TMBG Shirt #28: HFStival 2005

Back in 2005, I attended a huge stadium show in Baltimore, MD. Included in the lineup were two of my favorite bands: TMBG and Garbage. Other acts appearing included Interpol,  Echo & the Bunnymen, New York Dolls, Social Distortion, Good Charlotte, Billy Idol, Coldplay and Foo Fighters. As you might suppose, TMBG didn't get the best reaction from a crowd made up of mostly fans of the big-name acts. I think that I saw one other TMBG shirt.

I found this stunning shirt on eBay last year. It's much prettier than the boring version that I bought at the show. It's kind of a tie-dye pattern, though not nearly as random as other hippi shirts that I've seen.

The back is a collage of band names and logos, including the They Might Be Giants logo near the bottom left.

I shot a little bit of video at this show, just to capture the size of the crowd and TMBG on the awesome Jumbotrons. This clip of Particle Man has become the most viewed TMBG video that I have on YouTube. People love Jumbotrons!

Here's that boring shirt that I was talking about, which I purchased after the show. The back is a little different, with photos of some of the bands. Just the TMBG logo again, this time in the middle on the right.

Ladies and people, here is my offering for TMBG’s Can’t Keep Johnny Down Video Contest. No cats, as per request. It’s a time lapse of my annual trip to the tattoo parlor. This year, it’s the cartoony Johns from Here Comes Science as They appear on the album's official sticker sheet. Chooch at Bayside Ink Tattoo in Beachwood, NJ did the honors on July 6, 2011. You don't see it in the video, but I wore the pretty HFStival shirt while being jabbed repeatedly. Actual time under the needle: 25 minutes. No blood, I promise. I don't really think that this is Grand Prize material, but if I'm very, very lucky I might win myself a TMBG pizza!

Here's me and Chooch after it's all over. Great Job!

MP3 of the Week:
S-E-X-X-Y

 Performed with an eight-piece horn section at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on 5/4/00.