So I went to see TMBG at Mr. Small's Theatre. It was great. They did a lot of my favorite songs. My favorite parts were Fingertips, Doctor Worm, Spine/Memo To Human Resources, The Spine Surfs Alone, James K. Polk, Damn Good Times, Older, Violin, Robot Parade, The End Of The Tour, The Famouss Polka, Experimental Film, The Guitar, and Doctor Worm (in which they used the confetti cannon). It was verry fun. And I bought me a Hello t-shirt.

So tell me: What was YOUR fisr TMBG concert experience like?

it was surreal.

my first time i saw em in Fayetteville AR. i forget the name of the club. it was 1998 or 99. (not too clear on the year anymore) my hubby practically had to drag me there. i didn't want to leave the kids.

the place was tiny, but we got there early, & were pretty close to the stage. i couldn't say what all songs they did, but it was the Severe Tire Damage tour, so it was all the stuff on STD. they did Dr Worm twice. i remember when they were playing "Till My Head Falls Off" i was standing there thinking... i can't believe i'm standing here watching the Johns do "Till My Head Falls Off". we were right near the speakers, & when they did the thing with the stick on Lie Still Little Bottle, it hurt my ears. people were standing around with their fingers in their ears, & busting the filters off their cigarettes to put in their ears. Flansy also played his big drum.

after the show, we met the Flans, & i had him sign 2 copies of the WDTSS single for my kids. the next 2 times i saw em, the kids came too, so that made it even better.

My first TMBG show was July 11 of this year at Omaha's Sokol Auditorium. My mother bought the tickets as an early birthday present for me, but I ended up turning her on to the Johns.

Anyway, they played 9 songs from the new album -- Experimental Film, Spine, Memo to Human Resources, Bastard Wants to Hit Me, Wearing a Raincoat, Prevenge, It's Kickin In, Au Contraire, and Stalk of Wheat. Other favorites of mine that they played were The Guitar, Birhouse in Your Soul, James K. Polk, Meet James Ensor, New York City, Older, Particle Man, Drink, She's an Angel, Twisting, End of the Tour, Dr. Worm, and WDTSS; they played a bunch of songs from NO! (Robot Parade, Violin, John Lee Supertaster, Clap Your Hands) and 2 instrumental versions of The Famous Polka (one at normal speed, the other at ridiculously high speed), and they closed the show with Fingertips (the one song I wanted to hear more than anything!); also, Linnell performed a little disco-type song he had written specifically for this venue ("Sokol Auditorium, Auditorium, Sokol Auditorium -- next to the Kum 'n' Go"), and Flans sang a bit of the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" as part of Spin-The-Dial. It was an awesome show!

I got to buy an Indestructible Object T-shirt from Flansy himself (!); afterwards, he signed my Dial-A-Song anthology CD booklet, and Mom took a picture of us together (though our concert pix haven't been developed yet, so I still have no idea how they came out). He was such a sweetheart!

mine was in central park at the 20th anniversary show. very long time to wait in a very long line...felt bad for the people who didn't make it. i remember when we were in summerstage that we waited a long time and listened to this guy on a synthesizer...weird but koo at the same time. then i saw flans and him coming out with his wife and another woman and man in white gowns singing somethin that i cant rmemeber. next came the moldy peaches dressed up as a unicorn, super man, a cow.. i think?, and some other stuff. then...TMBG came out and i was surprised that there were no horns and no bari sax. well i was shorter than my older sister than so she lifted me up a bunch to take pictures that didn't come out well but it was all good. lots and lots of standing that day and frustratioin of not getting up front but instead rows back but still close

your sister was nice to do that, Worm.

i won't go to free shows. even though it's free, you still end up feeling gypped.

I haven't seen them yet...

they were in your town, Bif. you went to the movie instead.

My first TMBG show will be in 24 days, 7 hours and 39 minutes.

Give or take a few seconds...

And my second will be in 27 days, 8 hours and 39 minutes, my third 28 days, 8 hours and 39 minutes.

Not that I'm counting or anything...

well you oughta be!

Mine was July 9 in Minneapolis.

I have been a fan since 1990 - the first time I saw/heard Birdhouse on MuchMusic (Canada's video channel, which used to be superior to MTV until, alas, it too fell into the "teeny-bop ghetto" to quote Flans). I immediately bought Flood (same day!) and tracked down 1st album and Lincon the day after that.

I've been a devoted fan ever since. So why, you may ask was this my first show (14 years later!)?

