They Might Be Giants with Jonathan Coulton
Event on 2012-02-01 19:00:00
Time : 7:00pm
Location : Cains Ballroom, 423 N. Main Street, Tulsa

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS w/ Jonathan Coulton

Wednesday – 2/1/2012
7:00 PM | 14 & Up | + fees adv / + fees dos

Combining a knack for infectious melodies with a quirky, bizarre sense of humor and a vaguely avant-garde aesthetic borrowed from the New York post-punk underground, They Might Be Giants became one of the most unlikely alternative success stories of the late 80s and early 90s. Musically, the duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell borrowed from everywhere, but their freewheeling eclecticism was enhanced by their arcane, geeky sense of humor. They would reference everything from British Invasion to Tin Pan Alley, while making allusion to pulp fiction and President Polk. Through their string of indie releases and constant touring as a duo, They Might Be Giants built up a huge following on college campuses during the late 80s, switching to a major label in the early 90s. With support from MTV, 1990s Flood became a gold album, and with it, the band began to reap commercial rewards, moving into the status of one of the most popular alternative bands before grunge. However, the groups whimsical outlook became buried in the avalanche of post-grunge groups that dominated MTV and modern rock radio in the mid-90s, and the group retreated to its cult following.
Flansburgh and Linnell met when they were children in Lincoln, MA. During high school, they began writing songs together, yet they never officially formed a band. Both Johns went to college after high school, with Linnell playing in the Mundanes, a new wave group from Rhode Island. By 1981, the pair had reunited, deciding to move to Brooklyn to pursue a musical career. Taking their name from a George C. Scott film and performing their original material with a drum machine, They Might Be Giants soon became fixtures on the Manhattan underground. Although Flansburgh and Linnell were building a cult following, they had a hard time getting a record deal, so they set up Dial-A-Song — a phone line that played songs on an answering machine — as a way to get their songs heard. The gimmick worked. Not only did it lead to a deal with the indie label Bar/None, but over the years it was a successful venture; at one point, the service was receiving hundreds of calls a day.

They Might Be Giants released their eponymous debut in 1986, and the album became a college radio hit; it also made waves on MTV due to the inventive video for Dont Lets Start. Two years later they released Lincoln, which expanded their following considerably. Featuring the college hit Ana Ng, Lincoln climbed to number 89 on the charts, earning the attention of major labels. They Might Be Giants decided to sign with Elektra Records in 1990, releasing Flood later that year. Flood worked its way to gold status, thanks to the singles Birdhouse in Your Soul and Istanbul (Not Constantinople), which both had popular videos directed by Flansburgh. In the wake of the groups success, Restless/Bar/None released the B-sides and rarities compilation Miscellaneous T in 1991.

Apollo 18, released in 1992, wasnt quite as successful as Flood, yet it consolidated the groups cult. For the albums supporting tour, They Might Be Giants performed with a full backing band for the first time, hiring former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Brian Doherty. The shift toward a full band coincided with the dominance of grunge rock in alternative rock. Though they were strengthened by the powerful sound of a full band, They Might Be Giants failed to receive much attention from MTV, mainstream modern rock radio, or college radio when they released John Henry in the fall of 1994. Recorded with the full band, John Henry lost the group several fans, yet the groups concerts remained popular attractions, especially on American college campuses. Still, the bands next album, 1996s Factory Showroom, was virtually ignored by the press, MTV, and radio. The live Severe Tire Damage followed two years later.

They Might Be Giants maintained their hardest working men in show business status in 2001 when they issued Mink Car, a stunning follow-up to Factory Showroom that boasted collaborations with M. Doughty, Adam Schlesinger, and the Elegant Too. They celebrated their 20th anniversary in summer 2002 with the release of their first childrens album, No Rhino also celebrated the bands tenure with the first-ever They Might Be Giants retrospective, Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants. A year later, Flansburgh and Linnell joined Canadian artist Marcel Dzama for the childrens book and CD set Bed, Bed, Bed. The Indestructible Object EP arrived in spring 2004, just a few months before the bands eighth full-length album, The Spine. Early in 2005, Here Come the ABCs and its accompanying DVD were the bands first releases for Disney Sound. Later that year, They Got Lost arrived.

Over the course of the next two years, TMBG released a series of monthly and bimonthly podcasts. They also contributed to various film soundtracks, including Disneys Meet the Robinsons and the film adaptation of Neil Gaimans Coraline. The bands 14th studio release, The Else, hit stores in the summer of 2007. Here Come the 123s, the sequel to Here Come the ABCs, appeared in early 2008. Later that year, the CD/DVD set Venue Songs, which featured appearances by actor/comedian John Hodgman, was released. Here Comes Science, which featured songs about paleontology, astronomy, and chemistry and included a DVD with animated versions of the Johns and videos by Divya Srinivasan, Tiny Inventions, David Cowles, Hine Mizushima, and Feel Good Anyway, was released in fall 2009. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

at Cain’s Ballroom
423 North Main Street
Tulsa, United States

LAVA Music presents BiG WiDE GRiN in Concert
Event on 2012-02-04 19:00:00
LAVA Music presents BiG WiDE GRiN in the beautiful Abounding Grace Sanctuary .

Everything about this award-winning trio is BiG from their stage presence to their sound to their message. They all write, they all sing, and they each play a variety of instruments that they pass around during their concerts – guitars, bass, banjo, mandolin, strum stick, and djembe. They trade off lead vocals and their 3 part harmonies are as beautiful as they are precise. Add to that the kind of harmonies that give you goose bumps, a shiver down your spine, or – yep, you guessed it – a BiG WiDE GRiN.

Elaine Dempsey, Lawrence Lambert, and Karl Werne are BiG WiDE GRiN. When this bi-coastal trio – from California and Virginia – gets together it’s more than just a tour. It’s a celebration. They write and perform contemporary acoustic music with a feel that is both familiar and nostalgic. Think about the groups that made you fall in love with this type of music – Crosby Stills & Nash, The Mamas &The Papas, or Peter Paul & Mary. Think about of all those great harmonies, all those socially conscious lyrics, songs of protest, peace, love and togetherness. Think about Poco, Pure Prairie League, and Simon & Garfunkel. Their songs spoke to us as much with the interplay of guitars and voices as they did with their lyrics.

BiG WiDE GRiN is currently recording tracks for their 4th CD, expected this year. Their previous releases are receiving increased worldwide airplay, and they truly sparkle in a live setting. They each have a unique musical style, and all three contribute original material to their set lists.

They are constantly on the move at festivals, concert series, or select house concerts and have shared the stage collectively with such artists as Janis Ian, Harriett Shock, Lowen & Navarro, Richie Havens, and Bruce Hornsby. They have toured with legendary blues man, Keb Mo.

Their three different personalities create an on-stage chemistry that draws people in, and they are natural entertainers: very warm and connected, very real and often, very funny. It is not unusual to see their audience laugh, cry, sing and dance at their concerts.

BiG WiDE GRiN will perform at Abounding Grace Sanctuary, 2450 S. Kolb, just north of Golf Links on the west side of Kolb, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Advance tickets are online, all fees included. Tickets will be cash at the door. Doors open at 6:30.

at Abounding Grace Church – ELCA
2450 S Kolb Road
Tucson, United States

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