Check out this great interview from Time.com. There is footage from the AMNH shows on October 4th and the boyfriend and I are visible in the shot where Flans is talking about how fans at a rock show pay rapt attention to the band. Cool!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Merry Christmas to Me (And You Too)!
So I got myself a little Christmas present, something I've been wanting for a while. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.
I fell in love with this logo the minute I saw it on the temporary tmbg.com site back in the spring. I was actually almost late to work that day because I was trying desperately to figure out how to snag the image off the site and print it out. I was very pleased to see it turn up on all the crew badges on the fall tour.
I think the tattoo artist nearly had a heart attack when I showed him what I wanted. All those straight lines. But he did a really nice job with it and it only took about an hour and a half. Of course I am already plotting my next design.
I am extremely excited about the New Year's Eve shows on Thursday. I can't wait. A lot of my enjoyment of Christmas was lost thanks to work craziness, a really crappy schedule and a lot of ridiculous driving to get both my boyfriend in I home for Christmas day (one car - opposite directions). And the last few years my New Year's celebrations have been nonexistent, so I am really glad to be able to spend the day with some awesome TMBG peeps. We shall bond while waiting outside in the cold.
See ya'll on Thursday!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Bookstore Rock
December 2, 2009 - Border's Bookstore - Braintree, MA
Almost five years later, we returned to the site of my very first TMBG show for another in-store performance and signing. The last time I was at this Border's I was tagging along with friends. I was completely unfamiliar with the band, Istanbul was the only song they played that I recognized and I didn't know who the Johns were so I didn't get anything signed. Boy, how things have changed.
I have a pretty vivid imagination and I tend to spend too much time dreaming up in my head how things are going to go. Unfortunately, I think my experience at this show kind of suffered from that and I ended up being a little disappointed. Not by any fault of the band. The show was great. The Johns and Marty were really nice. I got my book signed. We got our picture taken. By all rights I should be ecstatic. Any disappointment on my part is with myself. I really wanted to come up with something meaningful to say to them. About what their music means to me. About what a huge part of my life the band has become. About how happy they make me. And I didn't say anything, except to spell my name for Flans and ask for a picture. I was totally intimidated by them and none of the words in my head seemed good enough. I also had something I really wanted to ask them but I lost my nerve. And so I've been moping and mentally kicking myself instead of relishing what an awesome night it was. Maybe recaping it will help me with that.
We got to Borders at about 4:30 for the 6:00 show. We drove passed Flans on the sidewalk outside talking on his cell. There was a little stage already set up near the back of the store with a mini drum kit for Marty and Linnell's accordion on it. There was only one family and one lone guy waiting by the stage so we went to hang out with our friends who were already camped out in the cafe. We got to watch Linnell unsuccessfully attempt to enter the building via an emergency exit in the cafe.
About 20 minutes or so before the show we went over to the stage area. Most of the crowd was sitting on the floor so we stood in the back, figuring we'd have a better view over everyone's heads. Victor was puttering around the stage plugging things in and testing equipment. He seemed to be the only crew member they brought with them. The Borders staff had all the people sitting on the floor scoot forward so more people could sit down but we stayed standing. Right on time, I saw a Border's employee asking a man with a kid on his shoulders to step to the side and Flans, Linnell and Marty made their way onto the stage.
From my past experience at an in-store and what I have heard from others, I expected Flans to ask the adults without kids who were sitting by the stage to move further back so the kids could be at the front. Instead he said this was going to be a short show and asked everyone to stand up and hoist their kids on their shoulders if they wanted. So much for the better view. I briefly couldn't see anyone on stage at all, then when I moved a little I could at least see Linnell. Most of my view of the show was Linnell and the rear end of a little girl sitting on her dad's shoulders directly in my line of sight to Flans. I actually forgot Marty was there for a little while because I couldn't see him until Linnell stepped back to get his coffee.
Flans said this was their first attempt at a mixed age show and they did play a mix of kid and rock songs.
They started with Alphabet of Nations. The intro sounded so funny without the reverb and effects on the mics. The sound quality from the mics was terrible for the first song but it got better. I wasn't totally paying attention for part of the song because I was trying to find a place where I could see but I did enjoy hearing it on accordion rather than keyboard.
Flans talked about their new book and complimented Border's on their nice display. Someone next to the display stand held up a copy. Flans said they were going to play the song twice and that their performance would improve by the second playing. They joked that they were going to play it in different musical styles throughout the show. They also commented on the name of the book not being anywhere in the song and said that for the longest time their publisher thought the title was Go, Kids Go. They also talked about Bed, Bed, Bed and Flans said that the DVD from that book was apparently the most stolen item from some bookstore they had played in because you could easily take the DVD without anyone noticing. This led into a discussion of how the contents of the DVD would be what you were stealing if you downloaded the music online so it was really the same thing and eventually got into comments about stealing the new book. Flans did ask everyone to please pay for their copy though, I am sure, much to the Border's staff's relief. When they finally started the song, Flans used a very silly, extra deep voice for the beginning. I was pleased that they had learned the entire song by now since the last mention of it I had heard was that had played a 45 second version because they hadn't learned the rest. The first playing was good but the second was WAY better.
Next they played The Mesopotamians which, we discovered is not entirely child appropriate. The word "damn" is in the lyrics which I had never really thought about before. Nobody around us seemed to mind but I'm sure somewhere in the crowd there was at least one annoyed parent. It was odd enough hearing the song with accordion rather than keyboard but what I found even odder was the lack of Dan Miller's vocals. Don't get me wrong, it still sounded great and Flans really held up his end covering for both guitar parts but I hadn't realized before how much Dan fills out the background vocals. Apparently Flans was missing him as well, because after the song he commented that he didn't know when to start singing because he always looked at Dan on stage and just started singing whenever he did. Heehee. Doesn't he know you're not supposed to admit that sort of thing? :-)
Flans then started his pre-Pirate Girls counting lesson. He did the whole bit, asking everyone if they could count to 10 then saying that this was easier because they only had to count to nine. The first time he tried to get the audience to do it with him almost no one did. The second time he got everyone but most of the people around us counted all the way to ten. He had us do it one more time to improve our speed before introducing the song. "This song is about three things. It's about pirates. Arrrrrrrrrrrr. It's about girls. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. And it's about the number nine. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr." I think we, as an audience, did pretty well with our audience participation. And I didn't hear anyone say ten during the song.
"This next song is about a worm who thinks he's a doctor." Doctor Worm was the first They Might Be Giants song I really retained and liked and I first heard it at this very same Borders. It was like a little mini-anniversary performance for me. And a pretty rockin' one at that!
Clap Your Hands was pretty amusing in a bookstore. You usually think of bookstores as being rather quiet places and here are a hundred or so people clapping and stomping and jumping up and down. There was probably at least one person in the store who just came in to read and was shocked and disturbed to walk into a rock concert. The best part for me was that Flans mixed up which bookstore he was in and yelled "Barnes & Noble, clap your hands" in the middle of the song. Bet the Border's staff loved that.
