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disinvited-guest · 5 years

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10/25/18 Ithaca Recap

I was a little worried about this being a seated show, since my spot (the second row far house left) was a little further from the stage than I would have preferred. I spent the whole time at my seat low key freaking out about the situation. I shouldn’t have worried. As soon as they came onstage, Marty started freaking out on the drums and Flans demanded everyone stand up, come up to the front, and fill in the aisles.

I didn’t have to be told twice, and ended up in the front row, to the left of the keyboards, giving me a great view of all the guys throughout the show (with the exception of Marty, who was blocked by the keyboards.

A few general notes before I start the recap in earnest. Flans was wearing the jacket that has been the center of fso much discussion over the past week. Pictures don’t do it justice, the thing is a beacon! Also, this is the first show I’ve been to where they’ve made extensive use of video projection. They were a bit distracting at first, but after I got used to them I thought they made a nice addition.

They started into Damn Good Times and before the first verse was done, Danny looked my direction and recognized me. He gave me a smile, and I think he was a little surprised to see me. Flans took time in the middle of the song to thank us for coming, noting that we “Had our choice of They Might Be Giants-like bands. The song ended with Dan’s always wonderful solo, and the crowd cheered as the song ended. As we fell quiet, a few people in the back started to cheer again, Flans looked out at them, put his finger to his lips and said “Shh!” as they started into I Left My Body.

During Your Racist Friend, Flans began singing the second verse where he should have sung the first. Dan made a face when he realized what was happening, but Flans kept going, just switching the two verses entirely. Curt’s big intro was as perfect as always, and he took his place on the riser, demonstrating clapping enthusiastically as they segued into Particle Man. The crowd was a little off the beat at times, but we got it on track for Linnell’s interlude of Here You Come Again.

As the song ended, Flans walked right over to me, hand outstretched, with the clear intention of giving me his guitar pick. I raised cupped hands, not trusting myself to take it in my suddenly shaking fingers, and he dropped it into my palm before moving back upstage. I was in shock, and checked my front left pocket thoroughly for any holes in the lining (fool me once…) before placing the pick there. As I did, they started into The Famous Polka. I didn’t even connect the dots between me having the pick and them playing that particular song until Flans was holding the guitar right over me. I desperately reached for the pick in my pocket, it taking enough time that Flans felt the need to offer me another he had in his hand, but I got the first one out in time. It was simultaneously one of the most terrifying and exhilarating moments of my life. I couldn’t even look at the guitar directly as I went, the view I remember is of Flans’ left hand changing chords for me. I was so worried I would mess it up but I didn’t! I’m not saying it was good, but it was passable and then it was over and I had played Flans’ guitar. I was in shock and I must have looked it. As Flans walked away Danny, who had been watching the event, cracked up when he saw the expression on my face.

After the polka ended, Flans asked Linnell what he had done that day. Linnell said that he had heard that ACDC was getting a new singer, and that it was a crow. He did an impressive crow imitation, moving from a few simple “caws” to saying “back in black!” in a crow’s voice.

Flans mentioned that “the guy who wrote Back in Black and was with the band for 30 years” had to go because “you know how new guys are.”

Linnell then informed us all that crows were really smart and asked if we had seen “that video of a crow trying to get food out of a jar.”

“They [ACDC] could work that into the act,” Flans told him.

When asked what song was next, Linnell said that this was the first time in 30 years they had had a good segue for the song, and that it was about what they were just discussing. Flans was clearly baffled, but Dan and Danny, who were looking off the setlists, were nodding and laughing behind Linnell. “See, Dan and Danny know,” Linnell told Flans.

“I know they know,” Flans replied, a little frustrated “I wish I had a setlist in front of me so I could know too.”

