“Before we appeared on the Johnny Carson show, the scrupulous bandleader made us rehearse it several times using a metronome, but for the actual performance the count had somehow been set 10 beats-per-minute faster. It was hard to sing that fast, but it gave it a nervous energy.”
I don't think I have ever seen a drummer on the Tonight Show enjoy playing a song more than this. At this point the John's were still using drum machines for their percussion, so it must have been amazing for them to hear this performance with a real drummer and a full brass section. One of my favorite performances by them.
Yeah his reaction at the end says it all. Just getting backed by a full band and Doc's solo took Birdhouse to a whole new level he probably never expected.
idk, i know a ton of drummers and they all just fucking love drumming lmao doesnt even matter what song not saying i dont think they might be giants arent fun to play with or to, i think everyone was having a good time, especially the bass and brass. but i think the drummer is a bad example cuz thats just what theyre like lol
That full on Tonight Show horn section sounds incredible on the bridge when there's no vocal part to worry about drowning out or competing with and they can just blast away for a bit. Love it.
The Tonight Show band must have loved it, imagine getting told there's a guest host and when you preview the song the brass section is expected to just crank it up to 11? Plus, Doc gets a spotlight moment!
Kornobi Starcatcher completely agree. The tempo is pushed and the band is cooking. The horn section + drummer’s four-floor-snare-backbeat is my favourite take on the tune I’ve heard yet
yeah you can see it in John Linnell's face, they had never been backed up by a band like Doc Severinsen's before like that and it really brought out this huge sound the song deserves. Definitely my favorite performance of this track!
Apparently the fast pace wasn't planned and resulted from a goof up by the house band. But it sounded so awesome the band ended up deciding thats how it was going to be performed live from now on.
Shayne O'Neill Thanks for the Info, that’s interesting. That tonight show band was legendary and you can see how excited the Johns are. It’s a very cool slice of Americana.
@@petejayhawk You are so right. Doc often played the fool/foil but he was a superb musician and bandleader. More people should know that and I appreciate you bringing that up.
From Wikipedia: " As part of the appearance, Linnell and Flansburgh performed 'Birdhouse in Your Soul' with Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band. Severinsen's unusually fast count-in resulted in a performance with a noticeably higher tempo than the album recording. The band adopted a similar tempo for subsequent live performances."
"I think we were actually masking our dark terror .... It was very thrilling, but that show was always a very terrifying experience...we had practiced the song a bunch of times with Doc and his band, and once the show was live, he counted it off like, about ten beats faster than we had ever rehearsed it. And I don't know why because in practice, he was being very scrupulous about it. So maybe that's why it sounds so much more like a Gilbert and Sullivan rendition than what we intended to perform, or what our fans were used to." www.newtownbee.com/04052018/concert-preview-giants-promising-massive-retrospective-new-tunes-and-a-t/
I was listening to this while in the shower. Didn’t know what was going on but this is the pace I request when I karaoke this tune. Get me on and off ASAP.
@@77fonebone I've always thought that myself. The tension is about as tangible as tension can be. Also, nice to meet you cousin Quinn. I'm John William Irwin
I love how when the song is done the drummer can’t help but do a little extra drumming out of nowhere, such is the power that tempo throws behind the song in the live studio.
@@freebird3581 also some one-off shows, like I remember a 13-piece horn section at a Bowery Ballroon show around maybe 1999, 2000? All your TMBG horn section favorites were there, and Mark Pender fron Conan's band would bust-out to the front of stage and rip a solo on nearly every song 😂
Wow, thought I knew this song. The faster tempo and metric ton of brass really bring this song up a notch. Excellent! I'm sure the Johns must have really dug playing with such a large group of A list musicians! This is just epic! When I saw them for the first time live a few decades ago, it was just the two Js and a drum machine and they still rocked but I would have loved to have seen this performance live.
Until today I had no idea that the Johnny Carson band had a ONE EYED TROMBONIST. This performance is awesome on so many levels: TMBG's energy is high, offset by the band who are totally relaxed Doc's amazing solo, which was awesome even without the mute which makes the original so great Great performance that really shows how much a big band would fit into a TMBG show.
