#2 - Confetti

It is kind of ridiculous how excited I get over tiny pieces of colored paper. There is pretty much nothing than makes me happier than getting completely drowned by the confetti cannon. I'm as bad as the little kids at the family shows after the cannon goes off, scooping up handfuls of the stuff. And it gets everywhere. I usually have my hoodie on at shows and regularly find both the hood and pockets are loaded if I've been standing under the blizzard cannon. After the New Year's show I found confetti stuck to my skin in the shower the next morning. Now that's the sign of a good night!

I have at least a few pieces of confetti from every show I've attended (that had the cannons anyway). Some is stuffed in my foam fingers, most is stored in an ever increasing number of plastic bags. I've got every color of paper plus several types of small metallic confetti and multiple different shapes including stars, moons and my very favorite: pick elephants. There is confetti on the floor of my room, confetti in my car, wet pieces of confetti welded to the bottom of my shoes. I actually make a point of leaving confetti anywhere I find it, so it's there to make me smile when I discover it. I leave pieces in the pockets of my hoodie to give it a more authentic feel and I always have to remember to clean them out before I wash it.

I've seen some epic confetti launches. From Celebrate Brooklyn where they launched the cannons four times, to Ithaca where they debuted the blizzard cannon and dumped 50 lbs of the stuff into the audience (it was ankle deep in the theater). There was the magic confetti at Lupo's that hung in the air forever with the band frozen on stage during Older for what seemed like several minutes and then pieces continued to fall from nowhere throughout the show. I have a hilarious mental image of Flansburgh chasing after a single piece of confetti in Charlotte like he was chasing a butterfly. There have been a few pretty epic cannon fails too, where giant clumps just dumped on a single individual's head or just remained in the cannon. There was the family show in Chicago where the left cannon flunked and Danny proceeded to reach into in and pull out gobs of confetti to toss at the kids. And I love how, even at shows without the cannons a single pieces of two will float out of their equipment. I can only imagine how much confetti they must have stuck to all of their stuff.

This countdown is on the eve of being done and I am less than 24 hours away from my next show. It's outside so I don't know if there will be confetti but I know there is enough confetti in my future to make up for it if there isn't. I'll post the last entry in the countdown tomorrow morning before I leave. Can anyone guess what #1 might be?

#3 - Lifelong Friends

When I was first starting to show some interest in TMBG and asking a lot of newbies questions, my boyfriend made one of the smartest moves he could have made in furthering my interest in the band. He stuck in Gigantic while I was cooking dinner one night. In addition to filling in some of the blanks for me, it introduced me to one of the things that most appeals to me about the band, namely, the long term friendship between Flansburgh and Linnell.

The longevity of They Might Be Giants is rare in the music world and I think, ultimately, their staying power can be attributed to the fact that, at their heart, they are just two friends who decided it might be fun to start a band. I really don't think it is possible to work with someone so closely for so long without genuinely liking and respecting them. The fact that they've been quite successful seems to be just a happy byproduct.

I also don't think their stage show would work nearly so well as it does if the Johns weren't friends because they play off each other so well in their banter. They share a sense of humor and can pick up each other's jokes in a way that only long time friends can. I often feel like I am just listening to a funny conversation between old friends.

I've always liked the idea of lifelong friends. People who know you inside out and absolutely take you for what you are. It's not something I've ever really experienced since I've managed to loose touch with most of the people I've known for more than 10 years. But I've still got time.

The very first time I ever saw Flans and Linnell in person, it wasn't on stage at a show. They were sitting in a booth, just the two of them, at a Hilltop Steakhouse in Braintree, MA. Just two friends having a meal. I'm sure it's something they've done a hundred million times over the years but it makes me happy to think that even after all this time they would still choose to hang out together before a show and chat about who knows what.

I've sort of wondered if working together for so long has ruined being friends for them a bit. Whether they spend so much time together on the road and in the studio that they just don't feel like getting together when they don't have to. Because that would make me a little sad. But then I remember Flansburgh saying in an interview that they try to make a point of hanging out together with the band before a show to have a meal or coffee, so it doesn't become all about the work and they all get a chance to hang out as friends. They seem to have found a way over the years to not let the work get in the way of being friends which is something I greatly admire.

I think my dream job would be to find something I love doing and then do it with friends. The thing I most envy about the band is that they get to do something they love everyday with people they enjoy being with. That is my life time goal.

#4 - The Bass, The Bass, The Bass Is Danny Weinkauf

Danny Weinkauf - Keeper of the Awesome, Savers of Shows, Master Songwriter and a Genuinely Nice Guy.



When I was putting together this countdown I figured to do two entries on each of the band to keep things balanced and spread the love around. But when it came to Danny, aside from the red pants, I couldn't pick out one single second thing to highlight. There were too many to choose from and none of them seemed more awesome than the others. I figure by now you all know that I have an incredible amount of affection and respect for the band and I adore Dan and Marty. But I also assume that you have, by now, caught on that Danny is my favorite. So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that I am about to dedicate an entire stop on this countdown to his general awesomeness. Please don't judge me for this lapse in fangirl restraint.