The next song was as fitting as Linnell had said: Birdhouse in Your Soul. They then went straight into the Guitar, meaning two of the highest energy songs of the night were back to back. Linnell was jumping around a lot, and his one ear monitor, which he had out of his ear and hanging fairly loose, bounced so much it almost hit him in the cheek. While Flans was introducing the Future of Sound, asking us to put our hands together, Linnell “demonstrated” by pounding his two fists into each other. Flans noticed and changed to copy him, telling us to put our fists together. “Who will win?” Linnell asked, once we all were, effectively, punching ourselves.

“Left fist! Ow! Right fist! Ow!” Flans chanted rhythmically. We all switched back to more conventional clapping as the Future of Sound began. Linnell was basically responding to Curt’s trumpet using his Kaoss pad, but he also would bang his fists and head on the keyboard. Altogether, it was the perfect blend of funny and musically interesting.

After they wrapped up The Guitar Flans stepped back up to the mic to ask Linnell what song was next. When Linnell told him it was off of Mink Car, he replied “Aww that’s not good. That’s gonna mess up...it was going so well!” Rather than go straight into the song, Flans told us that he loved Ithaca, and “I spent four-thousand dollars at an antique store today.” He then began describing one of his acquisitions to us, a bottle labelled “lead and opium wash” which he has since posted to his instagram. He told us that he was amazed that it was freely available for sale, since there was some liquid still left in the bottle. “I could do without the lead,” he announced, getting a laugh from the audience, “And I could probably do without the opium.” Linnell noted that it was just like Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, “It will balance your chakra, and it’s also addictive!”

Flans told us that the strangest part was that it said “poison” on the bottle. “Would you like to buy some poison?” he asked us in a gravelly voice. He moved on to speculate what exactly a lead and opium wash would do to him.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Linnell answered

The audience laughed, but Flans said “And that is pure research.” Apparently this was a reference to a movie, but Flans couldn’t remember the title. He described it as being about two identical twin scientists, and one of them going crazy. Eventually Dan came up with the title (which I can’t remember) and Flans started to go on with his description, but then stopped, saying that he shouldn’t be telling us spoilers in front of Marty. Marty protested that he had already seen the movie, but Flans went on to say that Marty is “so anti-spoiler that, even though we hadn’t seen the movie, mentioning the title of A Star Is Born was a spoiler because it revealed that a star was born.” Linnell then relayed that Marty had seen the movie already, so Flans went on with his story.

He explained that in the movie, when the one brother goes crazy, the other brother is trying to cover for him, and so he tells everyone that he had moved to pure research. According to Flans, he and Robin now use that term to refer to someone “flipping their shit.”

Linnell then told Flans that he always claimed that he was researching a character “whenever I’m throwing a temper tantrum.”

Flans then asked Linnell what the next song was again. Linnell told him it was from Mink Car, and Flans remembered “Oh right, and it’s going to ruin the energy of the show.” He paused, then added “More than this long, rambling…” he trailed off and they started into Bangs, which sounded amazing and didn’t ruin the show’s energy at all.

From Bangs, the band started straight into Authenticity Trip, but Linnell wasn’t ready, and announced that he hadn’t come in when he was supposed to. The band kept playing the opening refrain, obviously expecting him to join in so they could move on, but he made them stop and start over again because it was “what his character would do.”

After all but crawling on the ground during authenticity trip, Flans returned to his mic stand to call for some audience participation, since it was the part of the show where we got to be “masters of showmanship” like them. He told us that when we heard the words “new song” we had to pretend we were excited, “I know there’s nothing worse than hearing a band’s new songs,” and cheer and throw our hands up in the air.

We tried it, Flans announced that they were going to play a new song and we screamed for all we were worth. Linnell, who was coming over to his accordion mic, pretended to be blown backwards by the noise. Flans had us do it another time, then they played Let’s Get This Over With. They segued into Doctor Worm from there. In final verse, which Linnell usually does in that broken-sounding, croaky voice, he instead shouted the first word of each line over Flan’s backing vocals, which sounded really neat.