I LOVE this version. There's something epic about having them backed up by the Tonight Show orchestra. And it was on my birthday, so win/win for me. :)
In college, I always made it home in time for Letterman but not always Carson so I am just now catching this amazing collab for the first time. Seeing the NBC Orchestra rock out this hard is like watching Lawrence Welk back Jimi Hendrix.
just read this: "we had practiced the song a bunch of times with Doc and his band, and once the show was live, he counted it off like, about ten beats faster than we had ever rehearsed it. And I don't know why because in practice, he was being very scrupulous about it. So maybe that's why it sounds so much more like a Gilbert and Sullivan rendition than what we intended to perform, or what our fans were used to." www.newtownbee.com/04052018/concert-preview-giants-promising-massive-retrospective-new-tunes-and-a-t/
They were the epitome of "professional". Most likely, they cut their musical teeth doing "swing" and "big band" music in the 50's and 60's. Yet, they stepped up to the plate with each and every musical "twist" that the modern pop / rock era threw at them. We will probably never see the likes of this again. I grew up in the 60's and 70's. My Grandmother, on occasion, would let me stay up late, and watch Carson with her. I was always mesmerized by the musical acts. Actually, everything about the show was first class.
I love how when the camera angle switches you can see linnell at first look at the other camera for the red light but then switch to the other camera when he doesn’t see it 😭 i also love flansburghs jumping about! they’re so cute
Not making fun, but the trombonist with the eyepatch and the Prince Valiant haircut is, besides the brass punch in the mouth, one of the best things about this. Fine, fine piece of video.
John and John really rehearsed the song really well with Doc Severinsen and his band. TMBG was my very first show. I saw them on Thanksgiving Night 1989 at The Bottom Line in Greenwich Village a couple of months before "Flood" was released. I love those offbeat, witty and progressive guys! Nice one!
This is an absolute gem of a video! I was 2 months away from graduating high school when this song popped out. My closest friends and family thought I was weird for liking this song lol.Thank you PinkJazzTrancers!
Woohoo 🙌. Watching this in 2021… it got in my head this morning and I’ve been listening off n on all day… fun to see others listening this year too per other comments… woohoo 🎉 TMBG!!! 90s music lover here :)
I really like this song heard he a few times over the years im 33crish moyles played it recently in his platinum hour on radio x as I was driving to work and I really listened to I love the song
Thanks for uploading this, I was obsessed with this song at the time and had it multiple times recorded on the same cassette, sounds amazing with the brass.
I remember watching this performance back around the time the original was uploaded on YT. Good to see it again after all this time, it's even better than I remember
So my wife and I were talking about TMBG….and I asked if she ever saw the Tonight show when they were on…..I had not seen this clip since the original time it aired…..I remembered the band and Doc Severson killed on this version…..I wasn’t wrong! Thanks for posting a classic
One of the first albums I owned as a kid was Flood by They Might Be Giants💚. I owned it on n cassette and played it incessantly. I still love these guys, amazing unique songs😃.
Wow, just saw this for the first time. Love the fast count-in (see the discussion below about why). It may have caught them off-guard, but they couldn't do anything but see it through and not screw up, and the exchange of energy between the band, Doc and the boys ratchett it up to 11.
“Before we appeared on the Johnny Carson show, the scrupulous bandleader made us rehearse it several times using a metronome, but for the actual performance the count had somehow been set 10 beats-per-minute faster. It was hard to sing that fast, but it gave it a nervous energy.”
Great performance! I always loved this song ❤️
I guess that’s why you can hear JL yell “DOC!!!” before the words actually kick in
Great info. Great performance, amazing song.
That would leave me untethered, and my rage would know no bounds!
Missed you guys in RI 12/30/22, hope you come back around next year, my brother and I love your live shows
John and John (61) are now about the same age Doc Severinsen was here (62).
And now you’re older still…
hahaa i see what you did there
And NOW [they're] even older...
@@jtolson Tiiiiiiiime…
@@bradpreston7779Is marching ooonnnnnn
And doc is still alive
I don't think I have ever seen a drummer on the Tonight Show enjoy playing a song more than this. At this point the John's were still using drum machines for their percussion, so it must have been amazing for them to hear this performance with a real drummer and a full brass section. One of my favorite performances by them.
Yeah his reaction at the end says it all. Just getting backed by a full band and Doc's solo took Birdhouse to a whole new level he probably never expected.
Shaughnessy is a legend.
idk, i know a ton of drummers and they all just fucking love drumming lmao doesnt even matter what song
not saying i dont think they might be giants arent fun to play with or to, i think everyone was having a good time, especially the bass and brass. but i think the drummer is a bad example cuz thats just what theyre like lol
If you enjoy Shaughnessy look up his video with buddy rich.
I love when the house band's clearly enjoy playing along with the guests. You can tell Doc enjoyed himself.
The brass section dug it. The saxes didn't.
No doubt, man! That was so cool to see. It seemed to flatter TMBG while they played to me.
@@MichaelPuterbaugh The saxes probably did, they're just old school. And counting rests haha
So true. Everyone is having a great time
@@MichaelPuterbaugh the sax is a twisted instrument made by the unholy combination of woodwinds and brass. Play an oboe if you want wood and keys.
