28 May - Berkeley, CA (Greek Theatre)

yes! i was expecting you to be wearing the purple hoodie again. amazing pics also, ohjeezers.

sargifster, amily thanks for yer vids! loved the karaoke bret tune! i about god damn died during the footage of the googly eyed fish and the fluffy white dog!
it's great to relive the night again on my computer. ahh the wonders of teh interwebz.

Wow, so what a concert.

This is my third time seeing the Conchords performed, my first time seeing both shows last year at the Community Theatre in Berkeley.

I had a pair of GA tickets so I got in line around 5:45pm and it wasn't all too bad. I didn't really follow the board at all during the European Tour and I accidentally stumbled upon this Berkeley concert so I really didn't know what to expect. At about 6:00pm, the line behind me grew exponentially. They started letting people in around 6:45pm and I made my way to the merch booth first because I knew it was going to be crowded. I checked out the merch stand on the Forums so I already knew I wanted the crazy shirt of Bret and Jemaine flying as well as the Berkeley poster (has it been posted? or do I need to post it?).

I sat down and saved some seats and waited for my friends to arrive and the show to start. Eugene came out first and definitely killed it. He got a lot of great audience feedback and it was great. Arj came out and did a good job as well, although it seemed like he was a little nervous. Also, anyone know what happened to Kristen Schaal? She was listed on the poster, but was not at the show.

Anyway, then the Conchords came out! Playlist (to the best of my knowledge):

Robots
Most Beautiful Girl in the Room
Hurt Feelings
If You're Into It
Albi The Racist Dragon
Jenny
Think About It
Korean Karaoke
Woo A Lady
You Don't Love Me Anymore
Epileptic Dogs
I'm Not Crying
Inner City Pressure
Boom
Too Many Dicks
Who Likes to Rock the Party
Back on the Road
Bowie
Demon Woman

Business Time
Hiphoppotamus vs. Rhymenoceros

Overall, I thought this concert was much better than the ones last year in Berkeley. I thought it was the perfect blend between older and newer songs and all three new (newest? " title="" border="0"/>) songs were fantastic. The guys were really on point with their banter as well as their rebuttals to audience heckling and hollering. Moreover, I feel like the Bay Area kind of gets shafted since it's always the last stop on the US tour and I personally feel that the guys are really tired and it's hard for them to give it their all. Not this time though, both Bret and Jemaine gave it 100% and I think maybe that's why I felt this concert was the best.

After the concert, I was hoping to find some people from the board as I had no idea where the stage exit was. I saw some people by an exit holding up tiny sign cutouts of Bret and Jemaine. Were those FOTCMB people? Anyway on one hand, I'm pretty jealous of everyone since they got to meet Bret.

But on the other hand, I developed my on interesting story. I was waiting at the front door by myself (all my friends had to catch public transit). I noticed a large group of people and so I thought it might be a group of people waiting to meet the guys afterwards but instead, it turns out it was some people who were waiting for their friends who had backstage passes. While waiting, I befriended another girl who came from Arizona with her dad and we were talking about how we were probably in the wrong spot but that we weren't going to lose hope.

Long story short, we "
acquired"
backstage passes and were able to go into the backstage lounge. I chatted with Eugene for a bit and then I met Jemaine was able to get an autograph and picture. Overall, a great night!

Here are some fun facts that people have mentioned and some people haven't:
- The bug that creeped Jemaine out (we could actually see it fly away, it was that big)
- Muffin story was fantastic
- During Demon Woman, Bret's guitar was out of tune. They had to take a small break while he tuned it. During this time, Jemaine looked for something to do and just threw some stuff off a keyboard.
- The last part of the call/response of Epileptic Dogs that Jemaine assigns to a small portion of the audience was hilarious

Look at me yammering though, I bet you just want to see the great pictures I took:








The lens flare is in an interesting location.




Someone shouted show us your nips and Jemaine obliged



All pics can be found here:

Videos to come soon!

Thanks for the great recap, the setlist and the photos - Eddie.

***

Robots

[flash=350,287:mfpskna3]https://www.youtube.com/v/H9cjyaGsWtY&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:mfpskna3]

eddiemczee wrote:the Berkeley poster (has it been posted? or do I need to post it?).

We've got a thread '10 Gig Posters[/url:wsefojiv] and Ami posted a photo of her poster [url=here].

Also, anyone know what happened to Kristen Schaal? She was listed on the poster, but was not at the show.

