Brooklyn Show #2 Report
Here's my review of the second Music Hall of Williamsburg show, on December 30. Pictures.
The setlist at this show wasn't as exciting as the first night, but there was one thing that made this show much more exciting, which is my best friend APOLLO was there with me. We talk nonstop every day but have never gotten to meet in person before so just being there with her made the whole experience much better. I'm used to going to shows alone, so being there not just with someone but one of my very favourite people in the whole world, was fantastic. I would like to point out that she came in spite of having pneumonia cos SHE IS JUST THAT HARDCORE.
So "Where Your Eyes Don't Go" is my third-favourite song on Lincoln and I'd only gotten to see it once before, so that was super-exciting to start the show with. I do much prefer the accordion arrangement (like with EVERYTHING ELSE), but it was still exciting.
Flans said that he and John had coordinated their outfits but I have no idea what he was talking about cos they weren't wearing similar things. Then he said he was getting ready for New Year's tomorrow--"Yesterday I dropped a bottle on my head." Then they were talking about playing songs from Flood. John: "People like that Flood album. After that things fell apart. The money got too good." Then he said the next song had "the highest density of words of any song, except maybe there's one Meat Puppets song," and I got all excited cos I knew he was talking about "Letterbox," which is my third-favourite song on Flood and one they never play.
A couple songs later was "Cowtown." Before it, Flans said Stan Harrison was going to be playing sax (but it was actually clarinet?), and John said, "What we in the band know as the agony stick."
JF: This is the first song John and I worked up together.
JL: It was last week.
JF: Rehearsals were short...and acrimonious.
After "Lie Still, Little Bottle" (no stick sadly), Flans said, "We don't usually play a slow song after another slow song--it's almost bad luck, because it tacitly implies that the next song will be even slower." Then John said something that made NO SENSE about "barking people" (unless he heard someone barking in the crowd, but I certainly didn't) and Flans said, "Those aren't people, John." Noooooooooooooo clue what that was about but, like many things, I'm sure it made PERFECT SENSE inside John Linnell's head even if it made no sense anywhere else.
Seeing "Road Movie to Berlin" live makes me feel so BADASS cos there will be all these Floodies singing along and when it gets to the extra verse they're suddenly silent cos they don't know it BUT I DO. After the show I asked Apollo "You know what makes me feel badass?" and she immediately said "The 'Road Movie to Berlin' thing?", haha.
Before they played "Insect Hospital," Flans was talking about the new album.
JF: If you're in England or inside John Linnell's head--
JL: Get the hell out!
JF: It's called Get the Hell Out.
Then he said that really in America it's called Nanobots but yeh apparently British people say "nahno"?? I had no idea. Also oh my godddddddd I wish I were inside John Linnell's head.
Then Flans said how there are 25 songs, most of them are under 2 and a half minutes, and one of them is under 7 seconds. Then John said one of them is 3 and a half minutes and Flans said "We need to take that song out back."
Flans was introducing Danny and he said he was "not wearing red pants tonight for the first time ever." I was amused.
They did Ana and god that song is seriously THE MOST INTENSE THING since I got my tattoo. There are a few other songs I like more, but that song and I will always have a special bond now so seeing it affects me in a way no other song does.
When Flans was talking about Dan Levine getting out the euphonium for "Piece of Dirt," he said playing euphonium is "a recessive trait among musicians."
Before "Women and Men" John was confirming what key it's in, and Flans said, "If you're playing along," and John said "If you're playing along with our little game" in this faux-evil way and it was cute. Then Flans said, "Most bands learn all their songs, but we find it keeps it fresher for us if we forget them immediately after we play them. It's a choice. It might not seem like a choice, but it's a choice. It keeps us confused."
In the encore, John said the next song was from Join Us, but the song was "The Mesopotamians" so he was of course wrong. So Danny corrected him and Flans started improv-ing this "Join us, join us" song.
JL: Danny actually knows what's going on. (to Flans) You knew.
JF: I knew, I was covering for you.
JL: They're all laughing at me. "Linnell's getting old, he's lost it!"
For the second encore they did "Mr. Me" again (soooooooooooo fun with horns, but not fun enough to make up for CONSPICUOUS LACK OF ACCORDION) and then ended with "Whistling in the Dark," with accordion (YAY) and Flans playing the bass drum they hide behind when they're Avataring (so sad that he lost his marching one in the equipment truck fire). They turned off all the lights and turned on the discoball on the ceiling, and I was of course disappointed that I couldn't take pictures, but I gotta admit it looked cool.