Linnell did a fantastic intro to Istanbul on the accordion. I wish he would do that at one of the rock shows. I don't feel like I get to appreciate his accordion skills enough and the little bit of improv was the perfect outlet. Flans mixed in a little guitar strumming too. It was a little more obvious what they were starting to play than it usually is but I think plenty of folks in the crowd were still surprised. For me, it was like a little window in time showing what a show must have been like in their early days (substituting Marty for the drum machine of course). If anyone ever invents a time machine you will find me back in some little club at a TMBG show circa 1985.
Flans made some stage announcements about the signing before the last song. He said they would sign until the very last person got through the line so if anyone didn't want to wait or really needed to take a little one to the bathroom they could come back in a little bit and they would still be there. He even said we could go get dinner and come back and they would still be there. (I don't think that was quite true since they got through the line relatively fast and bolted immediately. I wonder if anyone came back after they were gone and was sad?) He also asked that any of the fans with 25 items to sign please stand at the end of the line so that people who have only limited interest in the band can get a book signed and drive away first. Those weren't the exact words which is too bad because his phrasing was funnier. There was also a little kid holding up a sign while Flans was talking that Flans read to the crowd. It said "You are my second favorite band" on one side and "The Beatles are my favorite" on the other. Flans told the kid The Beatles were his favorite too.
As they were leading into the second round of Get Up and Go, Linnell suggested that they play it in the style of The Pixies with some parts really loud and some parts really soft. Flans asked which parts were going to be loud and which were going to be soft and Linnell said something like "I don't know, we'll see." Flans had this momentary look of consternation on his face then asked if they were starting loud or soft. They decided on loud and that they would follow Marty for when to switch. And they started LOUD. With Flans doing to silly voice again. Then when Linnell came in on the verse he was very quiet and smirking while he was singing. And they kept switching back and forth throughout the song. Linnell kept making himself almost laugh trying to be quiet. It was awesome! I can't imagine I will ever hear a better performance of the song.
There was kind of a confusing crush towards the line after the song. We managed to get somewhere in the middle. It didn't take more than fifteen minutes to get to the front of the line. They were booking it through the signing with Flans urging people forward and keeping the line moving. Both of our friends were ahead of us and posed for pictures with Flans and Linnell. Then it was our turn. My boyfriend had brought his Bed, Bed, Bed and a copy of Kids Go! and his Hello Recording club version of the '85 demo tape. Flans asked his name first, then asked him how old he was so he could fill in the "age" line in the "this book belongs to" page of Bed. Flans signed his name with his age as well, then passed it down to Linnell. He did the other book, then took Kids Go. He asked my name and if I used the traditional spelling. I spelled it for him since I wasn't sure what he considered to be the traditional spelling. Then he took the demo tape with a little "woah" and made a comment about how old it was. I asked if we could have a picture. We got to go behind the table and stand between the Johns. Linnell asked for a count off so we'd know when the picture was taken. 1-2-3. Click. And that was pretty much that. I collected my book from Marty at the end of the table. Smiled at him while trying to shove everything back into my bag. Not even sure I said thank you. I hope I did. We hung around to watch the rest of the signing while I tried to get up the nerve to go back and ask them my question at the end. But I chickened out and they were too fast getting up and fleeing after the last person in line was through anyway.
So, excellent little show. I have a lovely signed book and a cute picture that may or may not end up being my Christmas card this year. And, with a little time, I will hopefully stop thinking about all the things I didn't say. Hopefully, it wont be my last opportunity to meet them.
Must admit too that I am pretty bummed I decided not to go to the NYC in-store. I could have. I considered it. I wanted to. But my boyfriend couldn't go and I didn't want to go alone. And of course they played an awesome setlist. Just one more thing I can kick myself over.
Next shows are New Years Eve. They'll be like my reward for surviving another holiday season in retail. Then we will see what 2010 holds.
Pictures are up on Flickr as usual.
Almost five years later, we returned to the site of my very first TMBG show for another in-store performance and signing. The last time I was at this Border's I was tagging along with friends. I was completely unfamiliar with the band, Istanbul was the only song they played that I recognized and I didn't know who the Johns were so I didn't get anything signed. Boy, how things have changed.
I have a pretty vivid imagination and I tend to spend too much time dreaming up in my head how things are going to go. Unfortunately, I think my experience at this show kind of suffered from that and I ended up being a little disappointed. Not by any fault of the band. The show was great. The Johns and Marty were really nice. I got my book signed. We got our picture taken. By all rights I should be ecstatic. Any disappointment on my part is with myself. I really wanted to come up with something meaningful to say to them. About what their music means to me. About what a huge part of my life the band has become. About how happy they make me. And I didn't say anything, except to spell my name for Flans and ask for a picture. I was totally intimidated by them and none of the words in my head seemed good enough. I also had something I really wanted to ask them but I lost my nerve. And so I've been moping and mentally kicking myself instead of relishing what an awesome night it was. Maybe recaping it will help me with that.
We got to Borders at about 4:30 for the 6:00 show. We drove passed Flans on the sidewalk outside talking on his cell. There was a little stage already set up near the back of the store with a mini drum kit for Marty and Linnell's accordion on it. There was only one family and one lone guy waiting by the stage so we went to hang out with our friends who were already camped out in the cafe. We got to watch Linnell unsuccessfully attempt to enter the building via an emergency exit in the cafe.
About 20 minutes or so before the show we went over to the stage area. Most of the crowd was sitting on the floor so we stood in the back, figuring we'd have a better view over everyone's heads. Victor was puttering around the stage plugging things in and testing equipment. He seemed to be the only crew member they brought with them. The Borders staff had all the people sitting on the floor scoot forward so more people could sit down but we stayed standing. Right on time, I saw a Border's employee asking a man with a kid on his shoulders to step to the side and Flans, Linnell and Marty made their way onto the stage.
From my past experience at an in-store and what I have heard from others, I expected Flans to ask the adults without kids who were sitting by the stage to move further back so the kids could be at the front. Instead he said this was going to be a short show and asked everyone to stand up and hoist their kids on their shoulders if they wanted. So much for the better view. I briefly couldn't see anyone on stage at all, then when I moved a little I could at least see Linnell. Most of my view of the show was Linnell and the rear end of a little girl sitting on her dad's shoulders directly in my line of sight to Flans. I actually forgot Marty was there for a little while because I couldn't see him until Linnell stepped back to get his coffee.
Flans said this was their first attempt at a mixed age show and they did play a mix of kid and rock songs.
They started with Alphabet of Nations. The intro sounded so funny without the reverb and effects on the mics. The sound quality from the mics was terrible for the first song but it got better. I wasn't totally paying attention for part of the song because I was trying to find a place where I could see but I did enjoy hearing it on accordion rather than keyboard.
