you're listening good
TMBG at 4th Annual LebowskiFest, Louisville
July 22, 2005
Setlist [Setlist Note: They skipped Mammal and combined two encores into one]
Pictures Here! [not very many, my camera battery gave out during Dr. Worm]
Louisville is my hometown, so the fact that TMBG would be playing there is particularly awesome to me. I mean, there are very few venues the right size for TMBG to play at, and the Waterfront Park amphitheatre is brand spankin' new; I hadn't even seen it, as it had been built while I was away at college. So, when They announced that they would be playing at LebowskiFest, I made it a great opportunity to go visit my parents for the weekend. My parents even came to the show with me (though they of course did not stand in the front), and very much enjoyed it.
Finally taking up Dan on his offer to put her on the guest list at a show, aliste came down from Chicago to come to the Lebowskifest concert with me, and, as is usually the case, I ended up being very glad she came for other reasons besides her exceptional company (which is reason enough :). My parents were good sports about getting to the venue early, or rather, dropping us off at the gate to the amphitheatre early and going to get something to eat. There was a group of people at the gate, including one guy who was obviously staff, he informed us that doors would open at 7pm. aliste also asked about the guest list, and finding her name on it, he crossed it off and told her she could go inside. This was slightly unexpected, and she asked him if I could go in too, telling him that I wasn't on the guestlist, but that I was her ride (I am still bewildered that this sufficed as an excuse, even though I wasn't on the list). He looked unsure, asked if we were with the band ("well, we're on the band's guestlist"), and then finally told us that we could go inside. Never mind that I actually had a ticket, which never got used. We started walking toward the stage but were turned back, and thought it best to sit in the shade and cause no trouble, lest we get told to leave and go stand in the line. So we sat, mused on our good fortune and how awesome Dan is, and tried to look like we belonged whenever anyone who looked like they had the power to throw us out walked by.
At one point, when aliste was on her cell phone, the guy who let us in came over, also talking on his cell phone. I was a bit worried that after she and he got off their respective phones that he would tell us that maybe we really should wait outside, but instead he made another phone call about aquiring more garbage cans for the event, and we learned his name was Will. He then struck up a casual conversation about the blisteringly hot sun.
Will: This is the best spot in the park [our shady bench].
Us: Yeah, definitely
Will: It's so hot in the sun. Those people who came early are crazy!
Me: Yeah, they are. They're out there standing in the sun.
He then left us, rejoicing in the fact that the park restroom was unlocked, so he wouldn't have to use the port-a-potties across the way. I don't know who he thought we were, but we weren't going to correct him that we were just as crazy as those other people, just a little more lucky, it seemed.
Anyway, finally the doors were about to open. Already having a head start on the people behind the fence, we nevertheless didn't want to be over taken, so we headed over to the amphitheatre. There was no one else there, and Iggy was trying to get lights set up, so instead of standing at the front, we sat on the first "step" of the theatre and waited until we could see people coming around the bend. While we were waiting Dan went up to the soundboard, and after he was done he came down to talk to us. They were apparently hanging out with Jeff "the original Dude" Dowd in the tour bus, who he said was exactly like the movie character of the Dude in the Big Lebowski. Well, we should hope so, as he was the basis for the character. Dan remarked that he was a total slob, but a cool guy. We asked if he was going to wear his sunglasses, which he was wearing at the time, for the concert and he said "sure, why not?" (however, no sunglasses were worn) and also told him to look for the message we wrote him on the edge of the carpet. He said that the equiptment was rented today, but he would look tomorrow at the Penn's Landing show.
Dan left (saying that they were going to a baseball game(!), but apparently it never happened because we saw all of them around at various times before the show), people came in, and we took our place in the front row. Danny came out to the side of the stage and stood for a while, and I should have talked to him then, as he didn't come out after the show. "The Dude" introduced the concert, and our mayor Jerry Abramson came out and gave him the key to the city, and gave a plaque to the founders of the event... one of which turned out to be our pal Will. We were floored that we never knew. We had been joking that if anyone came over to us and asked what we were doing that we would say that Will let us in, but we didn't know that would have really, really worked. (There are of course plenty of pictures of him on the LebowskiFest website, but in this one he's leaning on the bowling ball... of course then I found this picture with a caption saying that Will had been going on like a schoolgirl when he met Flans. I had actually seen it before, but I definitely didn't remember Will in it! aliste, it looks like he's a big fan of TMBG too... maybe he was impressed you were on Their guestlist.)
Corn Mo came on and put on a good show, with more fans in the audience than I've ever seen before. It must be his Louisville roots. It was very hot, though, and he was looking quite exhausted by Havina Gila Monster.