That full on Tonight Show horn section sounds incredible on the bridge when there's no vocal part to worry about drowning out or competing with and they can just blast away for a bit. Love it.
The Tonight Show band must have loved it, imagine getting told there's a guest host and when you preview the song the brass section is expected to just crank it up to 11? Plus, Doc gets a spotlight moment!
Sounds fantastic, doesn't it?
This might be the best ever performance of this song.
Kornobi Starcatcher completely agree. The tempo is pushed and the band is cooking. The horn section + drummer’s four-floor-snare-backbeat is my favourite take on the tune I’ve heard yet
yeah you can see it in John Linnell's face, they had never been backed up by a band like Doc Severinsen's before like that and it really brought out this huge sound the song deserves. Definitely my favorite performance of this track!
I might agree with that
Apparently the fast pace wasn't planned and resulted from a goof up by the house band. But it sounded so awesome the band ended up deciding thats how it was going to be performed live from now on.
Shayne O'Neill Thanks for the Info, that’s interesting. That tonight show band was legendary and you can see how excited the Johns are. It’s a very cool slice of Americana.
Little known fact, this is the coolest video on the internet.
Doc Severenson playing a mad solo! This is an excellent performance!
Yes! I got chills! This is a sick version!
@@meestermole2412 right on! L-I-T-E. 😉
You know he probably lived for this! I mean how many chances did he have to show his full Talent like this with their guests.
That's a concert E6 at the end, no? Impressive!
@@matthewweber3904 🎯 indeed!
The people who disliked this video were all from the rival band "We Should be Gnomes"
LOL!
They Certainly Are Dwarves
@@joshuamasonseight-bitbasta2451 She Could be a Pixie.
We Once Were Hobbits
Those Must Be Gnats
That was VERY special indeed. The band was on fire...and my boys REALLY enjoyed that!
they really were on fire!
@@raskinblog combustible head and all
Genuinely one of my favourite ever live performances by anyone of anything
There will never be another "They Might Be Giants," nor will we ever see another Doc Severenson. This is music history. It's awesome.
Doc or whoever arranged the hell out of those horns, and Ed pounding the toms like a tour drummer. That was titanic.
Popular music needs more horns
I cannot unhear this, it’s the only version my brain wants to accept 😆
The backing vocals melt my brain.
your brain knows what's up. ;)
The enthusiasm is infectious between the Johns and the Band - really amps up the energy.
Doc just blows all other trumpet players away, doesn’t he?! That solo riff is so clean!
The grins on the Johns's faces as Doc Severinsen completes his trumpet solo gets me every time
Woah! Old man playing trumpet blasts! My favorite kind of thing!
Not just any "old man." Doc Severinsen, a legend.
Rock Chalk...
@@petejayhawk You are so right. Doc often played the fool/foil but he was a superb musician and bandleader. More people should know that and I appreciate you bringing that up.
@@petejayhawk i wonder if Doc and Buddy Rich ever jammed together
@@HKKRAMER “was”? IS! Still going strong in his mid 90’s!
From Wikipedia: " As part of the appearance, Linnell and Flansburgh performed 'Birdhouse in Your Soul' with Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band. Severinsen's unusually fast count-in resulted in a performance with a noticeably higher tempo than the album recording. The band adopted a similar tempo for subsequent live performances."
"I think we were actually masking our dark terror .... It was very thrilling, but that show was always a very terrifying experience...we had practiced the song a bunch of times with Doc and his band, and once the show was live, he counted it off like, about ten beats faster than we had ever rehearsed it. And I don't know why because in practice, he was being very scrupulous about it. So maybe that's why it sounds so much more like a Gilbert and Sullivan rendition than what we intended to perform, or what our fans were used to." www.newtownbee.com/04052018/concert-preview-giants-promising-massive-retrospective-new-tunes-and-a-t/
It really added a nice tension to the performance. I doubt you could really replicate that on purpose.
I was listening to this while in the shower. Didn’t know what was going on but this is the pace I request when I karaoke this tune. Get me on and off ASAP.
@@77fonebone I've always thought that myself. The tension is about as tangible as tension can be. Also, nice to meet you cousin Quinn. I'm John William Irwin
I love how when the song is done the drummer can’t help but do a little extra drumming out of nowhere, such is the power that tempo throws behind the song in the live studio.
TMBG should have at least one tour with a Big Band
BojoPigeon they did! It was the Apollo 18 tour and was unreal!
@@bltvd Also the John Henry tour.
They have.
