Living in So Cal, I was fortunate to get to see Oingo Boingo several times, all at small venues, including once as their “fan club name”, the “Clowns of Death”.

Living in So Cal, I was fortunate to get to see Oingo Boingo several times, all at small venues, including once as their “fan club name”, the “Clowns of Death”. They never really made it big nationally, or chose not to, in terms of touring. I even saw the then new “Red Hot Chili Peppers” open for them, who far eclipsed them is n popularity. But at the same time, they were very local, and really accessible to local fans. They did a few large venues, but I never saw them at any of those. Elfman is said to have stopped touring due to the risk to his hearing because of how loud concerts were becoming, and him and Steve Bartek (Boingo guitarist and collaborator) transitioned quite successfully to movie soundtracks. I have to assume the advancements in things like in ear monitors make live performances much less damaging for performers. I’ve worn ear plugs at concerts for years.