Number Three

15 days until the road trip!!

As promised, here is the first in a series of tales about past shows I have attended, counting down to my next concert on October 1st. I've already discussed my first two shows in a previous post so this is number three, the first of two on the same day.

March 29th, 2008 - The Music Hall - Portsmouth, NH - Family Show

By the time these concerts rolled around I was already on my way to big time fandom. 123s was out and I was loving it. When the concert schedule was announced, the boyfriend and I wanted to go to the Somerville, MA show the day before as that was closer to home, but it was already sold out. So we decided on Portsmouth, NH instead since it's only an hour from us. I was the one who insisted on going to both the family show and the rock show, mostly because I was enjoying 123s so much and was hoping to hear some of those songs at the family show.

The Music Hall is located in downtown Portsmouth, just a few blocks back from the waterfront. It is a renovated theater with a sloped orchestra level and a curved balcony. The old box seat areas on either side of the stage have been converted to house parts of the sound system. The lobby was being renovated when we were there so it was covered in plywood and a bit cramped but the theater was lovely.

We were seated near the back of the orchestra for the family show, surrounded by parents with small children. Foam fingers were handed out to everyone in the audience so there were lots of kids poking each other and their parents with them. Our view of the stage wasn't great but only due to distance, not obstruction. 

I'm afraid I don't remember all the specifics of the performance. The band started the show with Alphabet of Nations, one of my favorite songs, followed by Bed Bed Bed. I believe they made some kind of joke about putting all the kids to sleep right after the show had started. Next was One Dozen Monkeys where Flans sang Hannah Levine's part and substituted the "I am a girl, 11 years old" line with "I am a dude, 47 years old" which got a good laugh out of all the adults in the audience. No! was introduced as a song about kids' favorite word.

Flans asked everyone to stand up for the band's national anthem before Clap Your Hands and at some point right after that invited all the kids to come down by the front of the stage to dance. From that point on there were kids running up and down the aisles as they went to the front to dance and then back to their parents and back to dance again. Some of the kids seated in front of me went to dance but one of them wouldn't go and instead danced in the aisle next to us. It was really cute.

They did Doctor Worm (another fav of mine) while everyone was still standing so all the adults could bop along too, followed by Fibber Island. Boss of Me was the short version and was dedicated to all the little brothers and sisters in the audience. I really enjoyed Why Does the Sun Shine? because I actually knew the song from camp before I knew it as a TMBG song. I believe this performance stuck with the  real elements (hydrogen, nitrogen, etc) to cause the nuclear reaction rather than some of the made up ones I've heard more recently.

Marty came out to do Alphabet Lost and Found and they announced that he had just had a new baby. He was dancing around the stage like a monkey displaying his unique dance style, looking much more like a kid than a new dad. Big laughs from the audience and one of my favorite parts of the show. After the song, the band left the stage and Linnell announced that they had a special guest before Flans brought out Broom. Sadly, I don't remember the specifics of the Broom/Linnell conversation before the song, but whatever it was it was incredibly funny.

The back half of the show is a bit of a blur in my memory. I remember really enjoying Violin. Four of Two was introduced with the story about the real clock. Particle Man had I Love to Sing inserted into the bridge (which I honestly don't remember but that's what TMBW is for). E Eats Everything was popular with the kids. Apartment Four led into In the Middle (which I didn't even remember them playing until I checked the setlist). I was excited that they played Birdhouse at the family show since I didn't expect the rock songs to be mixed in. That got all the parents (and me) dancing with the kids. Danny came out to do Where Do They Make Balloons? on the acoustic guitar and they finished with Robot Parade (the kiddie version). They did one encore of Istanbul and New York City and then there was a mass exodus of tiny kids waving foam fingers out of the theater. We headed out to forage for food before the rock show in the evening. More on that tomorrow.

These show reports will get more detailed as I get into more recent shows that I remember more clearly. Once I pass into the 2009 era there will be pictures too, since that is when I got my camera. If you were at one of these shows with me please share your own memories in the comments. I'd love to compare notes!