From her twitter I know she was in the audience in Berkeley but I didn't know she didn't perform. Maybe they had problems with time? They didn't do Sugarlumps, the song which almost all European shows had.

Not this time though, both Bret and Jemaine gave it 100% and I think maybe that's why I felt this concert was the best.

In the footages from duttle and others I can see the were both very energetic (Bret running around the stage, Jemaine moving and dancing like never before). I think the audience of their last shows get all the best from the tour because all the ideas and songs have been shaping throughout the tour and you got almost the final product. I'm very curious and excited to read the recaps from the LA show.

Long story short, we "
acquired"
backstage passes and were able to go into the backstage lounge. I chatted with Eugene for a bit and then I met Jemaine was able to get an autograph and picture. Overall, a great night!

Is that you who met Eugene and we have your story posted [url=here][/url]? Nice to meet you! " title="" border="0"/>



Thanks for the recap, eddie! I love your photos!

eddiemczee wrote:

thank you for the photos, eddie! and i really enjoyed reading your recap glad you had a good time!

thanks, eddie. awesome recap and pics!
i thought i saw some chicks with passes around their necks! how the 'uck did people get backstage passes? how long has something like that been going on?

i waved at arj (met him last year) and said hi to eugene, that's as far as i got. on the way home, i thought of something LOL to say to eugene that i should have...
"
hey! it's frylock's doctor from aqua teen!"

sargifster wrote:Thanks for the great recap, the setlist and the photos - Eddie.

***

Robots

[flash=350,287:bcw6r56h]https://www.youtube.com/v/H9cjyaGsWtY&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:bcw6r56h]

HAHA that's my friens's video! i recognized her laugh. she has a bunch more so hopefully she'll upload them soon.

duttle - lol my purple hoodie. nah this time i mixed it up a bit. ;
) thanks re: my pictures. i wish my camera was better! ughh such a good location wasted because my camera is crap.

eddie - i think i met you last year when we were all waiting for them for hours after the show? i'm the one who passed around bret's robot head. lovely pictures and awesome recap! that's so cool that you managed to go backstage!

Holy crap! How did you guys find my blog? That's nuts, I thought no one read it! Haha, yeah that was me who met Eugene back in January at Sketchfest. Here's a short recap, but Eugene totally remembered me and seemed pleased with my progress so far as a comedian " title="" border="0"/>

I also got Jemaine to sign my comedy advice book too!

I'll post all that on my blog, and the let you know when it's been posted.


Ohjeez, I totally remember that. What a bonding experience! I think you were the Asian girl who got one of the robot helmets, right?

The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)

[flash=350,287:rkm4n5g2]https://www.youtube.com/v/8lDXzrmJaY4&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:rkm4n5g2]

Jenny

[flash=350,287:rkm4n5g2]https://www.youtube.com/v/ijF9BXDtV2U&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:rkm4n5g2]

Albi The Racist Dragon

[flash=350,287:rkm4n5g2]https://www.youtube.com/v/t0VlwoPYYu8&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:rkm4n5g2]

eddiemczee wrote:Holy crap! How did you guys find my blog? That's nuts, I thought no one read it! Haha, yeah that was me who met Eugene back in January at Sketchfest. Here's a short recap, but Eugene totally remembered me and seemed pleased with my progress so far as a comedian " title="" border="0"/>

Good on ya!

I loved your story and I remember I was very motivated after reading it. " title="" border="0"/>

eddie - yep that was me! yeah definitely a bonding experience. haha!

more of my friend's videos

whales

[flash=350,287:iq39ah0t]https://www.youtube.com/v/WPB2TZIRUjk&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:iq39ah0t]

korean karaoke

[flash=350,287:iq39ah0t]https://www.youtube.com/v/42LkWASChfQ&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:iq39ah0t]

[size=133:oxylp2z2]Flight of the Conchords
@ The Greek Theater
May 28 2010

[size=100:oxylp2z2]Better than: any kind of complimentary muffin.

There were several people dressed up in giant tin foil covered boxes parading around as robots Friday night waiting for the Flight of the Conchords to take off. The sold out crowd at the Berkeley Greek Amphitheater was full of homemade signs with silly exclamations. "
I heart u sugarlumps!"
read one poster in the back of the audience.