The setlist at this show wasn't as exciting as the first night, but there was one thing that made this show much more exciting, which is my best friend APOLLO was there with me. We talk nonstop every day but have never gotten to meet in person before so just being there with her made the whole experience much better. I'm used to going to shows alone, so being there not just with someone but one of my very favourite people in the whole world, was fantastic. I would like to point out that she came in spite of having pneumonia cos SHE IS JUST THAT HARDCORE.
So "Where Your Eyes Don't Go" is my third-favourite song on Lincoln and I'd only gotten to see it once before, so that was super-exciting to start the show with. I do much prefer the accordion arrangement (like with EVERYTHING ELSE), but it was still exciting.
Flans said that he and John had coordinated their outfits but I have no idea what he was talking about cos they weren't wearing similar things. Then he said he was getting ready for New Year's tomorrow--"Yesterday I dropped a bottle on my head." Then they were talking about playing songs from Flood. John: "People like that Flood album. After that things fell apart. The money got too good." Then he said the next song had "the highest density of words of any song, except maybe there's one Meat Puppets song," and I got all excited cos I knew he was talking about "Letterbox," which is my third-favourite song on Flood and one they never play.
A couple songs later was "Cowtown." Before it, Flans said Stan Harrison was going to be playing sax (but it was actually clarinet?), and John said, "What we in the band know as the agony stick."
JF: This is the first song John and I worked up together.
JL: It was last week.
JF: Rehearsals were short...and acrimonious.
After "Lie Still, Little Bottle" (no stick sadly), Flans said, "We don't usually play a slow song after another slow song--it's almost bad luck, because it tacitly implies that the next song will be even slower." Then John said something that made NO SENSE about "barking people" (unless he heard someone barking in the crowd, but I certainly didn't) and Flans said, "Those aren't people, John." Noooooooooooooo clue what that was about but, like many things, I'm sure it made PERFECT SENSE inside John Linnell's head even if it made no sense anywhere else.
Seeing "Road Movie to Berlin" live makes me feel so BADASS cos there will be all these Floodies singing along and when it gets to the extra verse they're suddenly silent cos they don't know it BUT I DO. After the show I asked Apollo "You know what makes me feel badass?" and she immediately said "The 'Road Movie to Berlin' thing?", haha.
Before they played "Insect Hospital," Flans was talking about the new album.
JF: If you're in England or inside John Linnell's head--
JL: Get the hell out!
JF: It's called Get the Hell Out.
Then he said that really in America it's called Nanobots but yeh apparently British people say "nahno"?? I had no idea. Also oh my godddddddd I wish I were inside John Linnell's head.
Then Flans said how there are 25 songs, most of them are under 2 and a half minutes, and one of them is under 7 seconds. Then John said one of them is 3 and a half minutes and Flans said "We need to take that song out back."
Flans was introducing Danny and he said he was "not wearing red pants tonight for the first time ever." I was amused.
They did Ana and god that song is seriously THE MOST INTENSE THING since I got my tattoo. There are a few other songs I like more, but that song and I will always have a special bond now so seeing it affects me in a way no other song does.
When Flans was talking about Dan Levine getting out the euphonium for "Piece of Dirt," he said playing euphonium is "a recessive trait among musicians."
Before "Women and Men" John was confirming what key it's in, and Flans said, "If you're playing along," and John said "If you're playing along with our little game" in this faux-evil way and it was cute. Then Flans said, "Most bands learn all their songs, but we find it keeps it fresher for us if we forget them immediately after we play them. It's a choice. It might not seem like a choice, but it's a choice. It keeps us confused."
In the encore, John said the next song was from Join Us, but the song was "The Mesopotamians" so he was of course wrong. So Danny corrected him and Flans started improv-ing this "Join us, join us" song.
JL: Danny actually knows what's going on. (to Flans) You knew.
JF: I knew, I was covering for you.
JL: They're all laughing at me. "Linnell's getting old, he's lost it!"
For the second encore they did "Mr. Me" again (soooooooooooo fun with horns, but not fun enough to make up for CONSPICUOUS LACK OF ACCORDION) and then ended with "Whistling in the Dark," with accordion (YAY) and Flans playing the bass drum they hide behind when they're Avataring (so sad that he lost his marching one in the equipment truck fire). They turned off all the lights and turned on the discoball on the ceiling, and I was of course disappointed that I couldn't take pictures, but I gotta admit it looked cool.