Epic Fail Bologna Sandwiches
Oct. 1st, 2011 02:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatSo no one is interested in seeing me review Nintendo-related media? I get it. My interests ARE pretty lame, aren't they? And speaking of reviews, I don't know that I'm going to write full reviews of the new Simpsons episodes this season. It was getting a little tedious to do so, and when something you do purely for fun starts to become a chore, you know something is wrong. I'm sure I'll still comment on the new episodes, just not in complete reviews. Regarding the last episode, is this Kiefer Sutherland's third appearance on the show? Does this have something to do with his father once playing a character named Homer Simpson? He was also on the show before, playing Hollis Hurlbut, curator of the Springfield Historical Society.
Last night,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bethje and I went to see They Might Be Giants at the TLA in Philadelphia. Beth was able to get us in for free because of the Instant Fan Club thing (well, since she paid for THAT, I guess it wasn't REALLY free, but you know what I mean). I know the TLA has a lot of history, like Meat Loaf first seeing the Rocky Horror Picture Show there, not to mention its own TMBG Venue Song (that was actually how they started the set), but I've never been all that keen on it. That hasn't stopped me from going there a bunch of times, but still. They started the show more or less on time last night, though, and the lack of punctuality is generally one of my main complaints about the place. On the other hand, it's apparently no longer possible to get seats on the balcony unless you pay extra. Actually, that might be worth it to avoid leg and foot pain, but we didn't know about it beforehand.
The opener was Jonathan Coulton, who was pretty good. Beth says that she thinks he might be an opener who becomes more popular than TMBG, and I cited OKGo as an example of an opener who did that. (I still kind of have a chip on my shoulder regarding OKGo because of that; they're not bad, but I've seen much better bands open for TMBG, and they never achieved any level of fame.) TMBG's set included quite a bit from Join Us, as well as a few surprises (at least to me) like "Subliminal" and "Lie Still Little Bottle." Beth mentioned after the show that she really doesn't like that latter song all that much, and I said it wasn't a favorite of mine either, but it was exciting for me because I hadn't heard it in a while. In addition to the Philadelphia Venue Song, they also played the West Hollywood one, saying that they wanted to promote Venue Songs because it hadn't sold as well as their other albums. If that's their concern, why don't they promote Long Tall Weekend as well? Anyway, Beth said she hadn't noticed before how much the Los Angeles song reminded her of Destroyer's "No Cease Fires." I get the impression that the Johns were going more for a Brit-pop sound, but I can hear what my wife means. The Avatars of They sock puppets showed up again for "Spoiler Alert," which was preceded by a bit involving stale bologna sandwiches and a cutout of Meg Ryan's face. Overall a good set, although I do wish they'd give "Fingertips" a rest. Haven't they been doing that one at almost every show for the past ten years or so? Granted, they've been playing "Particle Man" at almost every show for much longer, but at least that's short.
Last night,
bethje and I went to see They Might Be Giants at the TLA in Philadelphia. Beth was able to get us in for free because of the Instant Fan Club thing (well, since she paid for THAT, I guess it wasn't REALLY free, but you know what I mean). I know the TLA has a lot of history, like Meat Loaf first seeing the Rocky Horror Picture Show there, not to mention its own TMBG Venue Song (that was actually how they started the set), but I've never been all that keen on it. That hasn't stopped me from going there a bunch of times, but still. They started the show more or less on time last night, though, and the lack of punctuality is generally one of my main complaints about the place. On the other hand, it's apparently no longer possible to get seats on the balcony unless you pay extra. Actually, that might be worth it to avoid leg and foot pain, but we didn't know about it beforehand.The opener was Jonathan Coulton, who was pretty good. Beth says that she thinks he might be an opener who becomes more popular than TMBG, and I cited OKGo as an example of an opener who did that. (I still kind of have a chip on my shoulder regarding OKGo because of that; they're not bad, but I've seen much better bands open for TMBG, and they never achieved any level of fame.) TMBG's set included quite a bit from Join Us, as well as a few surprises (at least to me) like "Subliminal" and "Lie Still Little Bottle." Beth mentioned after the show that she really doesn't like that latter song all that much, and I said it wasn't a favorite of mine either, but it was exciting for me because I hadn't heard it in a while. In addition to the Philadelphia Venue Song, they also played the West Hollywood one, saying that they wanted to promote Venue Songs because it hadn't sold as well as their other albums. If that's their concern, why don't they promote Long Tall Weekend as well? Anyway, Beth said she hadn't noticed before how much the Los Angeles song reminded her of Destroyer's "No Cease Fires." I get the impression that the Johns were going more for a Brit-pop sound, but I can hear what my wife means. The Avatars of They sock puppets showed up again for "Spoiler Alert," which was preceded by a bit involving stale bologna sandwiches and a cutout of Meg Ryan's face. Overall a good set, although I do wish they'd give "Fingertips" a rest. Haven't they been doing that one at almost every show for the past ten years or so? Granted, they've been playing "Particle Man" at almost every show for much longer, but at least that's short.
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no subject
Date: 2011-10-01 07:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-01 11:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-02 05:12 am (UTC)I like your Simpsons recaps, but yeah, if it's a chore for you, don't sweat it.
Also: I sometimes feel like the only one who is sorta "meh." on JoCo.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-03 05:53 pm (UTC)I might still write reviews of some Simpsons episodes, but I don't want to make the effort when all I really think is "meh," you know?
As for Coulton, I like him pretty well, but maybe he tries too hard? I don't know. I guess that's kind of an unfair complaint.
no subject
Date: 2011-10-03 05:58 pm (UTC)And yeah -- I'd go with that on JoCo. I think a lot of the trouble with bands that tend to get lumped in with TMBG (but not so much TMBG themselves, which is why they rule) is that they seem so intent on going "WE ARE CLEVER!!!" where TMBG themselves are, y'know, simply clever. Some of JoCo's stuff is actually legitimately good, but so, so much of it just seems like.. yeah, trying way, way too hard. Just relax, dude.