No corners for you! :)

OMG, I finally, FINALLY got to see They Might Be Giants tonight! I've only been a fan for, oh, what, like 16, 17 years, something like that? (I was enabled with "Apollo 18," which came out in '92.) And every damn time they've come here, there's been a reason I couldn't go -- couldn't get in 'cause I was just barely below the age limit; had nobody to go with me (which stopped me from going to shows for quite a long time, sadly); had to work.

But not tonight. Tonight, I went, I saw, and it was AWESOME.

Actually, first, there was the opening act, which was ... oh, wow. Peter Stampfel is apparently a music industry legend, a folkie who's played with just about everyone, including Dylan, and whose onetime band was the namesake for Rounder Records. But holy damn. Let's just say this: There were a lot of boomer types who did a LOT of acid in the '60s. Clearly, he's one of them. This guy was like a "this is your brain on drugs" ad -- kids, don't do too many drugs, or you'll end up warbling like a drunken wombat, jiggling around in absurd herky-jerky "dance moves," forgetting the lyrics to your own songs routinely, burping into the mic in mid-verse (I kid you not) and other such cringe- and giggle-inducing things. His two "best" songs (and "best" is a relative term, surely) were the last two -- "Stick Your Ass In The Air" (I'm not kidding) and a banjo and warbling version of "I Will Survive" (seriously, I'm not kidding).

And then, and THEN, omg. Just omg. First off, I made some totally kickass line buddies, 'cause not only did we score the perfect spot stage-side, stage Flansy, but when I ended up behind them, they scooted over to make me a spot right against the stage, closest to the center, 'cause they knew it was my first show. Awesome line buddies = WIN. And then, they came out. And I was RIGHTFREAKINTHERE! Like seriously -- they came out, and Linell looked me directly in the eye, and then Flansy came over right in front of me and looked right down at me, and I almost died of OMGTHEY'RERIGHTTHERELOOKINGATME! I was so close! A couple of times, Flansy came over right in front of me, and I literally could've reached out and wrapped my whole arm around his leg, he was that close. And once, he bent over playing his bass and I actually had to lean back, 'cause the neck of it almost whacked me in the head. That's how awesomely close I was. And Linell kept looking me in the eye while he was singing and I was singing along. It was so awesomely awesome. :)

I even got a few pics with my better-than-the-old-one cell cam:( Here there be pics )

And the show itself, the show was awesome. They did eight songs of random (including one of their new ones, "Science is Real," which might be a new favorite, and of course, they had to do "The Egg" -- and they did one with hand puppets, which was silly fun), and then they did all of Flood in order. And there was a confetti cannon that shot right over my head during "They Might Be Giants" -- awesomest confetti cannon experience ever, not to mention that confetti somehow got down my bra (not just in my shirt, but wedged right in there) and in my pocket (small pocket, too) and I was still shaking some out of my hoodie when I got home. :) There were two encores after, too, including "The Mesopotamians," "Damn Good Times" and "Alphabet of Nations" (I've totally gotta pick up the kids' albums one of these days -- the only one I have is No!.)

I'm so freakin' glad I finally got to go see Them in person, after all of these years. But was it "worth the wait"? No, 'cause instead, it just made me sad that I've missed seeing them all these years. It was a damn good show, and next time they come, I'll try extra-hard to be able to go again. :)