This Is The Way The Talking Part Goes

Keeping on the stage banter theme that I started in my earlier post, today's Audience Participation entry is a list of some of my favorite bits of stage banter. I'm not going to go so far as to say these are my absolute favorites because it is highly likely that I am forgetting even more. They are largely from the last year because I wasn't terribly good at noting down specific quotes before then. I am also sticking with shows I attended rather than recorded live shows, with two exceptions from a show that my boyfriend attended without me and has the recording of. If you haven't been to many live shows or there are just recorded shows you like, feel free to include them on your own list.

The numbers are only to indicate how many there are, not necessarily an order of preference. Also, I apologize for all the swearing. It would appear I favor quotes with "fuck" in them. Also, very heavy on the Flans quotes. Not sure why.

15. Flans: "Do you know why I pulled you over Mr. Whale? Do you know how fast you were going?" - AMNH - 10/4/09 - After Marty demoed some whales sounds followed by police sirens on the electric kit.

14. Flans: "Did we miss anything else? Did we forget to play all of Lincoln before we started?" - The Pageant - 10/9/09 - After being constantly reminded by Danny that they had skipped various songs while playing Flood.

13. Green Avatar: "The phrase 'rock out with our socks out' is TM the Avatars so you better not use it on your blogs or our lawyers will be on your ass faster than you can say Walt Disney Corporation." - The Pageant - 10/9/09

12. Flans: "Have you been drinking?"
      Linnell: "Have you NOT been drinking?" - Wolf Den - 11/27/09

11. Linnell: "This next song is about a bunch of guys who really made a MESS of things."
      Flans: "John, our freak flag just fell on the ground. We need to burn it." - Calvin Theater - 12/31/09

10. Flans: "Fuck everyone. Twitter this: Fuck everyone. That's 40 characters. I can even double up. F-F-U-U. Then my one Twitter follower can read it."
     Linnell: "It's me. Fuck me? Fuck you!"
     Flans: "This isn't a kids show is it?" - Exit/ In - 3/9/10

9. Flans: "This one's mine. Fuck you." Stone Pony - 6/11/10 - In reference to what the imaginary Guitar Center employees wrote on the guitars before donating them to the club.

8. Linnell: "A chimp playing a theremin on the sun...people."
    Flans: "This show isn't free. They're torturing us!" - Rose Kennedy Greenway - 4/22/10

7. Flans: "Linnell's slogan for his 2004 presidential campaign: John Linnell - Givin' a shit." - Avalon - 9/18/04

6. Flans: "Marty Beller: Strong enough for a man but made for a woman." - Beachland Ballroom - 10/15/09

5. Flans: "Does anyone in the audience have a mallet?" - The National - 3/11/10 - After being unable to find a mallet to play the bass drum with on Whistling in the Dark

4. Linnell: "How ya' feelin', Flans?" - Visulite - 3/10/10 - Checking up on Flans after a bad night.

3: Linnell: "Regicide."
    Flans: "John, have you been reading your word a day calendar?"
    Linnell: "Erm, yes..."
    Flans: "What does that even mean?"
    Linnell: "Regicide: Death of king of drums."
    Audience Member: "We love you Marty!"
    Linnell: "That wont help him when he's dead!" - Orange Peel - 3/9/10

2. Flans: "Danny was backstage smoking a menthol and was like pirate style?! I better get out there!" - Stone Pony - 6/11/10

1. Flans: "We've been saying fuck it since 1982." - Avalon - 9/18/04

#27 - Stage Banter

Let's face it, half the fun of going to a show is the stage banter. It doesn't matter how many times you've seen them do Flood (ahem, 12), every show is made unique by the candid dialogue on stage. I am pretty sure the Johns could have had a pretty successful career as a comedy duo if the rock thing didn't work out for them, but then I suspect at least some of the reason the rock thing DID work out is their on stage antics.

From Flansburgh's biting observations on venues, fans and the general state of the union, to Linnell's stream of consciousness ramblings on whatever happens to strike him at the moment, I am usually just as entertained by what goes on between songs as during them.

I think part of the reason the raps (as Dan Miller used to call them) work so well is that really a lot of them are basically just two friends riffing with each other, only there happens to be an audience. My very favorite moments are when one of them manages to crack-up the other, or even better, when they manage to crack-up the entire band. I also love the recurring jokes, especially those that pop up several nights in a row, often without explanation at the later shows (if ever). I feel like my reward for going to so many shows is being in on those jokes.

So bring on the talking part, whether the topic be current events, beards, the last horrid venue they played, the current status of Dan's citizenship or the meaning of the H. in Danny's name. I promise I will laugh in all the right places. And the wrong ones.

BRAINS!!!!!!!!

P.S. Stay tuned for today's Audience Participation, also on the topic of stage banter, coming shortly.

#28 - Miller Time

This seemed like an appropriate pick for today since I mentioned it in yesterday's post.