The concert itself was very good, though it was definitely a hot one. Dan and Flans were on some kind of western-theme, as Dan was wearing a shirt that said "35th Annual Rodeo and Livestock Expo" and Flans was wearing his "cowboy shirt". There were a bunch of little, obviously ineffectual fans set up around the stage, and during Istanbul Flans punted one of them off the edge of the stage. Fortunately the distance between the barrier and the stage was pretty big, because this thing came flying right at me before it hit the ground. The sun had gone down so it was a bit cooler, but it was still, as usual, incredibly humid, which did not escape Flans, who commented "They Might Be Giants have never played in 100% humidity before." Ahhh, Louisville. Flans warned anyone who had flown in for the event that the minature Louisville Slugger baseball bats (free after a tour of the Lou. Slugger Museum) are not allowable carry-on items, and that there was already a huge bin of confiscated bats at the airport.
Before "Bastard Wants to Hit Me," Flans announced that there had been a baby born at the top of the rather steep hill rising up from the amphitheatre. This would become a running joke throughout the show. Linnell, seguing into the next intro, said that the baby was a bastard, and that the next song was about a bastard. I noticed that there was more than usual swearing for an all-ages show, but I guess they figured if you were taking your children to LebowskiFest... case in point, "Pictures of Pandas Painting" was introduced by Flans as one of those "children's songs, that are going to fuck you up." (Which reminded me distinctly of the Vic show in 2003, where the Deeply Felt Puppet Theater was going to fuck you up)
There was a lot of goofing around going on before Stalk of Wheat; Flans explained that the baby (born at the top of the hill, remember) had been named John Sebastian II, and that it had invented the maracas and the flexatone, which of course did not yet have names. While explaining the flexatone, Flans tried to get the spotlight, which was on himself, on Dan for a bit.
Flans: Iggy, can we get a spotlight on Dan. Iggy, spotlight on Dan. Not on me, Dan. Listen to the words of the show.
This caused Dan to crack up into fits of laughter, before they finally did get the spotlight on him. It then seemed as if the song was ready to start, but instead Linnell broke into "Spontaneous song... wish we had actually written something..." Which somehow reminded Flans to wish Iggy a happy birthday, though he introduced him as Iggy Mustaine. Now, someone correct me here. I thought Iggy's name was William "Iggy" Ignolia, or at least he was Their lighting guy before. It's got to be the same Iggy... where did "Mustaine" (or however you spell it) come from?
During Ana Ng fireworks started going off downriver (at the end of the baseball game that they were supposedly going to), and Linnell was particularly fixated by them, singing "I saw this painted on the... fireworks." Later, Flans also commented on them, reinterpreting them as gunfire, and telling people "don't worry about the gunfire, we're from New York, we're used to it." Fingertips saw the return of "put your hands in the air and sway!" during Mysterious Whisper, which was followed by everyone in the band but Danny. Dan had one hand in the air, and was looking at Danny like "aren't you going to put your hands in the air?" to which Danny gave him a look that clearly said "dude, I'm playing the bass over here."
There were several large speakers in between the barrier and the stage (which was likely what was keeping the barrier so far away) to either side, and Flans and Dan started coming out on top to let people play his guitar and to play shredding solos, respectively. Being right near the river and around all the nature of KY, there were a lot of bugs flying around the stage. Grasshoppers kept flying up and landing on the carpet, and Danny would try to shoo them off, with little success.
Our pal Will came out afterward to give some closing remarks, and we got him to hand us setlists. We immediately noticed that this setlist was actually from the Odeon in Cleveland; the name had been scratched out, and a few different songs added. After the concert we were wiped, and apparently was the band, too, because no one but Dan (who had to go to the soundboard) came out of the bus, not even Marty. This meant that I didn't get to talk to Danny about dinosaurs again, but at least I know he noticed me at the concert... seeing me in the front row (with dinosaur t-shirt, of course), he kept on grinning at me, which made me feel good because I've never been pointedly grinned at by anyone on stage before, much less several times. I'm sure it didn't hurt that I was apparently watching Danny for a good portion of the show. Alice and I scored some free bottles of water from beside the stage (which we failed to catch as the guy behind the barrier lobbed them at us), and then went to thank Dan for putting her on the guestlist. He in turn thanked us for our devotion, and we finally said goodbye until the next tour.
So ends the summer portion of the shows that I attend this year, in two weeks doubling the amount of shows that I had been to in the two previous years. I'm again glad that aliste made the trip down to go to this show, as going to shows with her seems to make things twice as fun.