Linnell announced that the next song was one they hadn’t played yet on this tour, then paused and added “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”

Flans told him it was so the audience would “get to see us looking at our hands.” Rather than start the song from there, Flans told us more about his shopping trip, announcing “I bought my first piece of taxidermy today.”

He described it as looking like a tiger, but much smaller. He wasn’t sure what the actual animal was, and Linnell seemed skeptical from the description that it was real, and a bit put-off by the concept.

Flans had already worked out a plan for bring the thing home “Before I unwrap it, I’m going to tell R-- I’m going to tell my wife Robin that if she never wants to see it again, that’s fine, but if she likes it I’m gonna start waxing my mustache.”

Linnell told him that introducing taxidermy to a person was just like introducing a new song. “You have to introduce it slowly, and if she stands up and claps you know it’s good.”

Danny, who had been looking anxious throughout the banter, stepped behind Linnell to ask if they were going to start or not. “Danny wants to start the song,” Linnell told us, and made some reference to what his character would do before they began Museum of Idiots. I’d never heard this live before, and it was fantastic. I was especially enthused about the bassline, which is as amazing live as on the recording.

As they finished, Linnell mentioned that he thought it had gone well before moving to get the contra alto clarinet from it’s stand. Flans agreed with him, then introduced the instrument as being on the endangered species list.

“Like miniature taxidermied tigers,” Linnell shot back.

This brought them onto the idea of a “miniature taxidermied contra alto clarinet.” Flans decided that “once you make a taxidermied contra alto clarinet, you know everything there is to know about taxidermy.” This got a huge cheer. Danny then pointed out that this was another new song which Linnell relayed to the crowd and we cheered again as they started into All Time What. I always love to watch Linnell joining Curt on his riser during this song. Once he’s up there, he always bows to Curt, which is hilarious.

Linnell put the clarinet away as Flans announced they were coming to the end of their first set. They played When Will You Die, during which Linnell included “and that’s Curt,” and moved on to Spy.

The beginning of the song was what I can only describe as a personality-filled intro from Curt. It sounded amazing, but it was also clear that he was having a lot of fun with it. He was stepping around Danny, angling his trumpet so it was aimed directly at his bass, and sometime out at the crowd. As he finished and started to walk back to his drum riser, he turned and played a bit more over his shoulder before they started the song. When it was Linnell’s turn to direct the ending he started by playing that “now the night is gone” alternate the band. Then he switched to his crow imitations from earlier that night. The next time he let the band go, Dan played the guitar riff from Back in Black (Because apparently he can just DO that!) When Danny looked over at him, surprised, Dan just shrugged like it was no big deal. When Flans directed, he started by having Curt then Danny play really closely together, which they managed to an incredibly precise degree, eventually expanding to the rest of the band then bringing the audience into the mix. We were a little slow on the uptake, but eventually got the hang of it, and Flans began to experiment with just how little he could move to cue the band or the audience. By the end, he would sway just a fraction of a degree one way or another, his movement barely perceptible. Eventually, he grew tired if it, and they finished the song, finishing out the first set.

A few people returned to their seats during the break, but most of us stayed where we were. After Marty’s electronic drums had been set up, they were covered by a Canadian flag with a pot leaf in place of the maple leaf.

After we all watched the Last Wave Video, Marty and the Johns returned to the stage, with Flans introducing the first song by telling us we “probably heard the title in 9th grade AP History Class.”

“Like all the songs in our second set,” he continued, “this song was written by George Soros.” He explained that George Soros had written this song in the early 19th century because “he doesn’t age.”

Linnell jumped in to note that “As you can tell, we put our own spin on it,” before they started into Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.

Flans told us that the next song was also by George Soros, but for this one, they were going into the future: 1844. Flans went on to reveal that at a meeting of their secret society, they had stolen the song for themselves before having Linnell introduce James K. Polk.

I believe it was at the end of Polk when a series of loud pops could be heard. After they finished, Linnell turned to Flans and said he wanted to “make sure that wasn’t just me having an aneurysm.”

