Mind Your Never-Shut Quonset Hut Business
Jul. 31st, 2011 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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bethje and I went to Asbury Park to see They Might Be Giants at the Stone Pony. I believe this was our fourth time seeing them at this particular venue. The first was the time when the roof was leaking, which they mentioned at last night's show. I know we didn't attend the show where they premiered the "Asbury Park" Venue Song, although of course they've performed it at all subsequent concerts there. I actually like the Stone Pony, as far as standing room only venues go. Anyway, we ended up getting to the show later than we'd hoped, but it was no big deal. The opener was Jonathan Coulton, who seems to be pretty popular on the Internet these days. He didn't blow me away, but he was fun. Beth has been considering getting one of his albums.
Sorry about the poor picture quality. I forgot to bring my camera, and I still haven't figured out how to get decent concert pictures on my phone.
Since the band advertised this show as their official CD release party for Join Us (even though it wasn't the first show after the album's release), I was kind of surprised that they only did six songs from the new record.
They started the set with "Cloisonné," with John Linnell on saxophone, then followed that with "You Probably Get That a Lot."
Later on, they performed "Old Pine Box" (it looked like Linnell sneezed during the bridge of this one), "Never Knew Love," "Can't Keep Johnny Down," and "Judy Is Your Viet Nam." The sixth new song in the set was "Spoiler Alert," performed in the guise of sock puppets...sorry, I mean "Avatars of They," who later came back to do "What Is a Shooting Star?". Notable old songs in the set included "Turn Around" and "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head," neither one a total rarity in recent years, but still much less common than many. Also worth noting, although it was probably embarrassing for the band, is how John Flansburgh messed up on "Cyclops Rock," starting a discussion about whether or not his flub was cool. One thing I noticed is that, the first time he sang "like Nixon was sick," but changed it to "like Chuckie was sick" the second time. After they finished the song, someone in the audience apparently shouted out, "You did it!", to which Linnell replied with something like, "We feel so competent." At another point, the Johns started talking about Chris Christie, and how "Chris" was actually a nickname for his last name, sort of like "Ozzy Osbourne." Then Linnell said, "Flansy Flansburgh," which was apparently a fan-given nickname. I guess people wouldn't have felt the need to call him Flansy if he didn't regularly perform with another guy with the same first name. Although Linnell signed my copy of Mink Car as "John 'Linny' Linnell," however, I don't see people calling him that. I guess that doesn't roll off the tongue (or the keyboard) as easily. At the end of the Christie bit, Flans said something about how they didn't want to get political, just to be evil. Personally, I have no problem with anyone making fun of Christie, because I hate the guy. On our way out of the Stone Pony, Beth bought one of the supposed six-foot Join Us posters, which I think are actually a bit under six feet (although, according to Flansy, they're "still growing").
After the show, I saw some girl in a hippie skirt meditating on the grass near the venue. Okay, what's the point of that? Was it a ploy to pick up guys (or girls; I don't want to make assumptions as to this person's sexual orientation) who are into earthy types? I mean, she obviously wanted to be noticed, right? I wonder if that girl is on the Internet. Anyway, Beth and I walked on the boardwalk for a little while, but we got tired rather quickly. Beth was thirsty, so we waited in line at a crepe stand to get her a soda. After we'd ordered, the guy at the stand asked if anyone else just wanted a soda. How was that fair to us? I'll tell you how: it wasn't.
My dreams last night included one that apparently repeated, although maybe it really didn't and my subconscious just convinced me it did. There were some kids (I don't know whether I was with them or just observing) who went to a house at the end of a road where a grouchy old lady lived, and then jumped off a precipice. Later in the dream, the old lady had died, and I was inside her house, which had somehow grown to accommodate offices and such. In another dream, I was a kid going shopping with my dad, brother, and sister; and was upset because the store was out of frozen pizzas and Myers pot pies. I practically lived on those things for a significant portion of my life. I think Myers pot pies are a local thing, but they're really good. They sell them at the grocery store near where I work (or at least they did last time I went there), and maybe I'd pick some up if all of my work days didn't end after midnight.
bethje and I went to Asbury Park to see They Might Be Giants at the Stone Pony. I believe this was our fourth time seeing them at this particular venue. The first was the time when the roof was leaking, which they mentioned at last night's show. I know we didn't attend the show where they premiered the "Asbury Park" Venue Song, although of course they've performed it at all subsequent concerts there. I actually like the Stone Pony, as far as standing room only venues go. Anyway, we ended up getting to the show later than we'd hoped, but it was no big deal. The opener was Jonathan Coulton, who seems to be pretty popular on the Internet these days. He didn't blow me away, but he was fun. Beth has been considering getting one of his albums.Sorry about the poor picture quality. I forgot to bring my camera, and I still haven't figured out how to get decent concert pictures on my phone.