July 22, 2005
Setlist [Setlist Note: They skipped Mammal and combined two encores into one]
Pictures Here! [not very many, my camera battery gave out during Dr. Worm]
Louisville is my hometown, so the fact that TMBG would be playing there is particularly awesome to me. I mean, there are very few venues the right size for TMBG to play at, and the Waterfront Park amphitheatre is brand spankin' new; I hadn't even seen it, as it had been built while I was away at college. So, when They announced that they would be playing at LebowskiFest, I made it a great opportunity to go visit my parents for the weekend. My parents even came to the show with me (though they of course did not stand in the front), and very much enjoyed it.
Finally taking up Dan on his offer to put her on the guest list at a show, aliste came down from Chicago to come to the Lebowskifest concert with me, and, as is usually the case, I ended up being very glad she came for other reasons besides her exceptional company (which is reason enough :). My parents were good sports about getting to the venue early, or rather, dropping us off at the gate to the amphitheatre early and going to get something to eat. There was a group of people at the gate, including one guy who was obviously staff, he informed us that doors would open at 7pm. aliste also asked about the guest list, and finding her name on it, he crossed it off and told her she could go inside. This was slightly unexpected, and she asked him if I could go in too, telling him that I wasn't on the guestlist, but that I was her ride (I am still bewildered that this sufficed as an excuse, even though I wasn't on the list). He looked unsure, asked if we were with the band ("well, we're on the band's guestlist"), and then finally told us that we could go inside. Never mind that I actually had a ticket, which never got used. We started walking toward the stage but were turned back, and thought it best to sit in the shade and cause no trouble, lest we get told to leave and go stand in the line. So we sat, mused on our good fortune and how awesome Dan is, and tried to look like we belonged whenever anyone who looked like they had the power to throw us out walked by.
At one point, when aliste was on her cell phone, the guy who let us in came over, also talking on his cell phone. I was a bit worried that after she and he got off their respective phones that he would tell us that maybe we really should wait outside, but instead he made another phone call about aquiring more garbage cans for the event, and we learned his name was Will. He then struck up a casual conversation about the blisteringly hot sun.
Will: This is the best spot in the park [our shady bench].
Us: Yeah, definitely
Will: It's so hot in the sun. Those people who came early are crazy!
Me: Yeah, they are. They're out there standing in the sun.
He then left us, rejoicing in the fact that the park restroom was unlocked, so he wouldn't have to use the port-a-potties across the way. I don't know who he thought we were, but we weren't going to correct him that we were just as crazy as those other people, just a little more lucky, it seemed.
Anyway, finally the doors were about to open. Already having a head start on the people behind the fence, we nevertheless didn't want to be over taken, so we headed over to the amphitheatre. There was no one else there, and Iggy was trying to get lights set up, so instead of standing at the front, we sat on the first "step" of the theatre and waited until we could see people coming around the bend. While we were waiting Dan went up to the soundboard, and after he was done he came down to talk to us. They were apparently hanging out with Jeff "the original Dude" Dowd in the tour bus, who he said was exactly like the movie character of the Dude in the Big Lebowski. Well, we should hope so, as he was the basis for the character. Dan remarked that he was a total slob, but a cool guy. We asked if he was going to wear his sunglasses, which he was wearing at the time, for the concert and he said "sure, why not?" (however, no sunglasses were worn) and also told him to look for the message we wrote him on the edge of the carpet. He said that the equiptment was rented today, but he would look tomorrow at the Penn's Landing show.
Dan left (saying that they were going to a baseball game(!), but apparently it never happened because we saw all of them around at various times before the show), people came in, and we took our place in the front row. Danny came out to the side of the stage and stood for a while, and I should have talked to him then, as he didn't come out after the show. "The Dude" introduced the concert, and our mayor Jerry Abramson came out and gave him the key to the city, and gave a plaque to the founders of the event... one of which turned out to be our pal Will. We were floored that we never knew. We had been joking that if anyone came over to us and asked what we were doing that we would say that Will let us in, but we didn't know that would have really, really worked. (There are of course plenty of pictures of him on the LebowskiFest website, but in this one he's leaning on the bowling ball... of course then I found this picture with a caption saying that Will had been going on like a schoolgirl when he met Flans. I had actually seen it before, but I definitely didn't remember Will in it! aliste, it looks like he's a big fan of TMBG too... maybe he was impressed you were on Their guestlist.)
Corn Mo came on and put on a good show, with more fans in the audience than I've ever seen before. It must be his Louisville roots. It was very hot, though, and he was looking quite exhausted by Havina Gila Monster.
