Local club welcomes return of Giants
By Mark McHugh Kanson staff writer
Now, three years and two albums later, the group is back in Lawrence to play at The Bottleneck, 737 New
John Flansburgh, guitarist and vocalist of the two-man band They Might Be Giants, said he wished the group had played in Lawrence more often after its second tour began in 1987.
"I thought we'd be playing Lawrence all the time when we first started out," Flansburgh said. "It seems like me was a rocking them."
For this rock duo, Lawrence always has been just a stopping point between links on tours.
Hampshire St., tomorrow for an all ages show.
Flansburgh said the group preferred to play at clubs instead of in stuffy auditoriums.
"I think they smell like beer, They're great. They're rock clubs," Flansburgh said.
Flansburg said glamorous people who had been successful in the music business became complacent with their status and eventually hit a creative drought. That is one thing the Giants have avoided by writing and playing music for people who go to rock clubs.
"I don't think we're a glamorous band, so glamorous people don't attend our show," he said. "It's just
regular people who rule at our shows. Cher is not welcome."
Flansburgh said people who were immensely successful couldn't get down from their own level and this hurt their creative productivity because they were not willing to risk criticism.
"You can always do something," he said. "You just have to face its lack of success. You can't expect people to like everything you do."
In March 1987, They Might Be Giants played for about 35 people at The Bottleneck.
At that time the group did not have much money, so they spent the night on someone's floor in a Lawrence apartment.
"It was just a spirited show," Flansburgh said. "But it was at the time when things were just really weird." There was a glimmer of light for us,
The group's new release, Flood, its first album on a major label, shows how mainstream members do not like being mainstream to be heard, Flansburgh said.
This is an ideal the two have shared since they started playing music together in 1861.
"They're just a fun band. How could you not like them?" said Wade Johnston, Lawrence junior. "They aren't trying to change the world. They aren't trying to do anything but have fun."
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