g} maybe that's why they keep playing it.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I have Lincoln's album, but I never saw them live, unfortunately. I think their entire career took place during the three-year gap between my first and second TMBG shows. If I were to rank every band that opened for TMBG, whether or not I actually saw them, Lincoln would rank above any of the ones I already mentioned, but below Frank Black, the Young Fresh Fellows, and Moxy Früvous (and the Johns' side projects, if they count).

You're probably right about "Older." I get the idea that TMBG often aims their concerts toward first-time attendees, which isn't necessarily bad, but it makes some songs tedious for repeat concert-goers. I guess most bands have a few songs they'll play almost every time, though.

[tisok.livejournal.com]

Fingertips goes in the same first-timer category, I think. I really liked it the first time I saw it, and I haven't liked it nearly as much any of the other times.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I agree, although they haven't been playing that one anywhere near as long as some of the other overplayed songs. They could still stand to play it a little more sparingly, though.