@@NxDoyle Damn! I would LOVE to have seen them with a big band with a ton of brass! Maybe again someday?
@@freebird3581 also some one-off shows, like I remember a 13-piece horn section at a Bowery Ballroon show around maybe 1999, 2000? All your TMBG horn section favorites were there, and Mark Pender fron Conan's band would bust-out to the front of stage and rip a solo on nearly every song 😂
This special episode where Carson morphs into Jay Leno
Dirty Harry I addressed that in another comment. It was still Carson’s show at the time but The Crimson Chin was filling in.
Dover7544 ahhh
Carson had a yak on his chest that week.
@@neonatalpenguin Hiyoooooo!
I watched this the night it happened and have never forgotten this impressive performance of this favorite song.
Wow, thought I knew this song. The faster tempo and metric ton of brass really bring this song up a notch. Excellent! I'm sure the Johns must have really dug playing with such a large group of A list musicians! This is just epic! When I saw them for the first time live a few decades ago, it was just the two Js and a drum machine and they still rocked but I would have loved to have seen this performance live.
Real musicians... every one of them.
Before everything degenerated into loops, samples and sequencing. NOTHING like hearing A list pros do it live.
Who couldn’t possible feel just a little more positive about life after listening to this?
Until today I had no idea that the Johnny Carson band had a ONE EYED TROMBONIST.
This performance is awesome on so many levels:
TMBG's energy is high, offset by the band who are totally relaxed
Doc's amazing solo, which was awesome even without the mute which makes the original so great
Great performance that really shows how much a big band would fit into a TMBG show.
I LOVE this version. There's something epic about having them backed up by the Tonight Show orchestra. And it was on my birthday, so win/win for me. :)
Who knew a song about a nightlight would be so good? What a gem of a song!
In college, I always made it home in time for Letterman but not always Carson so I am just now catching this amazing collab for the first time. Seeing the NBC Orchestra rock out this hard is like watching Lawrence Welk back Jimi Hendrix.
I can never watch this clip and not tear up. IT's a fav!
My very favorite
I just watched it twice in a row, teared up at the same exact moment both times. John L shyly giving me the side eye makes me swoon 😉🥰
Holy crap this is fast. Nerves lol 😂
John has stated this was a happy accident from the bandleaders countoff. It’s his favorite live version of the song.
@@bagofgroceries which John?
@@georgecampbellvideos3517 Linell.
Linnell is a steely-eyed missile man.
just read this: "we had practiced the song a bunch of times with Doc and his band, and once the show was live, he counted it off like, about ten beats faster than we had ever rehearsed it. And I don't know why because in practice, he was being very scrupulous about it. So maybe that's why it sounds so much more like a Gilbert and Sullivan rendition than what we intended to perform, or what our fans were used to." www.newtownbee.com/04052018/concert-preview-giants-promising-massive-retrospective-new-tunes-and-a-t/
TWO JOHNS BE ROCKING
Holy shit, this is my new favorite version of this song.
Young John Linnell looks like Abed from Community lol
Abed or Dennis from "It's Always Sunny".
I was about to say
@@FirstnameLastname-kn5sw SEIZE THE GODDAMN GAP
I would love it if TMBG released an album of their live performances on TV shows
"Doc" really killed it.
I saw Doc in 2017. He was fabulous!!
This is an overlap of eras.
Too cool.
He looks like Dennis from it's always sunny
He is a Golden God.
It’s still good.
I think a lot of people never recognized what a great band Doc had.
They were the epitome of "professional". Most likely, they cut their musical teeth doing "swing" and "big band" music in the 50's and 60's. Yet, they stepped up to the plate with each and every musical "twist" that the modern pop / rock era threw at them. We will probably never see the likes of this again. I grew up in the 60's and 70's. My Grandmother, on occasion, would let me stay up late, and watch Carson with her. I was always mesmerized by the musical acts. Actually, everything about the show was first class.
I love how when the camera angle switches you can see linnell at first look at the other camera for the red light but then switch to the other camera when he doesn’t see it 😭 i also love flansburghs jumping about! they’re so cute
Wow, this is so amazing they got to play with Ed Shaughnessy! What a killer performance!
Doc: “So this is what the kids are listening to nowadays?”
Jay: “Well, the weird kids…”
Not making fun, but the trombonist with the eyepatch and the Prince Valiant haircut is, besides the brass punch in the mouth, one of the best things about this. Fine, fine piece of video.
by far my favorite live performance of this song, i especially love 1:49 and 2:32 flans just adds so much to this version
Wow amazing performance, turning it into some big band funky nastiness
거ey кids ͎ this is a
✚℘osi†ivℯ✚ comment; 👍ḷ
Think of the core strength to play the accordion at that time signature
Can we go back in time and get this lineup to do Dr. Worm?