Flans told him “It was all three of us having an aneurysm.” Before learning that the PA had briefly gone out. He told us all that the problem with that kind of noise is that “they have to happen an even number of times.” He checked that everyone could hear him, then asked the people in the balcony if they could hear him. When they cheered in response, he called up “Good! We thought you were just being nice!” He then stepped forward and said in a much quieter, mumbling voice to the people up front “They can’t hear us. They’re just being nice.”

By then, Curt had joined them onstage, with Flans introducing him, and getting the asked-for cheer when he told us they were about to play a new song, I Like Fun. Watching them perform this, I noticed that Linnell has become a lot more confident with the contra alto clarinet since I first saw I Like Fun performed, which makes the song tighter and better-sounding overall.

The next song Flans introduced as being from September “awakening all of those fond September memories,” and was, of course, Applause Applause Applause. It was amazing! Marty got to use a whole lot of weird and wonderful sound effects on his electronic drums for it (bells, clicks, etc) and Curt’s trumpet sounded amazing in place of the sax on the dial-a-song version.

The last song of the Quiet Storm, introduced simply as being from Factory Showroom, was How Can I Sing Like A Girl. Flans then reintroduced Curt as being on the trumpet AND the valve trombone, who began the intro to Istanbul downstage of Marty’s drum riser. While he was blowing everyone away, Flans and Danny helped Fresh to move Marty’s electronic drums off the stage. They finished with plenty of time to start Istanbul.

As Curt returned to the drum riser, I noticed that his thumb was wrapped in gauze and secured with neon electrical tape. I guess it made his a little clumsy, as he dropped his water bottle cap, which bounced off the riser out of his reach. He looked at it for a moment, then shrugged and put the bottle down capless and continued with his part. I hope it didn’t spill later on!

The song was capped off with two especially committed fake endings, the second one fooling me for a moment. The final ending included a bit of Dan and Curt switching off lead, which is always one of my favorite concert moments.

Flans then moved upstage so they could do their phone call bit. The phone ‘rang’ and Linnell apologized, saying he had to take it. The call came from their new manager, Richard Face, who wanted to introduce himself.

“Richard Face?” Linnell asked.

“That’s the name my mother gave me.”

“Your mother Mrs. Face?”

“MS. Face. I was born in the 80s.” replied ‘Richard’

Linnell thought about that for a moment, then asked if his mother’s first name was Jerk.

“No.” was the only answer.

Linnell said he was glad to meet him, and then announced “our new manager!” to the audience.

‘Richard’ grumbled “I don’t know, I might sell your contract to Live Nation,” then ended the call.

The dial tone ended, and Linnell was about to move on, when the phone rang again. Danny, from behind Linnell, looked over at Flans moved to sit on the edge of the drum riser, apparently deciding the bit might take awhile.

It was Richard Face once again. “Hello? Oh, that was a pocket dial. I have to go buy a Chevy Volt.” He said, and then the dial tone sounded once again.

Linnell chuckled, then explained “That was a call back to a conversation we had backstage.”

The phone rang once again. This time ‘Richard’ was angry “I didn’t appreciate that comment about my mother.”

Linnell told him it wasn’t a comment at all, but “pure research” and the dial tone sounded again. This time, Flans kept pressing and letting go of the button, so the sound stopped and started repeatedly. “I don’t know if we’re done with this segment or not,” Linnell told us after it had gone on for a few seconds. This prompted Flans to stop pressing the button and walk away to begin the next song. After a few steps though, he stopped, looked over at Linnell, and reached back to press the dial tone one more time. He moved away once again, and Linnell introduced the next song as “about an ancient near-eastern rock band that had a TV show on at 8:30/7:30 central when I was growing up.” This, of course, led into The Mesopotamians, and from there straight into Why Does The Sun Shine?.

