TMBG - Gen Con

[kevins_concerts]

After seeing TMBG the other night (2020), I realized their show at Gen Con wasn't in this log. I had been going to the Gen Con gaming convention for over a decade. They changed their format a little bit, and started having a party, and got bands in. I thought this was when the convention changed ownership, but when I did some research to find out when this happened, I found the TMBG show was the year before that happened.

They had the street blocked off and a big stage set up. The band was They Might Be Giants. I don't really remember the show, except that I was pretty sure they played "Why Does the Sun Shine?" and "James K. Polk" (nerd songs). I'm not certain of the date. I assume it was on the Saturday of the con, and I think it was always in the middle of August. Setlist.fm says they were CT on Thursday the 15th, and in DC on the 16th, so I'll say it was the 17th.. I remember thinking this nerd band was a very appropriate band for the convention.

Wikipedia tells me that this would have been shortly before Factory Showroom, but the setlists of the time show a lot of songs from that album. I assume they were warming up for their big tour. The band would have been Graham Maby on bass and Brian Doherty on drums.

The shows on the two nights before had almost the same setlist (according to setlist.fm).


Older
Why Does the Sun Shine?
Ana Ng
Meet James Ensor
Snail Shell
Spiraling Shape
Your Own Worst Enemy
Subliminal
Twisting
James K. Polk
How Can I Sing Like a Girl?
Spider
The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
Particle Man
The Statue Got Me High
Whistling in the Dark
AKA Driver
XTC vs. Adam Ant
Till My Head Falls Off
Shoehorn With Teeth
Turn Around
Spy
Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
S-E-X-X-Y
No One Knows My Plan
Sleeping in the Flowers
They Got Lost
We're the Replacements
Birdhouse in Your Soul
Maybe I Know (Lesley Gore cover)