Thanks to a friend who couldn't use them, I scored They Might Be Giants tickets to replace the broken Valentines gift that I originally bought for Kelly. We took in the show last night with two other friends who happened to be going, Nathan and Raquel, and it was a great time. Most of my concerts have been metal, so I'm used to screaming and head-banging, and I didn't exactly know how to get into the music, especially since I was the least familiar with the TMBG catalog. But I expected a tame show and the band surprised me by being really energetic and crazy, and really getting the audience riled up. This was a rocking and rollicking show. It was also the first show of their new tour, so we got to hear a few songs played live for the first time. I couldn't tell the kids songs from the adult songs, or the covers from the originals, without being told, which I guess is a compliment to how well they own their aesthetic. I could have done without my least favorite part of any concert, going through the motions of cheering for two encores as if they weren't part of the show, but all three "endings" were big productions that I was glad to see. It's been twenty years since I considered myself a TMBG fan, but today I am a fan all over again.


Two Replies to Gigantism

Steve Dunn | February 28, 2010
YES! I have tickets to their show in Charlotte in a couple weeks, so I'm glad to hear it's a good one.

Amy Austin | February 28, 2010
Glad to hear they haven't "mellowed" in their older age... lol... 'cuz I'm seeing 'em in Orlando tomorrow! (And I'm a little jealous about not having seen them last in Tampa night, but still psyched nonetheless...)

In fact, I did get to see a show twenty years ago right here at UF's Reitz Union Ballroom -- up close and personal! Don't know if UF is still procuring anybody so awesome these days (some other shows I saw here (for free!) in the early 90s include Concrete Blonde, The Smithereens and Midnight Oil -- all fantastic!!!), but it's pretty hard to top TMBG, in my opinion. Might be hard to imagine rockin' out to a tuba and an accordion, but if this show is anything like the one I saw in 1990, then I could have told you to expect some crazy high energy and an awesome performance!!!

Woot!!!


Logical Operator

The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »

Jump to Conclusions

Walking through the store tonight, I came across this product... ...and upon seeing the little girl thinking of all the things she could do with her toy egg, I thought, BACK UP IN YO ASS WITH THE RESURREC-SHUN! Go »

The Revised Revised Revised Story

Last spring, This Modern World ran a great parody charting the decline of civil liberties in recent years, after the then-shocking revelation that the government was building a database of every call made in the country: (link) I was reminded of that over the weekend as the latest shocking revelation came out, that the FBI has vastly abused its new ability to request confidential information in the interest of national security (link), almost as if it was the next panel in the strip. Except I'm not laughing. Oh, what I'd have given to be the reporter at Alberto Gonzales's press conference this morning. Go »

All King and No Kubrick Make Jack a Dull Boy

I recently got to talking with friends who liked The Shining, both Stephen King's novel and Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of it, but who were unaware that King has always loathed the movie, despite its reputation as one of the best horror films ever made. It's hard to imagine that a writer doesn't know his own work better than someone interpreting it, but I think this is one of those rare cases where the writer is just too close to the story to get it. Here are three reasons why I think Kubrick's film better understands the material, and is better overall, than King's novel: 1) In King's version, Jack Torrance is a fundamentally decent man who wouldn't hurt a fly, but who is down on his luck and desperate. Go »

New Baby Upstairs

WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH... Go »

Happy Holidays

In case you wonder why it takes me so long to answer your message: I'm signing off for a week and a half while Kelly visits. Parties, shopping, museums, bowling, movies, lots of restaurants, and a few days at Disney World lie ahead. Have a wonderful holiday week. Go »

Lars and the Ripoff

I'm sure that Lars and the Real Girl is a good movie and that Ryan Gosling is Oscar-worthy, yadda yadda. But will the bloggers out there spreading the word please stop acting like it's such an original premise to have an adult treat a life-size doll like a real person? In the past few years alone, I've watched indie movies May and Love Object cover the same ground, with Dummy skirting closeby, and those are only a few examples; plenty more exist through the years. Go »