Well, I live in Winnipeg Manitoba. A decent sized Canadian city (700 000 or so) that the Johns haven't visited on tour - despite, I'm convinced, a strong following here (sadly, no radio support). From 1990-1994 I was a 2-job working, university student with no time to travel anywhere. In 1994 I got married and took a teaching position in a remote northern town where I remained until moving back to Winnipeg in 1999. By then, we have 2 kids - added a 3rd in 2001.

Between two teaching careers and 3 small children - my wife and I never vacationed or went anywhere near a town that ever had a TMBG show.

Finally, almost on a whim, I say to the wife on Monday July 5, "Dear, I'd really like to see TMBG - what do you say to driving down to Minneapolis on Thursday, (it's a 9 hour drive from Wpg to Minn.) On Friday, we'll let the kids go nuts at Camp Snoopy (the Amusement Park in the Mall of America). Then, that evening, you and the kids will mellow out at the hotel while I see TMBG. Then Saturday we'll go back to the Mall to shop and drive back home Saturday night while the kids sleep. So how about it?"

To my shock and awe, she agreed.

My first TMBG show is unbelievable. I am blown away by their stage presence - they are witty and hilarious between songs. The song selection is amazing. Fingertips live! The confetti canon on James K Polk (just like in the Polish Hall show in Gigantic) was a great touch. Perfect blend of new material and "greatest hits".

As the show draws closer to the end of their set - they announce a free, kids concert early Saturday afternoon at some downtown park. I convince the wife that the shops at the mall can wait until after lunch and we take our 7, 5, and 3 year old boys (all of whom really enjoy TMBG music and the Direct From Brooklyn DVD) to a great show. We got there just in time for their set, so we were kind of far from the stage, but the kids still got to hear some of their fav TMBG songs (Don't Let's Start, Why Does the Sun Shine, She's an Angel, Istanbul). They had a great time.

I know that my kids are pretty young, and memories fade. But I hope that they remember their first "concert" and appreciate that they didn't have to wait 14 years to see them. My 5 year old enjoyed TMBG more than Camp Snoopy, so that's a start.

True to my word, I let my wife wander the Mall for the rest of the day and made the exhausted 9 hour drive home at night while they all slept.

I don't know how interesting this story will be to anyone, but now that you've finished it, it's permamently stored in the neural pathways of your brain and you're stuck with it.

So there.

that was a wonderful story, clayk!!! thanks for telling it.

to the board. i'm the owner. i hope you have fun here.

it was like 13 years from the time i became a fan till i finally got to see em, if that makes you feel any better. i live in a small town in Arkansas. my 1st show was only 3 1/2 hours away though, so now i feel better too.

it's great that you got to take your kids to the kids show. don't worry... they'll remember. mine didn't get to come to my first show, but they came to the 2nd, so it was more special than the first. after it was over, & i got tons of great pix, & met the Flans, i broke down & cried like a baby in the T-Shirt line. it was just such a perfect night...

anyhoo, thanks for joining! let me know what title you'd like. (they're all custom here. less work for me) after we get to know you, i'll PM you the password to the protected forums.

oh, one more thing....

how did you find this place? (sorry... i always ask. i'm curious as a cat)

When I finally get to see the Johns (23 days, 1 hour and 54 minutes...) it'll be over 14 years too since I first got into them. A bit like you, clay, combinations of the rarity of them visiting the Uk and timings with college, then kids, etc made me think I'd never get the chance.

I was getting so desperate before they announced their UK dates for this September that I'd started saving to fly to the states in 2005 just to get to see them! Hence my bulk purchase of tickets for 3 of their 4 UK shows!

chuckie! i almost wish you woulda come to the US though... but i doubt you'd have made it to Arkansas.

clay, and to the group. I'm GR.

That was a pretty cool story. I was a fan of TMBG for only a year-and-a-half or so before I finally got to see them in concert on July 11 of this year (in Omaha, NE), so I guess I was rather lucky compared to folks like you (and biff and chuckie) who had to wait 13 or 14 years to finally see them.

you know what? i think the wait only made it all the sweeter. also, my first show was really bittersweet cuz the kids couldn't come. afterwards, i wasn't sure if i'd ever get to see em again, & i got really depressed for like a month. galoot promised me we'd see em again though, & we'd take the kids. he always keeps his promises & even though he had to skip 3 days of work, we got to see their 20th Annivirsary tour as a family. that show felt more like the first time than my first show.

anyhoo, i guess what i'm trying to say is that they were totally worth the wait, & they are pretty much every time you get to see em play.


(can i ever say it enough?)