John Flansburgh and John Linnell of They Might Be Giants came in to speak with Setlist's Bree Wilde about some of their favorite shows they've seen over time.

One of the gigs on the top of Flansburgh's list was the time he caught one of the earliest performances of a group they'd end up playing with decades later.

"I saw Elvis Costello," Flansburgh said, "essentially his first public performance. He played at the CBS Record Convention in the summer of 1977.

"I went to England in 1977 and I saw him at the Nashville Room, which is this tiny venue. There was probably 200 people there," he said.

Our records show that August 7, 1977 gig as being Costello & The Attractions' 11th performance.

For all of you getting FOMO, here's the magical thing. Miraculously the show was recorded and when a deluxe version was issued in 2007, the entire set plus the soundcheck was included on the bonus disc.

"It really was a kind of a Star Is Born show," Flansburgh continued.

"He played Alison-- he was probably 22 years old and he had a wedding ring on, which I found profoundly mysterious. It was just like, 'Wow. He's like 22 years old and he's super married. That's so different.'

"He was just in great voice. And it was funny because his songs - he had this very angry young man quality within the songs. He seemed very profoundly hurt and damaged within the songs.

"And then the songs would end and the room would explode in applause because everyone is like, 'This guy is so great. This guy's amazing,'" Flansburgh explained.

"You learned something about how to perform," John Linnell added, "which is you're pouring your performance into the song, and then it’s almost like you break character at the end."

Flansburgh: They were really tight musically. It was at a time when a lot of bands were just people who had sort of huddled together and figured out how to bash out a song. His band was extremely real on a musical level.

Linnell: And that was The Attractions.

Flansburgh: It was The Attractions. Although I think they'd only been together for a week-and-a-half. I mean, they just were very good players.

Six months later Elvis had signed to Columbia Records and was going to play at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst near and Flansburgh had encouraged Linnell and their friends to see this new hot wonder.

Bree Wilde: So what did your friends think of the show?

Flansburgh: Well, I just remember there were a lot of things about it. I never thought about Elvis Costello's voice being an obstacle or a barrier to entry, but I do remember leaving, and a couple of the people that we saw the show with were like, "I don't know about his voice." And it is another thing that kind of informs you, you just realize people are very different. You want very different things from shows.

Bree: Did you see him any other times after that?

Linnell: Oh, sure. Yeah. Yeah.

Flansburgh: Oh, we opened for Elvis Costello.

Linnell: That's right. At the Beacon Theater.

Flansburgh: For like a week. He's a super nice guy, and he's an easy, interesting person to hang out with. He's a cool guy. And a huge music fan. I think his interest in music is very broad, so it's, if you're into music, it's just like there's no end to what you can hang out and talk about.

Linnell: But he also wanted to talk about movies and stuff like that, as I recall. Definitely not just music.

Bree: So a good conversationalist as well.

Linnell: Absolutely.

Elvis and the Imposters are touring the States this summer and fall. Among other dates they'll be playing two nights at the Orpheum in downtown LA, Vegas, The Ryman in Nashville, and Massey Hall in Toronto. In November they head over to Germany for some shows.

Get your tickets on Elvis' website.

They Might Be Giants have several dates scheduled this year which quickly sold out. When you hear that performance they gave of "Dr. Worm" on Jimmy Kimmel last month, you can understand why the lucky ducks in Utah, Washington, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina gobbled up all the tickets.

Go to the They Might Be Giants' website to get on the waiting list.

They Might Be Giants - The Big Show Tour - remaining dates
June 10, 2025 – The Depot, Salt Lake City, UT
June 11, 2025 – The Depot, Salt Lake City, UT
June 13, 2025 – Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
June 14, 2025 – Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
June 15, 2025 – Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
October 24, 2025 – The Eastern, Atlanta, GA
October 25, 2025 – The Eastern, Atlanta, GA
November 13, 2025 – The Signal, Chattanooga, TN
November 14, 2025 – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, Nashville, TN
November 15, 2025 – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, Nashville, TN
November 18, 2025 – The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
November 19, 2025 – The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC