They Might Be Giants
1992 October 5
Modjeska Theatre
Milwaukee, WI

(audience DAT, details unknown)->CDR->(unknown extraction)->SHN (seeking)

Total time 99:14
550 MB

Disk 1 (51:09)
01. The Extended Spider Intro (Ladies and Gentlemen)  0:33
02. Space Suit  1:48
03. I'm Having a Heart Attack  0:25
04. The Statue Got Me High  3:47
05. Number Three  1:33
06. Twisting [extended ending]  3:23
07. Particle Man  2:22
08. She's Actual Size  1:58
09. The Guitar  4:13
10. Ana Ng  3:07
11. Your Racist Friend  3:45
12. Piece of Dirt  2:23
13. Lucky Ball and Chain  2:50
14. Dinner Bell  2:29
15. I Palindrome I  2:52
16. Cowtown  7:09
17. Runaway [Stump the Band]  3:22
18. See the Constellation  3:04
  
Disk 2 (48:04)
01. Someone Keeps Moving My Chair  2:54
02. She's an Angel  3:19
03. Narrow Your Eyes  2:59
04. 32 Footsteps  2:59
05. Purple Toupee  2:52
06. The Famous Polka  1:28
07. Stage Collapses  5:57
08. Chess Piece Face  1:21
09. Maybe I Know  2:19
10. Mammal  2:15
11. Istanbul (Not Constantinople) [extended]  7:35
12. Hide Away, Folk Family [car alarm]  4:41
13. Birdhouse in Your Soul  3:15
14. Frankenstein  4:03


review by Joel Kuester

It has been almost 10 years to the day that I write this, but the events of
that night are emblazoned in my mind's eye to this day.

It was not only my first They Might Be Giant's live concert, but the first of
hundreds of concerts that I have been to since that day. If I was a concert
virgin, then my first experience was like being tossed into a leather club and
stripped naked and beaten.

Standing in line before the show with my friends was uneventful, but
expectation was thick in the air. This crowd was all hardcore fans, and
actually had a different 'feel' than all the TMBG shows I have been to after.
Most of the people were older college art-types, whereas the shows lately seem
to draw a younger, more mainstream audience.

Once we were let in, I was horrified to discover that the Modjeska Theatre was
filled with seats. We were looking forward to dancing, so we grumpily staked
out our seats, about 10 rows from the stage, which was built out with an adhoc
frame over the shallow orchestra pit.

I remember seeing a guy with a bright red smoking jacket and fez sitting in the
third row, and thinking how cool it would be to own an actual fez. Yeah, I
know... I was only 16, gimme a break here.

I actually don't remember the opening act, except that I think it was a guy
with an acoustic guitar. We did a lot of talking over him, but what I heard
didn't impress me much at the time.

This was great show, and the Johns were in top form! The sound system was
actually pretty decent from my perspective, and even with the seats the crowd
was moving around a bit, and I only saw a few stragglers who remained in their
seats.

This next part has been debated a bit. Right before The Famous Polka, Flans
made a comment that 'people should get up here and dance'. I don't have an
exact quote obviously, but it must have seemed clear to pretty much everyone,
because an immediate queue started in the aisles to scramble up on stage.

By the time my friends and I got to the front of the stage, there was a heaping
crowd of bouncing fools already up there... and the music was going strong. My
friend Jeremy was climbing up when there was a sudden commotion.

The adhoc stage collapsed forward, catching Jeremy between the front row of
seats and itself, and pushing a few dozen people on the main floor backward. On
the main stage, the band faltered to a stop as each one looked down on a mass
of writhing bodies. The theatre darkened and then came up to full light within
a minute. I heard Jeremy yell in pain, and a few of us slid his trapped leg out
from under the stage.

The next few minutes were a blur, as people rushed forward and back, trying to
get everything under control. A few were hurt pretty bad and I do remember
seeing one bleeding and being walked out by a bouncer. The mood was pretty
dismal, and we all agreed the show was over for sure at this point.

All heads turned forward to what was left of the stage as Flans came out from
backstage somewhere. I think They were talking to the show promoters to get a
handle on the situation. Flans said something along the lines of 'we didn't
mean for anyone to come up on stage!' and he let everyone know that the show
was continuing in a few minutes.

The rest of the band eventually came out and after they started to play for a
little while, the lights dimmed back down.

Everything was pretty low key for a while, but by the end of the night
everyone's energy level returned.

All in all, a night not to be forgotten ever. We were all greeted by a huge
mess in the streets, akin to a small riot of confusion after the show.
Apparently, during the show, the local media carried a few reports of the stage
collapse on their nightly news, whi