The two comedian openers barely got everyone ramped up for the hilarity that ensued. Eugene Mirman, who plays himself on the Flight of the Conchords HBO series, regaled the audience with the story of how he had once met a twelve-year-old boy with Asperger's Disorder who was convinced that he was God. "
Religion is not a leap of faith;
it's a high functioning autistic little boy,"
was Mirman's summative remark. He also explained how he has been trying to infiltrate the Tea Party's political organization. Mirman printed out a handful of fake logos he has tried to post on the tea party website;
one read, "
I'm not racist, I like my tea black"
.

A native Bay Area boy, Arj Barker, who plays the character of Dave on Flight of the Conchords, followed Mirman with a quick stand-up set of his own. He got deeper with the audience by saying, "
I'm political, I care about sh*t."
The effect left the audience in giggling shambles. He poked fun at the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland, the movie Avatar, and the BP oil spill (which was a little hard to laugh at).

When Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement sauntered on stage and took their seats at their respective stools, the audience went wild. Jemaine said, "
Thank you,"
repeatedly in such a genuine manner that he only encouraged everyone to whoop and holler more. As soon as they broke into their first song, "
Robots"
, off their 2007 EP The Distant Future, everyone started singing along. They followed their first song with another crowd-pleaser off the same album, "
The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)"
.

Bret and Jemaine don't make jokes about funny things. Instead, they take completely ordinary situations and through their innocent and dynamic storytelling, they create the most comical and entertaining sketches that aren't about anything. At one point, the boys spent a good ten minutes discussing the "
crazy complimentary muffins"
a hotel they were staying at left on their bedside tables. It left everyone in stitches.

The duo sat mainly on two stools, center stage. They played two acoustic guitars and occasionally swapped instruments for a drum pad or a synthesizer. Bret did a rare karaoke performance of their foreign language song, "
Oh Dance Baby"
, which had an accompanying weird music video shown on screens on the sides of the stage. They brought down the house with riveting versions of "
Too May Dicks (On the Dance Floor)"
and "
Jenny"
.

When they started rapping their song "
Hurt Feelings"
the audience cried with laughter. In between songs, Bret and Jemaine carried out a long-winded conversation about charities. "
We're into anything that Bono's into,"
cried Bret at one point. They then went on to talk about saving whales, because whales can't call emergency services with their big flippers.

The final song of their set, "
Bowie"
, was off their first album Folk the World Tour. The lights went black and came up a few seconds later, to find Bret and Jemaine in sparking sequined shirts. After the final number, it was plain to see that the audience didn't want them to leave. "
If we don't go now,"
Jemaine said, "
we'll end up living here."
The reaction he received for saying that was the cacophonous sound of adoration, which they completely deserved.

[url=SF Weekly][/url]

[align=center:oxylp2z2] [/align:oxylp2z2]

chloe wrote:QUickly before I go this morning: The guys were on FIRE last night!! Seriously, this is like my sixth fotc show and they were better than I've ever seen him! And I got my first meet-and-greet with the guys, though we had to stand on a damn hill forever and the light was really bad and we barely had any time with them 'cause they had to catch a plane, (Eugene totally cock-blocked us " title="" border="0"/>) but I'm happy that they even came out at all!

It'd be perfect if we could manage to catch them when they actually have time/want to hang out with fans a little at the end, but last night was pretty damn perfect.

P.S. Here is a very unflattering picture of me with Bret. " title="" border="0"/>



Note: We were standing on a hill and I was higher up, which is why Bret looks short. " title="" border="0"/>

end of Demon Woman

[flash=350,287:6f9q3emw]https://www.youtube.com/v/KzzmFkbUW_c&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:6f9q3emw]

Jemaine and his scarf

morrowbright wrote:Just a quick post to concur with everyone else that this show was absolutely amazing. It was my first time seeing them live, and while I knew the guys were going to be incredible, the show was better than I had even dared to dream. Throughout the show I just sat there with the hugest grin on my face (when I wasn't bursting into laughter or cheering, that is). And the guys were so sweet to come and chat with us a bit even as they were being rushed away.

Ami, Chrissy, Courtney, Sara, Nik, and Chloe: It was so so much fun hanging out with you guys;
thank you so much for taking this awkward newbie under your collective wing. Seriously, you all made the awesomeness of the Conchords that much better.

A more detailed account to follow (hopefully). I'm still trying to piece it all together.

It was wonderful to meet you too! You are so sweet and I'm so happy you loved the show! (But we knew you would. ;
) )

Even bonus points for getting to meet them at your first show! Aren't they just darling?!

