The first time I ever laughed out loud in a rock club? It was in Manhattan, and They Might Be Giants were playing at a little club called Dr. B's in Soho. It couldn't have been more than 1981 or '82, but they emerged on the scene like a fully formed whoopee cushion. They had it all, and they had it before anyone else did. Long before Prince sequenced his entire show, John Flansburgh and John Linnell had a large TEAC reel-to-reel recorder acting as their rhythm section. Secure in the knowledge that the show could go on regardless of whether they were playing their instruments, the freed Johns would step out from behind their guitar and accordion to wield props or instruct audiences to "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head." There was a cornucopia of pop culture references, leading audience sing-alongs with non sequitur homemade cue cards that took Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" video to... More >>>