TMBG in Santa Cruz

I posted this elsewhere but kinda wanted to have it here since I had a lot of TMBG entries once upon a time.

Ben and I went to a TMBG concert in Santa Cruz last night at the Rio Theater, and it wasn't too crowded when we arrived in the middle of Moon Hooch's set, so we were really near the stage. I haven't stood that close up for a TMBG show in quite some time and it reminded me of going to their shows in the 1990's in some ways.  (I was wearing my Apollo 18 shirt and actually went up to high-five the only other person in the place wearing one, and we ended up sticking around there, along with this 22-year-old kid who was a major TMBG fanboy and was just like "omg I wish I'd still get to see them tour in 20 years", which made me and Ben think how "isn't it nuts that we're at a TMBG concert 20 years later and would we ever have predicted this in 1992?".)

Set list:

Istanbul
You're On Fire
Clap Your Hands
The Guitar
Letterbox
Boat of Car
Call You Mom
Circular Karate Chop
Meet the Elements
Tesla
32 Footsteps
Damn Good Times
He's Loco (the Avatars of They)
Dr. Worm
Alienation's For The Rich
Nanobots
New York City
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
Black Ops
Cloisonne
Icky
Number Three
Fingertips
Birdhouse in Your Soul
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Drum Solo / Lou Reed Tribute
When You Die
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Dead
Everything Right is Wrong Again

We noticed that they played nothing from Lincoln or John Henry. I think they're practicing to do another First Album show soon. The funny thing is that the first TMBG show Ben and I went to together was a First Album show... for new year's 1993.

While I was slightly disappointed with the set list, it was still a great show and full of all of their (un)usual schtick, including Flansburgh at one point yelling "HEY! WHAT ARE ALL OF YOU PEOPLE IN THE BACK DOING SITTING DOWN? I'M 53 YEARS OLD, ANYONE OUT THERE YOUNGER THAN ME BETTER STAND UP RIGHT NOW!" before playing Damn Good Times.

They had a moment where Flans told Dan Miller to pose with a melodica before "Icky", and "everyone get out your phones and tweet a photo of Dan Miller with his melodica to Marty Beller!" (the drummer).  Well... I took a decent shot and tweeted it and guess what, they tweeted back saying it was a good shot.  Yay me?  (https://twitter.com/marinerds/status/394731516992827392)

I guess the great thing is that TMBG are still just as nerdy and weird now as they've ever been, so it's still just a great show.