Concert Review: Big Digits, The Ruby Suns, Tilly & The Wall

So last night my sis and I went to show in downtown Boston. I hadn't been to a show since TMBG, so I was about do. I'd been wanting to see Tilly & The Wall for a while and they'd come through Boston several times, so I gave'em a shot.

Both my sister and I had early days today, and she had over an hour to get home that night, so it was a risky venture. But in the end, I think it was worth it.

We started at 9PM with Big Digits, a "band" I'd never heard of before. This opening, opening band will probably get the longest description because, quite frankly, it blew my mind. They started with one guy on the stage in front of his Macbook and a Wii remote in his hand. He had on a T-shirt proudly proclaiming "Whoomp! There it is!" and some sport shorts right out of the early 80s. As my sister said, this guy might have rolled out of his BU dorm room and straggled across the street to the Paradise. He proceeded to do his DJ thang, drinking beer with his right hand and changing samples and bass lines with the Wii remote in his left hand. DJ Mark E. Moon definitely subscribed to the "More Bass is Better" school of thought. We were up in the balcony, and when I commented to my sister that the bass was a little out of control, she said, "Yeah, it's making my boobs jiggle." "Mine, too", I said.

He never took his eyes off his screen, and sort of bopped up and down to the beat. It was one of the most awkward things I'd ever seen on stage. My ever-observant sis spotted another oddity. I dude with a ninja hood on over at the end of the stage was REALLY getting into it. Soon afterward, things got more awkward.

The ninja guy (sporting very tight, bleach white, denim cut-offs) jumped up on the stage with another dude. Then the rapping began. Big Digits hail form Cambridge, MA. They were very white, and they were there to rap and dance for us. For the next half hour, they busted every dance move from the last three decades or so. The Robot came out several times. There were definitely some New Kids on the Block moves. Some random flailing. They rapped about fashion, being progressive...you name it. Ninja guy's hood started falling down, revealing a handlebar mustache and some mutton chop side burns. At that point he looked kind of like he was wearing chain mail.

For a while, I just found the entire thing hilarious. The rapping, the dancing, the DJ still waving his Wii remote around...it was too much. Then I ran out of snarky comments and just sort of became hypnotized by the entire thing. By their last song, when the non-ninja guy whipped out a tambourine to accompany their rap, I kind of wanted to be friends with these guys. At one point, my sister said, "This is like something you'd see on YouTube." Funny she mentioned that, because here's just a tiny taste of what you all missed by not seeing Big Digits live:


The Ruby Suns were up next at 10 (whoa, it was getting late!), but they were a bit of a letdown. I like their most recent CD (see a brief review of Sea Lions here), but I'm pretty sure there were about a dozen people playing the songs for that album. There were exactly two people up on that stage last night. I realize it's a long trip form New Zealand, but c'mon! Try as they might, the synthesizers and multiple instrument playing did not compensate for the loss of that many people. The music went from something kind of tribal and fun to something very, very 80s, and not the good 80s. And really, it was only 1.5 people up there, because I'm pretty sure the woman was on ludes. I can recommend the album, not so much the live show. I'm assuming these Kiwis are much better playing at home.

Finally, at 11PM, a good hour or so after I usually go to bed, Tilly & The Wall came on. Full disclosure: we did not stay for whole set. I have no idea how long they played. I just knew that we had to work in the morning and my sis had a long drive ahead of her. That said, what we saw rocked. Yes, their outfits were a tad pretentious. Yes, the tap-dancer-as-percussionist is a bit gimmicky. But they put on a true performance, and they sounded great. I was actually pretty mesmerized by Jamie, the tap dancer. She puts enough energy into her dancing than you can usually get out of an entire band. And the vocalists, Neely and Kianna actually sound much better live than they do on CD. The whole band sounded better live. I've liked T&tW since their first CD, and they definitely have a few great songs and several good songs. But live, I think all their songs sounded great. I highly recommend seeing them live if you can. The video below is for one of my favorite songs of their newest album. It doesn't really do the live show justice (and in a bit of a departure, it's actual drums), but it's still a fun song:

Pot Kettle Black from Team Love on Vimeo.

Not To Put Too Fine a Point On It....

Anthony Bourdain, celebrity chef and author, describes in his biography the life-changing raw oyster that made him realize that food would be a central part of his life.

My raw oyster was the video for "Birdhouse in Your Soul", by They Might Be Giants, which I saw at my grandparents' house on the MTV (we had no cable at our house, so MTV was a rare treat). I would have been 13 years old, and before that point, music was really not a part of my life. I rarely listened to the radio, and I'd never purchased or asked for music of any kind. This video caught my eye; the song caught my ear. As soon as I was able, I purchased Flood, my first album. It's the album that made me fall in love with music. It made me the music snob I am today, always wanting to be that guy who listens to the weird stuff. In my rural New Hampshire high school, I was the guy who listened to They Might Be Giants and The Pixies--really, the guy. I honestly have no idea what other people listened to, but it wasn't what I wanted to hear.

This is all a roundabout way of saying that I went to see a TMBG show tonight, and it was fantastic. My sister got the tickets and I saw them for the first time in about 8 years. Not only was it the best Giants show I'd ever seen, but it was one of the best shows I've ever seen, period. After over 25 years together (!), the two Johns still bring it. Sure, Flansburgh was drinking coffee during the set and had to tie his shoe at one point, and Linnell was recovering from a cold, but the energy they brought was still amazing. I could not wipe the grin off my face from the first song to the last song of the second encore. I was singing and dancing along with the hundreds of other fans, ranging in age from 14 to people in their 60s.

I don't think it was just the nostalgia--though that certainly played a role. They were genuinely good, and if they weren't having fun up there, they're damn good actors. I have to find the guitarist's name, because he was phenomenal. They cherry-picked the best songs from nearly all their albums, including at least 4 from Flood and "Fingertips" from Apollo 18. Even the songs they played from their last album, which was really not my favorite, sounded a lot better live. I guess I really hadn't appreciated it before, perhaps because the other venues I've seen them in were kind of on the crappy side, but they really are incredible live.

Hands down, the most fun I've had at a show in a long time. I felt 13 again. I was reminded why I love music as much as I do. The fans are my people, and if you're reading this blog, probably your people, too. If you've never seen TMBG live before, do yourself a favor and check them out. Verdict: like realizing that you can go back again.