Flans talked about their new book and complimented Border's on their nice display. Someone next to the display stand held up a copy. Flans said they were going to play the song twice and that their performance would improve by the second playing. They joked that they were going to play it in different musical styles throughout the show. They also commented on the name of the book not being anywhere in the song and said that for the longest time their publisher thought the title was Go, Kids Go. They also talked about Bed, Bed, Bed and Flans said that the DVD from that book was apparently the most stolen item from some bookstore they had played in because you could easily take the DVD without anyone noticing. This led into a discussion of how the contents of the DVD would be what you were stealing if you downloaded the music online so it was really the same thing and eventually got into comments about stealing the new book. Flans did ask everyone to please pay for their copy though, I am sure, much to the Border's staff's relief. When they finally started the song, Flans used a very silly, extra deep voice for the beginning. I was pleased that they had learned the entire song by now since the last mention of it I had heard was that had played a 45 second version because they hadn't learned the rest. The first playing was good but the second was WAY better.
Next they played The Mesopotamians which, we discovered is not entirely child appropriate. The word "damn" is in the lyrics which I had never really thought about before. Nobody around us seemed to mind but I'm sure somewhere in the crowd there was at least one annoyed parent. It was odd enough hearing the song with accordion rather than keyboard but what I found even odder was the lack of Dan Miller's vocals. Don't get me wrong, it still sounded great and Flans really held up his end covering for both guitar parts but I hadn't realized before how much Dan fills out the background vocals. Apparently Flans was missing him as well, because after the song he commented that he didn't know when to start singing because he always looked at Dan on stage and just started singing whenever he did. Heehee. Doesn't he know you're not supposed to admit that sort of thing? :-)
Flans then started his pre-Pirate Girls counting lesson. He did the whole bit, asking everyone if they could count to 10 then saying that this was easier because they only had to count to nine. The first time he tried to get the audience to do it with him almost no one did. The second time he got everyone but most of the people around us counted all the way to ten. He had us do it one more time to improve our speed before introducing the song. "This song is about three things. It's about pirates. Arrrrrrrrrrrr. It's about girls. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. And it's about the number nine. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr." I think we, as an audience, did pretty well with our audience participation. And I didn't hear anyone say ten during the song.
"This next song is about a worm who thinks he's a doctor." Doctor Worm was the first They Might Be Giants song I really retained and liked and I first heard it at this very same Borders. It was like a little mini-anniversary performance for me. And a pretty rockin' one at that!
Clap Your Hands was pretty amusing in a bookstore. You usually think of bookstores as being rather quiet places and here are a hundred or so people clapping and stomping and jumping up and down. There was probably at least one person in the store who just came in to read and was shocked and disturbed to walk into a rock concert. The best part for me was that Flans mixed up which bookstore he was in and yelled "Barnes & Noble, clap your hands" in the middle of the song. Bet the Border's staff loved that.
Linnell did a fantastic intro to Istanbul on the accordion. I wish he would do that at one of the rock shows. I don't feel like I get to appreciate his accordion skills enough and the little bit of improv was the perfect outlet. Flans mixed in a little guitar strumming too. It was a little more obvious what they were starting to play than it usually is but I think plenty of folks in the crowd were still surprised. For me, it was like a little window in time showing what a show must have been like in their early days (substituting Marty for the drum machine of course). If anyone ever invents a time machine you will find me back in some little club at a TMBG show circa 1985.
Flans made some stage announcements about the signing before the last song. He said they would sign until the very last person got through the line so if anyone didn't want to wait or really needed to take a little one to the bathroom they could come back in a little bit and they would still be there. He even said we could go get dinner and come back and they would still be there. (I don't think that was quite true since they got through the line relatively fast and bolted immediately. I wonder if anyone came back after they were gone and was sad?) He also asked that any of the fans with 25 items to sign please stand at the end of the line so that people who have only limited interest in the band can get a book signed and drive away first. Those weren't the exact words which is too bad because his phrasing was funnier. There was also a little kid holding up a sign while Flans was talking that Flans read to the crowd. It said "You are my second favorite band" on one side and "The Beatles are my favorite" on the other. Flans told the kid The Beatles were his favorite too.
As they were leading into the second round of Get Up and Go, Linnell suggested that they play it in the style of The Pixies with some parts really loud and some parts really soft. Flans asked which parts were going to be loud and which were going to be soft and Linnell said something like "I don't know, we'll see." Flans had this momentary look of consternation on his face then asked if they were starting loud or soft. They decided on loud and that they would follow Marty for when to switch. And they started LOUD. With Flans doing to silly voice again. Then when Linnell came in on the verse he was very quiet and smirking while he was singing. And they kept switching back and forth throughout the song. Linnell kept making himself almost laugh trying to be quiet. It was awesome! I can't imagine I will ever hear a better performance of the song.
There was kind of a confusing crush towards the line after the song. We managed to get somewhere in the middle. It didn't take more than fifteen minutes to get to the front of the line. They were booking it through the signing with Flans urging people forward and keeping the line moving. Both of our friends were ahead of us and posed for pictures with Flans and Linnell. Then it was our turn. My boyfriend had brought his Bed, Bed, Bed and a copy of Kids Go! and his Hello Recording club version of the '85 demo tape. Flans asked his name first, then asked him how old he was so he could fill in the "age" line in the "this book belongs to" page of Bed. Flans signed his name with his age as well, then passed it down to Linnell. He did the other book, then took Kids Go. He asked my name and if I used the traditional spelling. I spelled it for him since I wasn't sure what he considered to be the traditional spelling. Then he took the demo tape with a little "woah" and made a comment about how old it was. I asked if we could have a picture. We got to go behind the table and stand between the Johns. Linnell asked for a count off so we'd know when the picture was taken. 1-2-3. Click. And that was pretty much that. I collected my book from Marty at the end of the table. Smiled at him while trying to shove everything back into my bag. Not even sure I said thank you. I hope I did. We hung around to watch the rest of the signing while I tried to get up the nerve to go back and ask them my question at the end. But I chickened out and they were too fast getting up and fleeing after the last person in line was through anyway.
So, excellent little show. I have a lovely signed book and a cute picture that may or may not end up being my Christmas card this year. And, with a little time, I will hopefully stop thinking about all the things I didn't say. Hopefully, it wont be my last opportunity to meet them.
Must admit too that I am pretty bummed I decided not to go to the NYC in-store. I could have. I considered it. I wanted to. But my boyfriend couldn't go and I didn't want to go alone. And of course they played an awesome setlist. Just one more thing I can kick myself over.
Next shows are New Years Eve. They'll be like my reward for surviving another holiday season in retail. Then we will see what 2010 holds.
Pictures are up on Flickr as usual.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Night At The Casino
First I must share my TMBG related geek-out from earlier today. I finally got around to watching this week's episode of CSI:NY this afternoon and was extremely excited that the show opened with Mac collecting evidence at the old World's Fair Grounds in the exact spot where the Don't Let's Start video was filmed. He was using paint from the New York map to track a serial killer and all I could picture was the guys sliding around on their backs over that map. I know. I'm a dork.