The song was going along with amazing energy, Danny was absolutely killing it, and Flans had the lyrics. Then, it was time for Linnell to share the sun facts. In the driest, slowest, most high-school-teacher drone, he began. It was the funniest thing I had ever heard, especially in contrast to the loud, fast song. I’ve forgotten bits of it because I was laughing too hard (and because it’s hard to sort between nights...shh). The highlights:

“The sun i so hot that everything on it is a gas aluminum, uhhhh copper….metal, gas. Gas is a gas on the sun.”

“It’s 93...miles away. The sun is 93 miles away.”

“Scientists...they say they’re scientists”

“is caused by the nucleus. That’s all I know.”

At the end of his last fact, it was clear everyone else on stage was waiting for him to say more. He finally said, in that same, slow voice “I’m done. You can play the rest of the song now.”

They did, and moved from there straight in to She’s An Angel, which started with just Linnell’s voice.

After it was over Dan, who was on his acoustic, played a few chords. Flans heard him and said “That’s right, we’re moving up the half step,” and they started into Number Three. During the song, Flans almost smacked his guitar into Danny’s face! He noticed at the last minute nad moved it out of the way, but it was a near thing.

Dan left the stage briefly while they played Don’t Let’s Start, then returned as they played Whistling in the Dark and Let Me Tell You About My Operation without pause. Flans then went up to the mic and told us that it was almost the end of the show and that he had three stage announcements to make “Let’s see if I can remember them all.” He ticked the announcements off on his fingers as he went. The first announcement was that “this next song is available for download at our website, which is 1-800 GOT JUNK.” The second was that the IFC was open for the next few weeks. Flans didn’t say much about it, telling us it was our responsibility to “do some digging.”

The third wasn’t much of an announcement. Flans asked for the house lights to be turned up so he could thank some people individually. He thanked maybe 4 or 5 people, but the one that stands out is when he thanked the guy in a Science Is Real shirt. Flans thanked him for supporting their political agenda, and then went on a rant pretending to be a guy who hates when bands went political. It was muttered into the mic, tight and fast, and demanded that band “get in line and accept this dystopian hellscape that we life in,” and made an appropriate introduction to The Communists Have The Music, which is amazing live, and finished out the set.

They were back soon for the first encore. They played Twisting, and then Flans told us it was time to introduce the band. Curt, Dan, Danny, and Marty all were introduced and wowed us with their respective skill in turn. I was really happy about this long-form introductions, because I felt like it really gave each of them a chance to shine. After the introductions Linnell, who had been standing upstage on the far side of the drum riser, returned to the keyboard and said into the mic “You guys hurt my feelings!” The audience laughed, some cheered for him too, and one person shouted that we loved him as well. “Not you guys,” Linnell responded indicating the crowd.

I believe it was here that the Johns discussed playing in Baltimore the next night. Flans told us the name of the venue was “Curt Ramm’s Head Live.”

Linnell added that they didn’t know if it was all just in Curt’s head, or if was a real place. They would only know when they got there “And maybe not even then!” They finished out the encore with the always beautiful End of the Tour, then left the stage.

As they came back on stage, Flans went straight up to the mic. He told us they were playing in New York City on Saturday. He told us that they would play different songs at that show “but not too many,” and said that if we knew anyone on the other side of the state, we should tell them about it. He then announced the next song as being by the band Cub, and about New York City. After New York City, Flans announced the next song as being the b-side from their 1987 single and they ended the night with Hey Mr. DJ.

Before the house music had even switched on, Fresh was bringing the case of stickers on stage. Marty, Danny and Flans all came out onstage. Danny came over to me to shake my hand and say hello (he’s so nice!) before he joined Marty and Flans giving away stickers.

They didn’t have much luck. Aside from those of us at the very front, most of the crowd left right away. As things cleared out, Flans looked across the house at the people leaving and shouted “Hey!” trying to get them to come back and take their stickers. I got a setlist from Danny and left, walking on air.

A brief, post concert note: After a bit of unpleasantness trying to leave, I finally got to my car. As I stopped at the garage’s entrance, I saw Dan walking into the hotel across the street!

#tmbg #recap

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