Hopefully another tour/shows aren't in the too distant future so that you can go see them again. " title="" border="0"/>

sargifster wrote:[align=center:lnd658ew][/align:lnd658ew]

[url=Source][/url]

[align=center:lnd658ew] [/align:lnd658ew]

[align=center:lnd658ew]I saw this live?

[/align:lnd658ew]



A lot has already been said, especially about the show. Can't add anything else, just being redundant here and saying that the guys were amazing once more and looked like they had a lot of fun with an excited, but overall somewhat behaved crowd.

I forget if anyone said this, but at one point a guy held up his iPhone and had "
I LIKE TO ROCK THE PARTY"
scrolling on it, which led to them turning on the lights on the crowd and they went around the venue reading signs people were holding.

No sugalumps was a giant surprise. When they walked off the stage after the encore, myself and Ami (as well as other people who have seen the show) said in unison: "
No sugalumps?!"
It was the only unsatisfying thing about the show. It was just a huge surprise. Is this the first time in two years they haven't done sugalumps? They must have been pressed for time. :-/

The only other "
bad"
thing that happened was Bret's guitar sounded VERY out of tune during the guitar riff in Demon Woman. Right after that happened he began to tune it and it sounded tons better. It happens but I always enjoy when they screw up time to time. Its so them.

But back to the happiness- the banter was top notch and the show was incredible.



Not much to add on the meet and greet end. (I always say this... then begin to ramble. I apologize.) Bret was a bit frantic and rushed, but did his best to meet with as many as possible. I was so happy to see Nik meet Bret. Girl it finally happened! " title="" border="0"/>

We saw Nigel by the van, and we wanted him to come over but we didn't know if he knew we wanted him to come over. So one of us yelled "
Nigel!"
and he did a little wave. Nik then added "
We like you Nigel!"
To try to get him to come over. He began to move behind the van so the answer was pretty clear that he didn't want to come over. To entice him Nik also said (and maybe yelled?) "
We find you talented and charismatic!"
And he didn't want to come over? I wonder why?? ;
)

Then Jemaine and Eugene came out and their interaction was the most adorable thing on the planet. Those minutes of them talking/ Eugene trying to rush Jemaine may have been my favorite part of the whole night. I wish I could rewind it and play it back. They were just so chummy together!

(Before Eugene was literally dragging him back to the van) Jemaine walked up to Ami and we all went at them together again.



I think that is about it. I have some pictures I will get to. " title="" border="0"/>

onlyalways wrote:(Before Eugene was literally dragging him back to the van) Jemaine walked up to Ami and we all went at them together again.

[align=center:b443k4rc]

[/align:b443k4rc]

Slowly uploading videos from this gig.

[flash=350,287:k6nhaxs5]https://www.youtube.com/v/6YXaxmWMR8Y&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:k6nhaxs5]

[align=center:r723fy0q]

[size=150:r723fy0q][url=The rest of my set from Berkeley][/url]

_{I have a shiity camera so sorry for the crappy quality} [/align:r723fy0q]

[flash=350,287:06ox88ub]https://www.youtube.com/v/RLS-wuADsnU&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:06ox88ub]

Apparently there was someone in the audience with giant hands? I couldn't see because it was too dark and I'm short. " title="" border="0"/>

Amily wrote:[flash=350,287:it7cqttn]https://www.youtube.com/v/RLS-wuADsnU&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:it7cqttn]

Apparently there was someone in the audience with giant hands? I couldn't see because it was too dark and I'm short. " title="" border="0"/>

yep - they were off on bret's side

I know this has been posted already in much better quality but this includes a bit of the coyote banter, Nigel's technical problems and Jemaine's "
Eye of the Tiger"
bit.

[flash=350,287:bhs77j9a]https://www.youtube.com/v/8gEnq-dVziU&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:bhs77j9a]

"
Take off your socks!"
and 1353

[flash=350,287:4dz42f2c]https://www.youtube.com/v/NvJtqhEgMN0&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:4dz42f2c]

[flash=350,287:4dz42f2c]https://www.youtube.com/v/9BUM9pmD9Fc&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:4dz42f2c]

[flash=350,287:4dz42f2c]https://www.youtube.com/v/WejqO_K4JPA&hl=en&fs=1[/flash:4dz42f2c]

"
hush little babies"

chloe wrote:

OMG.