Also, I finally remembered to go back and track down Astronomy magazine's video interview with Linnell that they did while the band was in Madison in October. It's got some great insights on the creation of Here Comes Science. The interview is in five parts and can be viewed here if you are interested.
And now the show recap...
November 27, 2009 - Wolf Den - Mohegan Sun - Fourth Annual Audience Appreciation Show
I feel a little silly doing a recap for this show given that more than half of the known readers of this blog were at the show with me. But hopefully that means they can fill in any details that I forget :-)
Shows at Mohegan always involve a greater than average amount of line standing since they are first come first served and I was a little concerned that we couldn't get there until 4:00 because I had to work in the morning. Fortunately we were meeting friends who were able to get there much earlier and saved us places in line. My boyfriend and I brought a friend from work with us who had never been to a TMBG show before. I have found I enjoy being at shows with newbies because it gives me the opportunity to see the band through new eyes.
Doors were at 6:30 and the show didn't start until 8:00 so we had lots of time to hang with our friends. We also got to watch lots of comings and goings on stage. It's probably kind of silly how happy it makes me even just seeing Iggy and Victor and Will and Scott wandering around plugging things in and adjusting lights. Marty was on stage for a while putting together his drum kit. I saw all the Velcro Horns come in the entrance past us with horns in tow. Boy, have I missed those guys. Ralph was great but it's like going on vacation. It's fun while it lasts but you're happy to be home. It was obvious the band and the crew have missed them too as there was lots of hugging and back patting.
The band started to wander around getting ready for sound check. All the guys were hanging around chatting for a bit, then started wandering off around the room to tune their instruments. Linnell was sitting at one of the tables, tuning his clarinet and fiddling around with a little tune. Which I later realized was odd since he didn't use it in the show. Dan played some sounds on his keyboard which were LOUD. Kind of freakishly loud. Eventually, they all made it onto the stage and each started playing different riffs to check the sound. Linnell banged out the keyboard part from Withered Hope which is probably my single favorite musical phrase in all of TMBG's repertoire. I got excited when both Dan and Linnell played little bits of Au Contraire but they didn't play it at the show. Maybe someday. They did play through all of Withered Hope. God, that song sounds good with the horns! Linnell mumbled his way through the second verse, forgetting most of the lyrics. But hey, that's what sound check is for, right?
They only did the one song then headed back stage. A bunch of the guys headed out into the casino past us, presumably in search of food. I very nearly jumped out of my skin when Danny noticed me and smiled. I'm very much torn between being extremely excited that he recognizes me now and totally embarrassed that I can no longer blend in with all of the anonymous fans. Of course, if I really wanted to remain anonymous this blog is probably a bad idea :-P And he was wearing his red pants! Happy fangirl!
When doors opened we were seated at a table in the front row towards the right side of the stage, right in front of Flans and Dan's mics. We immediately went to check out the new t-shirt that had turned up at the merch stand. I snatched one up immediately because it turned out to be a Fall Tour 2009 shirt. That's our tour! It has all the tour dates on the back and everything. The front says "Home Taping Is Killing Music And It's Illegal" with a picture of a cassette tape with cross bones under it. My friends thought it was kinda of a downer message but I think it's kind of retro and I'm somewhat of a copyright advocate anyway.
I was expecting pretty much the same Flood show we saw multiple times in October but they changed up the setlist order enough to keep it interesting. Not only did they not start with Meet the Elements, they didn't play any songs of of HCS at all.
Setlist: Clap Your Hands - Theme From Flood - Birdhouse in Your Soul - Lucky Ball & Chain - Twisting - Dead - We Want a Rock - Someone Keeps Moving My Chair - Hot Cha - Shoehorn With Teeth - Hearing Aid - Minimum Wage - Sapphire Bullets - James K. Polk - Women and Men - Whistling in the Dark - Your Racist Friend - In the Middle - Particle Man - Istanbul - They Might Be Giants - Road Movie to Berlin Encore - Museum of Idiots - Doctor Worm
We got to start the show standing up with Clap Your Hands. It was really hard to jump up and down between the chairs without hitting them. I kept losing my balance. In hind sight we probably could have gotten away with standing for the whole show without people getting too irritated. There were a number of other people standing in various spots around the room. But we opted to remain on the good side of the people seated behind us and sit down. I didn't mind much at all except it was weird to be seated for Birdhouse. Had to bounce in my seat.
The whole band was in such a good mood. I can't remember the last time I saw them all smiling so much during a show. They were being pretty goofy on stage. At one point after making an especially ridiculous comment Flans asked Linnell if he had been drinking. Linnell's reply? "Have you NOT been drinking?" Flans said he hasn't gotten the memo. Linnell also did some good wolf howling at the begining of the show.
Flans started by saying they were playing Flood but not in sequence so not to worry if they skipped something because they'd get to it eventually. And if they missed something we could tell them via their website, www.huffingtonpost.com. They had a bit of a running joke where they'd go to introduce a song making it sound like it was going to be from another album and then it would be another Flood song.
Someone on TMBW was commenting on Dan and Danny having a conversation on stage during Lucky Ball & Chain but they were trying to sort out some sort of sound problem. But Dan couldn't hear what Danny was saying so he kept having to repeat it until Dan eventually took his in-ear monitor out. It may have actually been the monitors they were having trouble with. They got Will involved after the song and apparently got it sorted out.
There were a few other amusing technical issues. Marty needed to fix something on his snare drum at some point and took it off the stand so he was holding it in his lap. Flans told him to give a signal when he was ready to go. Then they started making jokes about how Marty holding the snare drum was a sign. A sign that the snare drum was broken. Linnell said that it was a signal, like in baseball. "When the catcher is holding the snare drum, it means the snare drum is broken."
Before Hot Cha, Flans said that his brother always thought the song was about their family but since his brother was not here he felt comfortable in saying that it definitely is not.
The other technical problem was discovered as the Avatars were coming on when Marty realized his drum pad next to the electronic kit hadn't been hooked up. Will had to do some running around to get it going before it was needed.
The Avatars were projected onto the giant screen behind the stage that the Wolf Den uses to show wolf footage, rather than on their usual pull down screen. There was some momentary static in the feed and the puppets began talking as if their voices were coming through the screen and you could only hear every other syllable. Very silly. They did their usual schtick about the Avatar movie. One of my friends who is a very casual TMBG fan asked me the other day if the band was actually doing the soundtrack for the movie because she got confused by stuff she had been reading online. It was a combination of sad and funny. I think I spent more time watching Marty do his highly studied bell playing than watching the puppets during Shoehorn. I find it funny that even when he is standing still with his eyes closed waiting for his moment he still can't keep from bopping his head. He just never stops moving.
