FLIGHT
OF THE
CONCHORDS
BRET MCKENZIE (PRESENT!) AND JEMAINE
CLEMENT (PRESENT!) GRADUATE FROM
THE COMEDY TENTS OF BONNAROO AND
BUMBERSHOOT TO SASQUATCH!’S MAIN STAGE

The songs from your HBO show and your
new album have a pretty subtle sense of
humor. Will it be difficult to perform those
to a huge, outdoor crowd?
CLEMENT: It depends a lot on who your
neighbors are.
MCKENZIE: At Bonnaroo, we were playing in
a tent with the Flaming Lips on one side and
Ween on the other. Some of the subtlety gets
lost, but there’s something cool about the fact
that you’re in the middle of nowhere.

To compete with that sort of theatricality,
then, do you have to bring out cannons of
confetti and people wearing furry animal
costumes?
MCKENZIE: We’ll be zorbing around the
audience. That’s what Wayne Coyne does,
walking in that big inflatable bubble.

Sorry—zorbing?

CLEMENT: In New Zealand, we call it a zorb.

It’s our regular mode of transportation.

MCKENZIE: It’s better for the environment.

You can trot out the costumes you wore in
that David Bowie tribute you did on the show.
MCKENZIE: You’ve thought about this more
than we have.
CLEMENT: We were thinking of wearing
overalls.
MCKENZIE: Or maybe I’ll wear a cape. We’ve
played the comedy tents at Bonnaroo and
Bumbershoot before for 2,000 people.
But this is the first time we’re playing a
main stage.

Does this mean you’ll be in the backstage
area mingling with the other musicians?
CLEMEN T: We played Glastonbury one time—
MCKENZIE: And the backstage area for the
comedians was shared with circus performers:
fire-breathers and dwarves.
CLEMENT: Stilt-walkers. Not the musicians.

What will your comedian pals make of the
upgrade this year?
CLEMENT: They’ll disown us.

What advice do you have for fans coming
out to the big festivals?
CLEMENT: I would bring a raincoat. Or some
sort of poncho, at least.
MCKENZIE: Live fast, die young. Party
irresponsibly. Do not eat properly or hydrate
or plan ahead so you can see the bands you
want to see.

Is comedy funnier in front of a larger crowd? CLEMENT: Not our comedy. Because one joke gets evenly dispersed among the audience. So, the more people…

Meaning, if you guys were performing for
one person in their living room, they’d be so
entertained they wouldn’t survive it.
CLEMENT: When you break it down like that,
no, it’s not really true. But in the interest of
extending that idea, then, yes.
MCKENZIE: Our ideal audience is about 150
people, so we’ll be way out of our depth. I
guess we’ll try and create an intimate atmo-
sphere. For 30,000 people. STEVE KANDELL