The concert itself was very good, though it was definitely a hot one. Dan and Flans were on some kind of western-theme, as Dan was wearing a shirt that said "35th Annual Rodeo and Livestock Expo" and Flans was wearing his "cowboy shirt". There were a bunch of little, obviously ineffectual fans set up around the stage, and during Istanbul Flans punted one of them off the edge of the stage. Fortunately the distance between the barrier and the stage was pretty big, because this thing came flying right at me before it hit the ground. The sun had gone down so it was a bit cooler, but it was still, as usual, incredibly humid, which did not escape Flans, who commented "They Might Be Giants have never played in 100% humidity before." Ahhh, Louisville. Flans warned anyone who had flown in for the event that the minature Louisville Slugger baseball bats (free after a tour of the Lou. Slugger Museum) are not allowable carry-on items, and that there was already a huge bin of confiscated bats at the airport.
Before "Bastard Wants to Hit Me," Flans announced that there had been a baby born at the top of the rather steep hill rising up from the amphitheatre. This would become a running joke throughout the show. Linnell, seguing into the next intro, said that the baby was a bastard, and that the next song was about a bastard. I noticed that there was more than usual swearing for an all-ages show, but I guess they figured if you were taking your children to LebowskiFest... case in point, "Pictures of Pandas Painting" was introduced by Flans as one of those "children's songs, that are going to fuck you up." (Which reminded me distinctly of the Vic show in 2003, where the Deeply Felt Puppet Theater was going to fuck you up)
There was a lot of goofing around going on before Stalk of Wheat; Flans explained that the baby (born at the top of the hill, remember) had been named John Sebastian II, and that it had invented the maracas and the flexatone, which of course did not yet have names. While explaining the flexatone, Flans tried to get the spotlight, which was on himself, on Dan for a bit.
Flans: Iggy, can we get a spotlight on Dan. Iggy, spotlight on Dan. Not on me, Dan. Listen to the words of the show.
This caused Dan to crack up into fits of laughter, before they finally did get the spotlight on him. It then seemed as if the song was ready to start, but instead Linnell broke into "Spontaneous song... wish we had actually written something..." Which somehow reminded Flans to wish Iggy a happy birthday, though he introduced him as Iggy Mustaine. Now, someone correct me here. I thought Iggy's name was William "Iggy" Ignolia, or at least he was Their lighting guy before. It's got to be the same Iggy... where did "Mustaine" (or however you spell it) come from?
During Ana Ng fireworks started going off downriver (at the end of the baseball game that they were supposedly going to), and Linnell was particularly fixated by them, singing "I saw this painted on the... fireworks." Later, Flans also commented on them, reinterpreting them as gunfire, and telling people "don't worry about the gunfire, we're from New York, we're used to it." Fingertips saw the return of "put your hands in the air and sway!" during Mysterious Whisper, which was followed by everyone in the band but Danny. Dan had one hand in the air, and was looking at Danny like "aren't you going to put your hands in the air?" to which Danny gave him a look that clearly said "dude, I'm playing the bass over here."
There were several large speakers in between the barrier and the stage (which was likely what was keeping the barrier so far away) to either side, and Flans and Dan started coming out on top to let people play his guitar and to play shredding solos, respectively. Being right near the river and around all the nature of KY, there were a lot of bugs flying around the stage. Grasshoppers kept flying up and landing on the carpet, and Danny would try to shoo them off, with little success.
Our pal Will came out afterward to give some closing remarks, and we got him to hand us setlists. We immediately noticed that this setlist was actually from the Odeon in Cleveland; the name had been scratched out, and a few different songs added. After the concert we were wiped, and apparently was the band, too, because no one but Dan (who had to go to the soundboard) came out of the bus, not even Marty. This meant that I didn't get to talk to Danny about dinosaurs again, but at least I know he noticed me at the concert... seeing me in the front row (with dinosaur t-shirt, of course), he kept on grinning at me, which made me feel good because I've never been pointedly grinned at by anyone on stage before, much less several times. I'm sure it didn't hurt that I was apparently watching Danny for a good portion of the show. Alice and I scored some free bottles of water from beside the stage (which we failed to catch as the guy behind the barrier lobbed them at us), and then went to thank Dan for putting her on the guestlist. He in turn thanked us for our devotion, and we finally said goodbye until the next tour.
So ends the summer portion of the shows that I attend this year, in two weeks doubling the amount of shows that I had been to in the two previous years. I'm again glad that aliste made the trip down to go to this show, as going to shows with her seems to make things twice as fun.