Dan forgot to come out and play on Polk. He apparently got used to Ralph doing the solo and not having to play. He had gone back stage and Danny had to point out to Flans that he wasn't there after the song started and Flans went back to get him. He got situated just in time for the solo looking a little sheepish.
After James K. Polk, Linnell asked Flans if he had seen the recent book review in the NY Times about the new Polk biography (he had). The lyrics of the song were referenced in the introduction to the review. Linnell said that though he was flattered, he was kind of bemused that the most positive thing the article said about the song was that it was "accurate." Flans had a good time making jokes about that. If you missed the book review, here is the link. It had actually turned up in one of my Google Alerts a few weeks ago.
While talking about the EP that Polk originally appeared on, Flan gave a pretty good description of the purpose of those EPs. He was reminiscing about the indie radio stations that used to receive the EPs to drum up interest for the album. Then Linnell started reminiscing about the money that the EPs used to make. That was about when Flans asked him if he'd been drinking.
Flans commented on the lovely C note playing out in the casino. Fortunately the band mostly drowned it out. Linnell also pointed out the carved wolves perched on the tops of all the pillars around the club which he was noticing for the first time.
They did a second Avatars segment which was even better than the first. I was particularly amused when Linnell needed to cross the stage to say something to Dan and he took the puppet off so that the audience couldn't see that he was operated by a human. Heehee. Flans kept dropping his arm backwards so that it looked like his puppet was tipping over backwards on the screen. And they did In the Middle which I had never heard before. Yay!!
Linnell stuck Dolly Parton into Particle Man, my personal favorite add on.
Dan Levine and Stan did the intro to Istanbul and a fabulous one it was. Danny and the Johns were obviously enjoying it too because they were standing around the sides of the stage grinning. Flans in particular looked like he was watching his favorite band in concert. He was beaming. I wish I would have gotten pictures of them but it was much too dark.
When Linnell picked up the accordion for the encore I briefly thought they might play Subliminal which I have been very sad to miss at several recent shows, but was just as pleased to hear Museum of Idiots. Unrehearsed, as Linnell said.
I spent half of the band intros trying to get a good picture of Danny (and his red pants). I couldn't see him for most of the show and when I could, it wasn't a good view. I was so sad that he never wore the pants at any of the shows on our road trip. Please, don't ask me to explain why I love those pants so much because I can't. It's just one of those things.
They closed with Doctor Worm, a required tune with the horns. It was kind of funny that they did Museum of Idiots and Doctor Worm for the encore because those were my first two favorite TMBG songs before I was ever a real fan of the band.
The show was far too short. It was over by 9:30. There wasn't even a second encore. But it was awesome enough to make up for the shortness. The boyfriend got a setlist from Victor after the show. Hopefully their wordless bonding will last and he'll keep hooking us up.
Coming out of the Wolf Den, we were ambushed by some old friends of my boyfriend, including the friend he went to his very first TMBG show with 17 years ago. We parted ways with our other friends who all had long drives and went off to one of Mohegan's bars so he could reconnect with his friends for a bit. On our way out we passed Flansburgh in the hall. He was sporting one of the new TMBG 8-Bit Rock tote bags that a couple of my friends had picked up at the merch stand. But he seemed to be in a hurry.
I am very much looking forward to my next show, the in-store and signing at the Borders in Braintree, MA on Wednesday. That is where I saw They Might Be Giants for the very first time, almost five years ago. A lot has changed for me since then, but then again, a lot is still the same. I thought I was going to be pretty cool, but as it gets closer I'm actually really nervous about the signing. My usual strategy when seeking autographs is to say hi at the start and thank you at the end and that is that. But I feel like I really should say something to the Johns considering what a huge part of my life they've been the last year. But I have no idea what to say. I feel like it should be something more meaningful that just thank you. Oh well, I've got the better part of four days to figure it out. Suggestions welcome.
Pictures from the show are up on Flickr. There are some good Flansburgh shots and some funny Linnell expressions.
Also, I finally remembered to go back and track down Astronomy magazine's video interview with Linnell that they did while the band was in Madison in October. It's got some great insights on the creation of Here Comes Science. The interview is in five parts and can be viewed here if you are interested.
And now the show recap...
November 27, 2009 - Wolf Den - Mohegan Sun - Fourth Annual Audience Appreciation Show
I feel a little silly doing a recap for this show given that more than half of the known readers of this blog were at the show with me. But hopefully that means they can fill in any details that I forget :-)
Shows at Mohegan always involve a greater than average amount of line standing since they are first come first served and I was a little concerned that we couldn't get there until 4:00 because I had to work in the morning. Fortunately we were meeting friends who were able to get there much earlier and saved us places in line. My boyfriend and I brought a friend from work with us who had never been to a TMBG show before. I have found I enjoy being at shows with newbies because it gives me the opportunity to see the band through new eyes.
Doors were at 6:30 and the show didn't start until 8:00 so we had lots of time to hang with our friends. We also got to watch lots of comings and goings on stage. It's probably kind of silly how happy it makes me even just seeing Iggy and Victor and Will and Scott wandering around plugging things in and adjusting lights. Marty was on stage for a while putting together his drum kit. I saw all the Velcro Horns come in the entrance past us with horns in tow. Boy, have I missed those guys. Ralph was great but it's like going on vacation. It's fun while it lasts but you're happy to be home. It was obvious the band and the crew have missed them too as there was lots of hugging and back patting.
The band started to wander around getting ready for sound check. All the guys were hanging around chatting for a bit, then started wandering off around the room to tune their instruments. Linnell was sitting at one of the tables, tuning his clarinet and fiddling around with a little tune. Which I later realized was odd since he didn't use it in the show. Dan played some sounds on his keyboard which were LOUD. Kind of freakishly loud. Eventually, they all made it onto the stage and each started playing different riffs to check the sound. Linnell banged out the keyboard part from Withered Hope which is probably my single favorite musical phrase in all of TMBG's repertoire. I got excited when both Dan and Linnell played little bits of Au Contraire but they didn't play it at the show. Maybe someday. They did play through all of Withered Hope. God, that song sounds good with the horns! Linnell mumbled his way through the second verse, forgetting most of the lyrics. But hey, that's what sound check is for, right?
They only did the one song then headed back stage. A bunch of the guys headed out into the casino past us, presumably in search of food. I very nearly jumped out of my skin when Danny noticed me and smiled. I'm very much torn between being extremely excited that he recognizes me now and totally embarrassed that I can no longer blend in with all of the anonymous fans. Of course, if I really wanted to remain anonymous this blog is probably a bad idea :-P And he was wearing his red pants! Happy fangirl!
When doors opened we were seated at a table in the front row towards the right side of the stage, right in front of Flans and Dan's mics. We immediately went to check out the new t-shirt that had turned up at the merch stand. I snatched one up immediately because it turned out to be a Fall Tour 2009 shirt. That's our tour! It has all the tour dates on the back and everything. The front says "Home Taping Is Killing Music And It's Illegal" with a picture of a cassette tape with cross bones under it. My friends thought it was kinda of a downer message but I think it's kind of retro and I'm somewhat of a copyright advocate anyway.