John and John really rehearsed the song really well with Doc Severinsen and his band. TMBG was my very first show. I saw them on Thanksgiving Night 1989 at The Bottom Line in Greenwich Village a couple of months before "Flood" was released. I love those offbeat, witty and progressive guys! Nice one!
those _cheekbones_ ... did that man eat?
0:35 : "ᴶᵒᵒʰⁿ!"
The beauty of this video is everyone seems to be having such a great time.
Oh wow the big band adds so much to this song! Love it!
The coolest thing that ever happened on Jay Leno tonight show by far!
I think this performance and the one on STD are the best live versions of this song.
What is STD?
@@ThreadBomb Some might think that it's Sexually Transmitted Disease, but, in this case, it's _Severe Tire Damage._
This is an absolute gem of a video! I was 2 months away from graduating high school when this song popped out. My closest friends and family thought I was weird for liking this song lol.Thank you PinkJazzTrancers!
This the greatest version of this song.
It was a very good year even if I didn't see this when I was out at sea. Thank you, Interwebs!
Love that bridge. Shows the true power of a big band.
John Linnell said the metronome was set 10bpm faster than the rehearsal for some reason; hence the excitable delivery.
Doc is a BEAST.
Loved watching the trombone player grooving in the background.
Woohoo 🙌. Watching this in 2021… it got in my head this morning and I’ve been listening off n on all day… fun to see others listening this year too per other comments… woohoo 🎉 TMBG!!! 90s music lover here :)
Holy shit - that goes to show you what Doc and a band of "old farts" bring to a riot. Outstanding.
I think, right after that performance, TMBG was like "damn, that was awesome" and the house band was like "damn, that was awesome"
I had no idea, thanks.
Dr. Worm is looking unsettlingly humanoid on the drums back there.
FUNNY! ORIGNAL! HAH!
Big Ed Shaughnessy... cool that Flans gives him the nod there at the end. Epic!
Absolutely nail it, even with that sped up tempo.
orgasmic trumpet....thank you:)
Praise you for uploading this, truly.
I really like this song heard he a few times over the years im 33crish moyles played it recently in his platinum hour on radio x as I was driving to work and I really listened to I love the song
But that Flood CD, one of the most original albums I have ever heard, great irony, tunes you will sing forever.
Awesome. Full classic Tonight Show Band too.
If you've ever listened to 'birdhouse in your soul' and thought " Do you know what this song needs? more key changes" then this is the video for you
nah i don't think they added key changes, they just beefed up the instrumental section all Buddy Rich style haha
@@contrabbasso76 agreed. Pretty different, but chord structure the same.
Omg this song is so great
What a scorching version of this. I love it.
Thanks for uploading this, I was obsessed with this song at the time and had it multiple times recorded on the same cassette, sounds amazing with the brass.
Bro on the trombone is vibing his ass off in his seat.
I remember watching this performance back around the time the original was uploaded on YT. Good to see it again after all this time, it's even better than I remember
WOW! They played with DR🤘
He's not a real doctor but he's an actual worm!
He is an actual Severinsen.
I love this so much. It brings me to a good place always.
Thank you SOOO much for uploading this! This is the best quality version of their Tonight Show clip on UA-cam!
i will NEVER stop loving this song. Thank you, Little Blue Friend.
People this is where They Might Be Giants became legendary.
This was FANtastic!
The drummer rockin hard
The horns are so lively
This is an awesome song. -Lily
Doc amplified the hell out of this. Such a great bandleader
So my wife and I were talking about TMBG….and I asked if she ever saw the Tonight show when they were on…..I had not seen this clip since the original time it aired…..I remembered the band and Doc Severson killed on this version…..I wasn’t wrong! Thanks for posting a classic
I love that they're rushing an already pretty fast song 😍
haha what a great fun playin' with session guys is very bizarre I love it!!
A staple on Doctor Dimento. I miss being 20, sometimes anyway
They MIGHT be Giants...amazing, simply amazing
Brings a smile to my face every time.
That big band arrangement really worked with the song.
This has just made me unbelievably happy :)
One of the first albums I owned as a kid was Flood by They Might Be Giants💚. I owned it on n cassette and played it incessantly. I still love these guys, amazing unique songs😃.
Wow, just saw this for the first time. Love the fast count-in (see the discussion below about why). It may have caught them off-guard, but they couldn't do anything but see it through and not screw up, and the exchange of energy between the band, Doc and the boys ratchett it up to 11.
He sounds like Jay Leno doing an impression of Jay Leno.