It should go without saying that Danny is a pretty kick-ass bass player. One need only listen to the bass line in Ana Ng or Withered Hope to figure this out. I always get a kick out of watching the way he rocks back and forth from foot to foot when he gets into a rhythm or hops up and down to a beat. And I marvel at his innate ability to sense when Flans is about to back up into him and get out of the way. And I know I've mentioned time and time again how much I love the jump he executes at the end of Doctor Worm whether it's just a sedate hop or an epic rock star leap.

I suppose I notice because I tend to pay more attention to him but I always appreciate his little moments of goofy silliness, from playing Marty's drums to kicking confetti at the audience to imitating Marty's bell playing. They make me laugh.

He's also a pretty kick-ass songwriter. All of the songs he has written for the kids albums are fantastic and both Where Do They Make Balloons and I Am A Paleontologist are among my top 25 TMBG songs period. Even Flansburgh said in a recent interview that Danny was their secret weapon who could write them a #1 song if that was what they were going for. He's certainly contributed parts to more than a few of the songs TMBG has turned out in the last 12 years and I suspect that all the guys contribute a lot on the work for hire projects the band does. I know Danny does some work for hire stuff himself in his off time that I would be very interested to hear.

I've joked before about Danny keeping the show going, but sometimes I really think it's true. There was a show at LPR where we commented that they should put Danny closer to the sound board if he was going to be communicating so many messages about raising this level and lowering that one. I frequently see him conveying messages to Will about this mic or that instrument or somebody's monitors. He was doing Linnell's soundcheck for him in Boston in April. I've seen him checking to make sure Curt is ready to come in when he's supposed to, that Dan is fetched from backstage in time for his solo, that Marty's song doesn't get skipped at a kid show. And of course there is my favorite example from St. Louis where he spent half the show trying to get missed Flood songs back into the set. I'm not sure why this role seems to fall on him; if it's something he chooses to do or if it falls to him because he is the most mobile of the band, not being tied to a mic. It might all really be in my head. Whatever the case, I'd secretly like to believe that the show would fall apart without him.

Finally, I am very happy that I can say that Danny is a genuinely nice guy. I have heard nothing but good stories of him from other fans. He always smiles at me when he sees me and it's gotten to the point where I don't feel like I've had a proper show if I haven't gotten one of those smiles. He wrote to me multiple times on Facebook after I tagged him in my pictures, to thank me for them and even surprised the heck out of one of my friends by answering a question he had asked on one of the pictures. And when I got to talk to him in March, most of the conversation was about how bad they felt about the disaster show in Charlotte and how sorry they were they hadn't been able to do something to make it up to the fans. Like I said. Genuinely nice guy. I wear my I Heart The Bass Player T-shirt with pride.

I'll leave you with this picture which illustrates a few of my favorite things about watching Danny play. He's sticking out his tongue, which he does a lot and which never fails to amuse me. He's playing the bass with his thumb rather than his fingers which I find interesting and have been meaning to find out if other bass players do as well because I've never noticed. The red pants, obviously. And I would be doing a disservice to fangirls everywhere if I did not point out, the man is gorgeous. Duh!



My setlist signed by Danny after the Richmond show.

There's A Picture Opposite Me - 9/8/10

This one is from Jamie.







Please sent submissions to theroommustlistentome@gmail.com

#5 - Special Segements

Venue Songs, Spin the Dial, Stump the Band, Phone Calls from the Dead. I'm not quite sure what to call these show segments but they are entertaining as hell. It seems that every few years the Johns go looking for a new idea to shake up the show a bit. I suspect there were some fabulous ones in the early years before the internet was around to properly document such things. Where is my time machine?

Since I've only been going to shows for five years, and only steadily for the last three, I missed out on most of these efforts. I think the Avatars of They counts as the most recent segment in this category and I will have the pleasure, years from now, of looking back and appreciating that I was in on that one from the get go. Fortunately for me, there are recordings of the segments of yesteryear.

I did actually get to experience Phone Calls from the Dead, once, at my very first rock show. Eleanor Roosevelt called. I don't remember any of the dialogue but I do remember finding it amusing, if a bit weird. (I have just discovered, this second, that, excepting the TED performance, that was the debut of Phone Calls from the Dead. Perhaps I am destined to be at the first run of all these features here after? That's a cheerful thought!) They also played what they called a venue song at that show though it was about the state of New Hampshire rather than the club. It mostly consisted of the state motto, "Live Free or Die" repeated several times. You can listen to it here if you want: http://www.nhpr.org/node/12743

I have recordings of a few other Phone Calls segments. Of these my favorite is the appearance by Ronald Milhous Sagan, the unborn twin brother of Carl Sagan at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC. The song he sings with Linnell is priceless.