I was expecting pretty much the same Flood show we saw multiple times in October but they changed up the setlist order enough to keep it interesting. Not only did they not start with Meet the Elements, they didn't play any songs of of HCS at all.
Setlist: Clap Your Hands - Theme From Flood - Birdhouse in Your Soul - Lucky Ball & Chain - Twisting - Dead - We Want a Rock - Someone Keeps Moving My Chair - Hot Cha - Shoehorn With Teeth - Hearing Aid - Minimum Wage - Sapphire Bullets - James K. Polk - Women and Men - Whistling in the Dark - Your Racist Friend - In the Middle - Particle Man - Istanbul - They Might Be Giants - Road Movie to Berlin Encore - Museum of Idiots - Doctor Worm
We got to start the show standing up with Clap Your Hands. It was really hard to jump up and down between the chairs without hitting them. I kept losing my balance. In hind sight we probably could have gotten away with standing for the whole show without people getting too irritated. There were a number of other people standing in various spots around the room. But we opted to remain on the good side of the people seated behind us and sit down. I didn't mind much at all except it was weird to be seated for Birdhouse. Had to bounce in my seat.
The whole band was in such a good mood. I can't remember the last time I saw them all smiling so much during a show. They were being pretty goofy on stage. At one point after making an especially ridiculous comment Flans asked Linnell if he had been drinking. Linnell's reply? "Have you NOT been drinking?" Flans said he hasn't gotten the memo. Linnell also did some good wolf howling at the begining of the show.
Flans started by saying they were playing Flood but not in sequence so not to worry if they skipped something because they'd get to it eventually. And if they missed something we could tell them via their website, www.huffingtonpost.com. They had a bit of a running joke where they'd go to introduce a song making it sound like it was going to be from another album and then it would be another Flood song.
Someone on TMBW was commenting on Dan and Danny having a conversation on stage during Lucky Ball & Chain but they were trying to sort out some sort of sound problem. But Dan couldn't hear what Danny was saying so he kept having to repeat it until Dan eventually took his in-ear monitor out. It may have actually been the monitors they were having trouble with. They got Will involved after the song and apparently got it sorted out.
There were a few other amusing technical issues. Marty needed to fix something on his snare drum at some point and took it off the stand so he was holding it in his lap. Flans told him to give a signal when he was ready to go. Then they started making jokes about how Marty holding the snare drum was a sign. A sign that the snare drum was broken. Linnell said that it was a signal, like in baseball. "When the catcher is holding the snare drum, it means the snare drum is broken."
Before Hot Cha, Flans said that his brother always thought the song was about their family but since his brother was not here he felt comfortable in saying that it definitely is not.
The other technical problem was discovered as the Avatars were coming on when Marty realized his drum pad next to the electronic kit hadn't been hooked up. Will had to do some running around to get it going before it was needed.
The Avatars were projected onto the giant screen behind the stage that the Wolf Den uses to show wolf footage, rather than on their usual pull down screen. There was some momentary static in the feed and the puppets began talking as if their voices were coming through the screen and you could only hear every other syllable. Very silly. They did their usual schtick about the Avatar movie. One of my friends who is a very casual TMBG fan asked me the other day if the band was actually doing the soundtrack for the movie because she got confused by stuff she had been reading online. It was a combination of sad and funny. I think I spent more time watching Marty do his highly studied bell playing than watching the puppets during Shoehorn. I find it funny that even when he is standing still with his eyes closed waiting for his moment he still can't keep from bopping his head. He just never stops moving.
Dan forgot to come out and play on Polk. He apparently got used to Ralph doing the solo and not having to play. He had gone back stage and Danny had to point out to Flans that he wasn't there after the song started and Flans went back to get him. He got situated just in time for the solo looking a little sheepish.
After James K. Polk, Linnell asked Flans if he had seen the recent book review in the NY Times about the new Polk biography (he had). The lyrics of the song were referenced in the introduction to the review. Linnell said that though he was flattered, he was kind of bemused that the most positive thing the article said about the song was that it was "accurate." Flans had a good time making jokes about that. If you missed the book review, here is the link. It had actually turned up in one of my Google Alerts a few weeks ago.
While talking about the EP that Polk originally appeared on, Flan gave a pretty good description of the purpose of those EPs. He was reminiscing about the indie radio stations that used to receive the EPs to drum up interest for the album. Then Linnell started reminiscing about the money that the EPs used to make. That was about when Flans asked him if he'd been drinking.
Flans commented on the lovely C note playing out in the casino. Fortunately the band mostly drowned it out. Linnell also pointed out the carved wolves perched on the tops of all the pillars around the club which he was noticing for the first time.
They did a second Avatars segment which was even better than the first. I was particularly amused when Linnell needed to cross the stage to say something to Dan and he took the puppet off so that the audience couldn't see that he was operated by a human. Heehee. Flans kept dropping his arm backwards so that it looked like his puppet was tipping over backwards on the screen. And they did In the Middle which I had never heard before. Yay!!
Linnell stuck Dolly Parton into Particle Man, my personal favorite add on.
Dan Levine and Stan did the intro to Istanbul and a fabulous one it was. Danny and the Johns were obviously enjoying it too because they were standing around the sides of the stage grinning. Flans in particular looked like he was watching his favorite band in concert. He was beaming. I wish I would have gotten pictures of them but it was much too dark.
When Linnell picked up the accordion for the encore I briefly thought they might play Subliminal which I have been very sad to miss at several recent shows, but was just as pleased to hear Museum of Idiots. Unrehearsed, as Linnell said.
I spent half of the band intros trying to get a good picture of Danny (and his red pants). I couldn't see him for most of the show and when I could, it wasn't a good view. I was so sad that he never wore the pants at any of the shows on our road trip. Please, don't ask me to explain why I love those pants so much because I can't. It's just one of those things.
They closed with Doctor Worm, a required tune with the horns. It was kind of funny that they did Museum of Idiots and Doctor Worm for the encore because those were my first two favorite TMBG songs before I was ever a real fan of the band.
The show was far too short. It was over by 9:30. There wasn't even a second encore. But it was awesome enough to make up for the shortness. The boyfriend got a setlist from Victor after the show. Hopefully their wordless bonding will last and he'll keep hooking us up.
Coming out of the Wolf Den, we were ambushed by some old friends of my boyfriend, including the friend he went to his very first TMBG show with 17 years ago. We parted ways with our other friends who all had long drives and went off to one of Mohegan's bars so he could reconnect with his friends for a bit. On our way out we passed Flansburgh in the hall. He was sporting one of the new TMBG 8-Bit Rock tote bags that a couple of my friends had picked up at the merch stand. But he seemed to be in a hurry.