The only downside to having horns at a TMBG show is that I miss out on Dan Miller's fantabulous guitar intro to Istanbul (because the horns do the intro instead). Dubbed Miller Time on many a setlist (among other things), Dan gets the opportunity to take the basic rhythm of Istanbul and run wild with it, usually in a sort of Spanish flamenco style that shows his mastery over the acoustic guitar. To let Dan describe it himself:

"There is acoustic solo in front of “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” that I really enjoy doing. It’s a chance to work into the show some things that I’ve been working on in private study. The only criterion is that at some point I state the melody to show the crowd where we’re heading. If the tune is going well the band will join in and it becomes this spontaneous composition. When the stars align and I’ve done my finger exercises I think it’s one of the high points of the show as neither we nor the crowd know how it’s going to end up. Occasionally it’s a train wreck, but there is learning in those times, too." (Quoted from this interview.)

 At a lot of shows you can tell that the majority of the crowd has no idea what he is playing until he weaves in a little bit of the Istanbul melody and they all erupt into cheers. This allows me to have a private moment to enjoy being one of the few people in the room to know what comes next. And oh, what comes next. Aside from fact that Dan is a KICK-ASS guitar player and the solo displays this brilliantly, my favorite part of the whole thing is the end where he increasingly revs up the speed until his hand is moving so fast it is just a blur and yet he is still playing actual notes and rhythm and absolutely blowing my mind EVERY TIME. Plus I love watching the entertaining way he bobs his head while he plays.

I've included my video of what is probably my favorite Miller Time I remember hearing, but there was also a fantastic one in Worcester a couple of years ago where they started the show with just Dan on stage doing the solo in a single spotlight. It was pretty epic. But then, Dan is pretty epic in any lighting.

#29 - The Velcro Horns (and friends)

Horns!! Wanna know a secret? OK, it's not really a secret. I used to be a horn player. I played trumpet in school from fourth grade until my senior year when I played my last concert and then never picked up my trumpet again. (It wasn't that I didn't like it, because it did, it's just that I was never very good and I knew it.) So I have a soft spot for horn players.

There are some TMBG songs that are made so much better by the horns they almost shouldn't play them without at least one horn present (The Guitar springs to mind). And there are so many other songs that are made so much better by adding a trumpet or a sax or the whole bunch. There have been several incarnations of the horn ensemble over the years, but that's OK because I love them all. I must claim the current group (Dan, Stan, Curt and bonus point to Ralph) as my own though because they are the only ones I have seen live.

I love watching Dan on stage because he always looks like he's having so much fun even when he's just sitting and waiting for his turn to play. I love Stan's parade of flashy and exciting shoes. I love the endless ice cream mountain jokes about Curt. And even if it was only for one tour, Ralph's level of showmanship blew me away.

If it wasn't for the fact that I would miss seeing Dan Miller's intro to Istanbul I would gladly welcome horns at every show.








EUPHONIUMS FOREVER!

30 Things I Love About They Might Be Giants

I am 30 days away from my next TMBG show. As you can imagine I am looking forward to this more than just a little bit. I have only missed these guys like I would miss my right arm.

I thought it would be fun to do a little countdown of sorts, kind of my equivilent of marking days off on the calander.

So I am going to countdown 30 Things I Love About They Might Be Giants, one a day, between now and September 11th. They won't be in any particular order. It is entirely likely that many of them will end up getting posted after midnight (like this one) because that is usually when I am awake and motivated, but I will still count them as the previous day's entry.

So, in keeping with the puppet centric theme of the day...


#30 - The Avatars of They





Sock puppets at a rock show. Let me repeat. SOCK PUPPETS AT A ROCK SHOW. Menthol smoking, snack stealing, grouchy, bitter puppets at a rock show. I heart them from the tops of their coffee cup hats to the bottoms of their...oh wait, they don't have bottoms because they are sock puppets. Blue Avatar's constant obsession with his coffee cup hat and propensity for sticking his eyeballs in the camera. Green Avatar's random comments and occasionally visible human controller. I love that the puppets seem to go over better at rock shows than kids shows and their set often lasts longer. I love them for singing Lay Lady Lay at a family show. I love the James Cameron jokes that the kids don't get and the slave driver James Cameron who threatens to choke them if they don't sing. I love the way they stare at Dan during his solo and it really looks like they are staring at him even though their eyes are made of yarn. And I love them for resurrecting songs like Shoehorn and Stalk of Wheat. I am proud to say I was there for their first show and I hope to be there for their last if there must be one. I am thoroughly looking forward to whatever videos they are doing with them no matter what form they take.

It is our pleasure to serve you indeed.

Sea of hands, people.

Stage Announcements - 8/13/2010

Actually have a new interview for you today with some exciting tidbits about puppets. I am really looking forward to this :-)

http://goodtimessantacruz.com/santa-cruz-area-music/music-features-reviews-interviews/1548-they-might-be-giants-puppet-talk.html

And if you live in the UK, make sure to download your copy of Birdhouse in Your Soul, so we can see how high it can make it in the charts (mostly thanks to a shoe ad no less).

There's a Picture Opposite Me - 8/11/10

"My story's infinite, like the Longines Symphonette it doesn't rest." - Birdhouse in Your Soul - They Might Be Giants

Please send submissions to theroommustlistentome@gmail.com