I've also gotten to go a little further back in time and hear recordings of some of the Spin the Dial segments though admittedly, I think I've only heard two or three of them. I'm only just recently getting into the acquisition of bootlegs of old shows and my collection is, frankly, pathetic. But the ones I've heard were quite entertaining. I don't think I've ever heard a Stump the Band bit, though I dearly wish I had.

By far, my favorite of these segments (with the possible exception of the Avatars) is the Venue Songs. Conveniently collected for us newbie fans to enjoy, I don't think there is a single venue song I don't like. They are funny and silly for the most part, but several of them are also really excellent little pieces of music. I've seen two Venue Song shows where they performed the studio recorded ones and have had the pleasure of hearing six of them performed in their original venues. I'll save my list of favorites for an Audience Participation entry, but I want to give special note to the venue song that wasn't. My boyfriend was at the show at the Avalon Ballroom in Boston where they scrapped the planned venue song before the show. Apparently, not feeling right about not having one, Linnell improvised one on the spot which just consisted of the name of the club sung to what is, essentially, the beginning of the theme from Sesame Street. Though not included on the Venue Songs album it, thankfully, lives on in the live show recording they released and I enjoy it immensely.

I admire the creativity that goes into these ideas and I also appreciate the spontaneity in their execution. Several of these segments highlight some very fine musicianship and most of them also showcase the Johns' very fine improv comedy skills. I can't wait to see what they come up with next.

Who Needs Pictures? I Do!

You've probably figured out by now that I am kind of obsessed with pictures of the band. Taking them, looking at them, hunting them down across the internet, whatever. I mostly seek out pictures from shows which is usually what I share here. However, it occurred to me that I have never really talked about my favorite official, publicity type pictures here.

So for Audience Participation that's exactly what I am going to do. I'm including* ten of my very favorite shots from photo shoots, press photos and the like. I'm not sure how to work out the participation part since I don't think the comments allow embedded photos, but perhaps just links to your favorites? I think you can use image tags in the comments but I don't know how to make that work, since I have failed when I tried. If anyone has any better suggestions let me know.

10. Look! Flans is wearing my favorite jacket. And stealing Linnell's roll. Bad Flans!

Photo by JJ Sulin

9. Can't tell if Flans is yawning or he just burnt his tongue. Meanwhile Linnell thinks deep thoughts about his coffee. Also I like Flansburgh's tie.

8. I enjoy this one for the humor factor and the puppets but I actually think Linnell looks a little creepy.

7. These two go together. I actually prefer the first one but it's so tiny it's hard to appreciate. I would love to see a larger version of it but I don't think one exists.

6. There is another in this set that I sort of prefer but I couldn't find a good quality version of it and I like this one just as well anyway.

5. The only thing that would make this photo better is if Flans were in it.

Photo by Valerie Macon

4. The ubiquitous striped shirt. And my other favorite Flans jacket.

3. I love the expressions in this one. Especially Linnell's.

2. Damn.

Sipkin/News

1. Sleepy Linnell is adorable and intense Flansburgh is intense. And both so very, very young.

I'm really looking forward to seeing your favorites however you decide to share them. Maybe one of your favs is one I've never seen before and I can discover a new favorite :-)


P.S. There was another photo from the Susan Anderson set that I was looking for, for about an hour before I finally gave up. I can't figure out if I am misremembering one of the photos or if I made one up in my head. It was one of the ones with the blue shirts, but I think I found all of those so I may just be going crazy.



*I usually avoid uploading other people's photo's without permission but I'm making an exception here because it's hard to talk about favorite photos without the photos themselves, so hopefully no one will sue me. I've credited where I know the photographer, but a few of them I didn't get from the original source so that information wasn't available. In the unlikely event that one of these photographers ever sees this blog and would like to be credited (or if you know the photographer's name), let me know and I'll gladly add it in.

#6 - The Kinetic Energy of Marty Beller

I do not think Marty ever stops moving. The man has so much energy he wears me out just watching him. I think about 75% of the pictures I have ever taken of Marty have just been a blur. Even when he is standing still, some part of him is still moving. Look at this picture. He's doing his mock serious Shoehorn bell ringing and even though he was standing stock still at the center of the stage he was still bopping his head enough to the music that his face blurred a little in the picture.



But the very best example of the boundless, endless energy of Marty Beller is his dancing. Once in every family show, Marty is set free from the drum throne to entertain us all with the most entertaining and carefree dance moves I have ever seen an adult male display. This is always one of my very favorite parts of a family show. And it amazes me that after such a wildly energetic dance break, Marty goes back to banging on the drums with as much enthusiasm as he had at the start of the show. He must sleep really well at night.

I haven't mastered action photography by any means, especially in low lighting, but here are a few shots that I think illustrate the man in motion.










And one of my favorite shots where Marty jumped right out of the frame as he was leaping off the drum platform.