I am very much looking forward to my next show, the in-store and signing at the Borders in Braintree, MA on Wednesday. That is where I saw They Might Be Giants for the very first time, almost five years ago. A lot has changed for me since then, but then again, a lot is still the same. I thought I was going to be pretty cool, but as it gets closer I'm actually really nervous about the signing. My usual strategy when seeking autographs is to say hi at the start and thank you at the end and that is that. But I feel like I really should say something to the Johns considering what a huge part of my life they've been the last year. But I have no idea what to say. I feel like it should be something more meaningful that just thank you. Oh well, I've got the better part of four days to figure it out. Suggestions welcome.
Pictures from the show are up on Flickr. There are some good Flansburgh shots and some funny Linnell expressions.
Monday, November 16, 2009
News From The World
Spent most of today very confused about when TMBG were actually appearing on Craig Ferguson. I had originally heard today, then figured out that it was probably just taping today and airing later. Then the band said tomorrow on Facebook but Marty said tonight on Twitter and it turns out they were pre-taping all along. Their segment wont air until sometime around Thanksgiving, but we do get the bonus of John Hodgman appearing with them. Marty has posted some amusing photos from their visit to the studio here, on his new website. I really like Dan's facial expression in the group shot.
To provide some opinions other than my own about Kids Go! here are two reviews of the book that came in today.
Publisher's Weekly
Zooglobble
Really looking forward to the Mohegan Sun show next week, even though it is going to be yet another Flood show. Maybe my 10th time is when they decide to play the whole thing backwards? It appears they will have the Velcro Horns back with them which I really am excited about. I've missed those guys.
To provide some opinions other than my own about Kids Go! here are two reviews of the book that came in today.
Publisher's Weekly
Zooglobble
Really looking forward to the Mohegan Sun show next week, even though it is going to be yet another Flood show. Maybe my 10th time is when they decide to play the whole thing backwards? It appears they will have the Velcro Horns back with them which I really am excited about. I've missed those guys.
Kids' Go!
This is way overdue, given that the book has been out for almost two weeks but I've been in such a funk the last few weeks that I have completely lacked motivation to blog. So, here is my review of Kid's Go! I should preface by saying that not only is this review coming from a fan of the band who has a hard time being truly critical of any of their work, I also have a strong background in children's literature. So this review is partly my own opinion and partly based on what I've learned from many years of reading, studying and selling children's books.
First off, I must express my frustration in actually acquiring the book. I work at a major chain bookstore and out of loyalty, chose to order the book at work rather than from Amazon. Given past experiences with ordering new releases I assumed I'd get the book about the same time anyway. Boy, was I wrong. People started reporting receipt of their Amazon copies on Tuesday and Wednesday of the week prior to release. Everyday, when I got to work I anxiously checked to see if my order had arrived only to discover that it had not. By the time Friday rolled around with no book, I was majorly disappointed. Especially, when I discovered that our stores as far east as Connecticut has received it early, but Massachusetts did not. By the time it finally came in on Monday I felt like I had used up a lot of my excitement waiting for it the previous week.
As for the book itself, I really like it. I don't love it, but I really like it. It's a cute, lively song accompanied by bright, humorous illustrations. I am a big fan of the work Pascal Campion has done for They Might Be Giants. I do, after all, have some of his art tattooed onto my back. If you look at his work, either on his website or even just what he has done with TMBG, he appears to have two different styles that he works in. In one, as can be seen in Nine Bowls of Soup and Photosynthesis, the figures are much more defined, the backgrounds are more detailed and the color pallet is broader. This is the segment of his art that I tend to prefer, but is not the one used in Kid's Go!. The style in the book is much more similar to that of One Dozen Monkeys. The figures are more abstract with less clearly defined outlines, the backgrounds are much less detailed and only four or five colors are used. (Mind you, there is a lot of his work that mixes the two styles as well; 813 Mile Car Trip comes to mind. It is really more of a sliding scale between the two styles with some work closer to one end or the other.)
This is not to say that I don't like the illustrations, because I do. I particularly like the monkeys. They are made to have such expressive faces using very little detail which I really enjoy. I am not as crazy about the style that the children are drawn in. Having seen some of his other drawings of people I wish he had chosen a less abstract style for the kids. But the art works as a whole. The story is really told more with the pictures than with the words. This seems really fitting for a TMBG book, given their dislike of portraying their lyrics literally in their videos. The illustrations only need to match up with some key phrases in the lyrics like "get up off your chair" and "jumping like a jack-in-the-box." Otherwise, the words are just a jumping off point for a jungle adventure with monkeys.
The video is a great bonus. It's different enough from the book that you don't feel like you are just watching the illustrations in motion but follows the same theme and story line so that it works as a sing along from the book. I don't think it is so much intended to be watched while you follow along in the book but rather to be watched after reading the book so that kids have an opportunity to dance.
A lot of the fan response to the book that I have read has been pretty negative. I am not looking to start any arguments but I have to disagree with some of the complaints that have been made against it. I think many fans are comparing it to Bed Bed Bed rather than comparing it to other similar children's books. As such, they are disappointed that it only has one song in both the book and the DVD. I shared in some initial disappointment in realizing that it was just going to be the one song, but I also realized it quite a while before I got the book. It seems like a few fans were expecting more right up until they opened the book and since I don't think the info from the publisher ever indicated it was anything more than the one song, I can only assume that they were expecting it to be just like the last book. I love the songs in Bed Bed Bed but am not crazy about the pictures at all. I find some of them a bit creepy for a kid's book, whereas I think the silly monkeys of Kids Go! are much more kid friendly. So do I wish that this book had more music? Yes. Do I dislike the book because it doesn't? No. I also don't really prefer one book over the other. They've both got aspects I like and dislike.
If you compare Kids Go! to other children's picture books, particularly ones illustrating lyrics from a song, it is very typical. We have dozens of picture books on the shelves in our children's department that illustrate one song and come with a CD of just that one song. Several John Denver songs, including Grandma's Feather Bed, have recently been given that treatment. Last year we got a lovely version of Puff the Magic Dragon. Tom Paxton just did a wonderfully illustrated version of the Marvelous Toy. My point being, that a picture book of this nature doesn't have to have more than one song in order to be a great book. I think we all just got spoiled by Bed Bed Bed.
I think the most important thing to remember in looking at the book is that, if you are over the age of six, you are not the intended audience for the book. I kind of feel like Bed Bed Bed is one of those picture books that parents think is great but kids aren't quite as drawn to. (That being said I have read stories from multiple parents whose young children love the book so that is certainly not universally true.) Kids Go! on the other hand has a lot more kid appeal. The colors are brighter. The monkeys are funny and cute and let's face it, kids just love monkeys. The music on the DVD is lively and bouncy and fun for kids to dance to. But most importantly (and I think this really IS the point), the book is interactive. Kids love stories with "audience participation" (think Going On A Bear Hunt) and this book is really encouraging them to dance like a money while they listen to the story or watch the DVD. We got a book in at work a few months ago about making scary faces where the kids reading are supposed to make the faces as they go along. One of our employees begged our story reader to read it at story time. He didn't think it would go over well but the kids loved it because they got to participate in the story. I'd love to see what would happen if we did Kids Go! at story time.
Lastly, the illustrations are filled with imagination. Children love books where they can interpret the story from the pictures rather than having it told to them. Wordless books or books with very few words are very popular for just that reason. The song lyrics leave the story vague enough that a child can make up his or her own mind about just how the kids end up in the jungle and how that monkey got in an airplane. Or the kids can just listen to the song and dance like a monkey. Actually, adults can too. So, go pop in that DVD and show me your best monkey moves!
P.S. My very favorite part of the book? The page that says "(dance brake!)". That little dash of humor, for me, is what makes it quintessentially, TMBG.
First off, I must express my frustration in actually acquiring the book. I work at a major chain bookstore and out of loyalty, chose to order the book at work rather than from Amazon. Given past experiences with ordering new releases I assumed I'd get the book about the same time anyway. Boy, was I wrong. People started reporting receipt of their Amazon copies on Tuesday and Wednesday of the week prior to release. Everyday, when I got to work I anxiously checked to see if my order had arrived only to discover that it had not. By the time Friday rolled around with no book, I was majorly disappointed. Especially, when I discovered that our stores as far east as Connecticut has received it early, but Massachusetts did not. By the time it finally came in on Monday I felt like I had used up a lot of my excitement waiting for it the previous week.
As for the book itself, I really like it. I don't love it, but I really like it. It's a cute, lively song accompanied by bright, humorous illustrations. I am a big fan of the work Pascal Campion has done for They Might Be Giants. I do, after all, have some of his art tattooed onto my back. If you look at his work, either on his website or even just what he has done with TMBG, he appears to have two different styles that he works in. In one, as can be seen in Nine Bowls of Soup and Photosynthesis, the figures are much more defined, the backgrounds are more detailed and the color pallet is broader. This is the segment of his art that I tend to prefer, but is not the one used in Kid's Go!. The style in the book is much more similar to that of One Dozen Monkeys. The figures are more abstract with less clearly defined outlines, the backgrounds are much less detailed and only four or five colors are used. (Mind you, there is a lot of his work that mixes the two styles as well; 813 Mile Car Trip comes to mind. It is really more of a sliding scale between the two styles with some work closer to one end or the other.)
This is not to say that I don't like the illustrations, because I do. I particularly like the monkeys. They are made to have such expressive faces using very little detail which I really enjoy. I am not as crazy about the style that the children are drawn in. Having seen some of his other drawings of people I wish he had chosen a less abstract style for the kids. But the art works as a whole. The story is really told more with the pictures than with the words. This seems really fitting for a TMBG book, given their dislike of portraying their lyrics literally in their videos. The illustrations only need to match up with some key phrases in the lyrics like "get up off your chair" and "jumping like a jack-in-the-box." Otherwise, the words are just a jumping off point for a jungle adventure with monkeys.
The video is a great bonus. It's different enough from the book that you don't feel like you are just watching the illustrations in motion but follows the same theme and story line so that it works as a sing along from the book. I don't think it is so much intended to be watched while you follow along in the book but rather to be watched after reading the book so that kids have an opportunity to dance.
A lot of the fan response to the book that I have read has been pretty negative. I am not looking to start any arguments but I have to disagree with some of the complaints that have been made against it. I think many fans are comparing it to Bed Bed Bed rather than comparing it to other similar children's books. As such, they are disappointed that it only has one song in both the book and the DVD. I shared in some initial disappointment in realizing that it was just going to be the one song, but I also realized it quite a while before I got the book. It seems like a few fans were expecting more right up until they opened the book and since I don't think the info from the publisher ever indicated it was anything more than the one song, I can only assume that they were expecting it to be just like the last book. I love the songs in Bed Bed Bed but am not crazy about the pictures at all. I find some of them a bit creepy for a kid's book, whereas I think the silly monkeys of Kids Go! are much more kid friendly. So do I wish that this book had more music? Yes. Do I dislike the book because it doesn't? No. I also don't really prefer one book over the other. They've both got aspects I like and dislike.
If you compare Kids Go! to other children's picture books, particularly ones illustrating lyrics from a song, it is very typical. We have dozens of picture books on the shelves in our children's department that illustrate one song and come with a CD of just that one song. Several John Denver songs, including Grandma's Feather Bed, have recently been given that treatment. Last year we got a lovely version of Puff the Magic Dragon. Tom Paxton just did a wonderfully illustrated version of the Marvelous Toy. My point being, that a picture book of this nature doesn't have to have more than one song in order to be a great book. I think we all just got spoiled by Bed Bed Bed.
I think the most important thing to remember in looking at the book is that, if you are over the age of six, you are not the intended audience for the book. I kind of feel like Bed Bed Bed is one of those picture books that parents think is great but kids aren't quite as drawn to. (That being said I have read stories from multiple parents whose young children love the book so that is certainly not universally true.) Kids Go! on the other hand has a lot more kid appeal. The colors are brighter. The monkeys are funny and cute and let's face it, kids just love monkeys. The music on the DVD is lively and bouncy and fun for kids to dance to. But most importantly (and I think this really IS the point), the book is interactive. Kids love stories with "audience participation" (think Going On A Bear Hunt) and this book is really encouraging them to dance like a money while they listen to the story or watch the DVD. We got a book in at work a few months ago about making scary faces where the kids reading are supposed to make the faces as they go along. One of our employees begged our story reader to read it at story time. He didn't think it would go over well but the kids loved it because they got to participate in the story. I'd love to see what would happen if we did Kids Go! at story time.
Lastly, the illustrations are filled with imagination. Children love books where they can interpret the story from the pictures rather than having it told to them. Wordless books or books with very few words are very popular for just that reason. The song lyrics leave the story vague enough that a child can make up his or her own mind about just how the kids end up in the jungle and how that monkey got in an airplane. Or the kids can just listen to the song and dance like a monkey. Actually, adults can too. So, go pop in that DVD and show me your best monkey moves!
P.S. My very favorite part of the book? The page that says "(dance brake!)". That little dash of humor, for me, is what makes it quintessentially, TMBG.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Random Story of the Day
I was on Facebook today reading my news feed when the TMBG page posted a new link to one of the Venue Song videos with a note about the second leg of the tour. Naturally, I immediately hit the "like" button. Ten seconds later I get the notification "They Might Be Giants commented on their link." "Thats weird, they must have needed to clarify something or correct a typo in the comments," I think. I click on the notification. Nope. Turns out who ever does those status updates has decided to thank me, by name, for "liking" the link. Even though I know it is as likely to be one of their publicity people as it is to be a member of the band, this still makes me happy for the rest of the day. Yes, I am just that much of a dork.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