Since the band advertised this show as their official CD release party for Join Us (even though it wasn't the first show after the album's release), I was kind of surprised that they only did six songs from the new record.
They started the set with "Cloisonné," with John Linnell on saxophone, then followed that with "You Probably Get That a Lot."
Later on, they performed "Old Pine Box" (it looked like Linnell sneezed during the bridge of this one), "Never Knew Love," "Can't Keep Johnny Down," and "Judy Is Your Viet Nam." The sixth new song in the set was "Spoiler Alert," performed in the guise of sock puppets...sorry, I mean "Avatars of They," who later came back to do "What Is a Shooting Star?". Notable old songs in the set included "Turn Around" and "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head," neither one a total rarity in recent years, but still much less common than many. Also worth noting, although it was probably embarrassing for the band, is how John Flansburgh messed up on "Cyclops Rock," starting a discussion about whether or not his flub was cool. One thing I noticed is that, the first time he sang "like Nixon was sick," but changed it to "like Chuckie was sick" the second time. After they finished the song, someone in the audience apparently shouted out, "You did it!", to which Linnell replied with something like, "We feel so competent." At another point, the Johns started talking about Chris Christie, and how "Chris" was actually a nickname for his last name, sort of like "Ozzy Osbourne." Then Linnell said, "Flansy Flansburgh," which was apparently a fan-given nickname. I guess people wouldn't have felt the need to call him Flansy if he didn't regularly perform with another guy with the same first name. Although Linnell signed my copy of Mink Car as "John 'Linny' Linnell," however, I don't see people calling him that. I guess that doesn't roll off the tongue (or the keyboard) as easily. At the end of the Christie bit, Flans said something about how they didn't want to get political, just to be evil. Personally, I have no problem with anyone making fun of Christie, because I hate the guy. On our way out of the Stone Pony, Beth bought one of the supposed six-foot Join Us posters, which I think are actually a bit under six feet (although, according to Flansy, they're "still growing").
After the show, I saw some girl in a hippie skirt meditating on the grass near the venue. Okay, what's the point of that? Was it a ploy to pick up guys (or girls; I don't want to make assumptions as to this person's sexual orientation) who are into earthy types? I mean, she obviously wanted to be noticed, right? I wonder if that girl is on the Internet. Anyway, Beth and I walked on the boardwalk for a little while, but we got tired rather quickly. Beth was thirsty, so we waited in line at a crepe stand to get her a soda. After we'd ordered, the guy at the stand asked if anyone else just wanted a soda. How was that fair to us? I'll tell you how: it wasn't.
My dreams last night included one that apparently repeated, although maybe it really didn't and my subconscious just convinced me it did. There were some kids (I don't know whether I was with them or just observing) who went to a house at the end of a road where a grouchy old lady lived, and then jumped off a precipice. Later in the dream, the old lady had died, and I was inside her house, which had somehow grown to accommodate offices and such. In another dream, I was a kid going shopping with my dad, brother, and sister; and was upset because the store was out of frozen pizzas and Myers pot pies. I practically lived on those things for a significant portion of my life. I think Myers pot pies are a local thing, but they're really good. They sell them at the grocery store near where I work (or at least they did last time I went there), and maybe I'd pick some up if all of my work days didn't end after midnight.
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no subject
Date: 2011-07-31 08:02 pm (UTC)Yeah, the hippy girl was waiting for the hippy of her dreams (or someone who had some really good *fill in her drug of choice* to share) to want to attract as much attention as she.
I have never heard of it, but I want a myers pot pie right now.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-01 12:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-31 09:39 pm (UTC)2. I've heard people say "Linny" and it kind of ENRAGES ME. "Flansy" is appropriate and fine but Linnell is too...cranky for a cute -y end or something, haha.
3. The show I went to at the Stone Pony, in 2003, the roof was leaking also. Over the stage, so I was kind of convinced The Johns were going to get electrocuted or something. They solved it in the most ghetto way possible--they stapled trash bags to the ceiling and then funneled the water into trashcans on the floor.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-01 12:06 am (UTC)3. That was the same show we went to.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-01 12:14 am (UTC)The other exciting thing about that show was John knocked over his water bottle and it spilled all over those of us in the front row. He was semi-apologetic. And then some guy was all "WE ARE HONOURED" which he did not respond to. For some reason.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-01 12:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-01 12:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-01 06:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-01 03:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-01 03:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-01 06:20 am (UTC)I think we've gotten to all the Stone Pony shows fairly late. I know one time, we'd started driving up the Garden State Parkway and realized we'd forgotten to bring the tickets.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-01 06:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-01 01:51 am (UTC)(I have to say, while walking down Franklin to Kent to 8th, I believe I did walk past the area where they shot it, because it was very deserted and desolate and warehousey, and it was basically the only place I was during my entire stay in NYC where there was absolutely zero foot traffic.)