In our critical post about Dan Deacon‘s set from this concert, the comments suggested that somehow we did not understand the concept of fun. The truth is that we understand the difference between foolishness and the Tom Tom Club‘s “fun natural fun”. The set that immediately followed Deacon’s nonsense was the return of Tom Tom Club to NYC, the place where 30 years earlier Tina Weymouth and Chris Franz had literally been the rhythm section for one of the most influential bands in the history of modern music. The stark contrast and upgrade in musical quality when Tom Tom Club took the stage helped elucidate the fact that Tina and Chris’s “other band” has had its own profound musical influence.
In their hour-long set at McCarren Pool last week, Tom Tom Club performed their best known songs with two interesting covers, a goofy 70s Brit-dance hit and one of the staples of The Talking Heads repertoire. The obvious highlight was “Genius of Love“, a song with an earworm melody that has worked its way into the lexicon of music and is perhaps the most sampled song in music today.
We recorded from the same location as the Devo set, but there was more wind during this set which can be heard primarily in the stage microphones. We avoided much of the gusts and as a result while there is some phasing on this recording, it has exceptionally clarity considering the outdoor conditions. Enjoy!
Direct download of MP3 files (HERE)
Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].
Tom Tom Club
2008-06-26
McCarren Park Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA
Digital Master Audience Recording
Recorded from FOB Dead Center
50 Feet from Stage
DPA 4021s > Marantz PMD-660 (Oade BCM Mod) > 16bit 44.1kHz wav > Soundforge (level adjustments, slight EQ, set fades) > CDWave 1.95 > Flac Frontend (level 7, align sector boundaries)> flac
Many Thanks to Chris and Tina for permission to record this performance!
Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2008-07-03
Setlist
[total time 59:14]
01 Suboceana
02 Punk Lolita
03 L’Elephant
04 She’s Dangerous
05 Time To Bounce
06 The Man With the 4-Way Hips
07 [band introductions]
08 Genius of Love
09 You Sexy Thing (Hot Chocolate)
10 Wordy Rappinghood
11 Take Me To The River
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Really? You thought the Tom Tom Club were more fun than Dan Deacon? From everything I’ve read (and what I saw at the show itself) you seem to be in the minority there!
Not that I don’t have respect for Tom Tom Club…just sort of not quite of the same silliness, weirdness, or energy level of Deacon/Devo. Seemed like an odd matching.
Thanks for sharing.