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Setlist
Listen Tour Dates
06/02: Iowa City, IA @ Englert Theatre # 06/04: Des Moines, IA @ Wooly's # 06/05: Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown # 06/06: Kansas City, MO @ Crossroads # 06/07: Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre * 06/08: Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot * 06/09: Boise, ID @ Egyptian Theatre * 06/10: Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret # 06/11: Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo # 06/12: Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom # 06/14: San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre# 06/15: Anaheim, CA @ HOB # 06/16: San Diego, CA @ Belly Up # 08/08: Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony 08/09: Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club 08/10: Brooklyn, NY @ Celebrate Brooklyn * 10/10: Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak 10/11: Wilmington, DE @ World Cafe Live 10/12: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club 10/15: Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood 10/16: Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre 10/17: Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre 10/18: Jacksonville, FL @ Free Bird Live 10/19: Orlando, FL @ Nerdapalooza 10/20: Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall 10/22: Austin, TX @ Stubb's BBQ 10/24: Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine 10/25: Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee Theatre 10/26: Los Angeles, CA @ Royce Hall 10/26: Los Angeles, CA @ Royce Hall 10/27: Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre 11/01: Uncasville, CT @ Wolf Den 11/15: Edinburgh, UK @ Queens Hall 11/17: Belfast, UK @ The Limelight 11/18: Dublin, Ireland @ Vicar Street 11/19: London, UK @ Shepherds Bush 11/20: Manchester, UK @ Academy 2 11/22: Germany @ Rolling Stone Weekender 11/23: Berlin, Germany @ Festaal Kreuzberg Read More As you know, we are big TMBG fans here. The band is on fire lately with their Australian tour (and coming back to the USA this month) in support of their latest studio album, Nanobots. .…
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I love They Might Be Giants. Although this was a tour in support of Nanobots (their latest album from Idlewild Recordings), I felt that this is more of a greatest hits/or "best set ever" tour, as the band play classic songs from the past 30+ years of TMBG at First Avenue in Minneapolis last night.
Before I get to TMBG, opening up for them were dueling-sax and drummer band, Moon Hooch. The all instrumental band, started off busking on New York's subway before being discovered by Mike Doughty (who would later ask them on his tour). Now the band is on tour with They Might Be Giants, who personally requested the band as their opener.
All the Moon Hooch songs were played back to back without any breaks. The band actually reminded me of another saxophone duo called Ronald Reagan, but minus the 80's pop covers.
Moon Hooch was quite good, you can always tell when the audience were screaming for more. At the end of their set, saxophonist Wenzl McGowen was so overwhelmed by the solid response that he must have spent a full minute to try and process it all before trying to speak.
As for They Might Be Giants, I was under the impression that they were just going to do songs from Nanobots. That's my expectation, because I've seen so many "old" bands that aren't interested in playing old stuff. Let me tell you that I was wrong. I knew most their songs. I haven't had a chance to listen to the new album, but what I've heard live ("Insect Hospital", "Nanobots", "You're on Fire", "Circular Karate Chop"), it's typical They Might Be Giants' crafty, smart, funny lyrics.
As for the rest of their set, let's just say that their Cub cover, "New York City", is one of my favorite songs and I'm so glad they played it early in. I also liked the fact that TMBG did a few pre-Flood songs, you know, the really old stuff, like their first hit "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" and "Ana Ng".
Of course, songs from "the brand new album for 1990", Flood, were the crowd's favorite. Yes, "Letterbox", "Istanbul (Not Constantinople) ", "Minimum Wage" (hee-yah!), and "Birdhouse in Your Soul", were played.
There was a double encore. The first part contained "Tesla", a nicknames segment, "Call You Mom", and "Damn Good Times". The second part is a little segment with People vs Apes/"Battle For The Planet Of The Apes" and a fitting "The End Of The Tour".
The thing about They Might Be Giants is that they understand their fans. They get it; they know people don't automatically rush out to get the latest album, so they didn't bombard us with playing all 25 brand new tracks (yes, that's right, 25!). The other thing is that nothing from their children's albums was played… this was purely an adult show!
Everyone at last night's show seemed to be long-time TMBG fans. It's the same fans that would drive to Iowa to see them play Flood live (but backwards?). Even if you've never really love TMBG, you should still try and catch them on tour. They put a lot of thoughts in their show, everything from sock puppets (for "He's Loco"), to the "nickname" machine. They are fun and entertaining, and TMBG would appreciate you coming out. By the way they give out free bumper stickers or foam hands; you can tell that John and John love and appreciate their fans.
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MOON HOOCH
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All the Moon Hooch songs were played back to back without any breaks. The band actually reminded me of another saxophone duo called Ronald Reagan, but minus the 80's pop covers.
Moon Hooch was quite good, you can always tell when the audience were screaming for more. At the end of their set, saxophonist Wenzl McGowen was so overwhelmed by the solid response that he must have spent a full minute to try and process it all before trying to speak.
As for They Might Be Giants, I was under the impression that they were just going to do songs from Nanobots. That's my expectation, because I've seen so many "old" bands that aren't interested in playing old stuff. Let me tell you that I was wrong. I knew most their songs. I haven't had a chance to listen to the new album, but what I've heard live ("Insect Hospital", "Nanobots", "You're on Fire", "Circular Karate Chop"), it's typical They Might Be Giants' crafty, smart, funny lyrics.
As for the rest of their set, let's just say that their Cub cover, "New York City", is one of my favorite songs and I'm so glad they played it early in. I also liked the fact that TMBG did a few pre-Flood songs, you know, the really old stuff, like their first hit "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" and "Ana Ng".
Of course, songs from "the brand new album for 1990", Flood, were the crowd's favorite. Yes, "Letterbox", "Istanbul (Not Constantinople) ", "Minimum Wage" (hee-yah!), and "Birdhouse in Your Soul", were played.
There was a double encore. The first part contained "Tesla", a nicknames segment, "Call You Mom", and "Damn Good Times". The second part is a little segment with People vs Apes/"Battle For The Planet Of The Apes" and a fitting "The End Of The Tour".
The thing about They Might Be Giants is that they understand their fans. They get it; they know people don't automatically rush out to get the latest album, so they didn't bombard us with playing all 25 brand new tracks (yes, that's right, 25!). The other thing is that nothing from their children's albums was played… this was purely an adult show!
Everyone at last night's show seemed to be long-time TMBG fans. It's the same fans that would drive to Iowa to see them play Flood live (but backwards?). Even if you've never really love TMBG, you should still try and catch them on tour. They put a lot of thoughts in their show, everything from sock puppets (for "He's Loco"), to the "nickname" machine. They are fun and entertaining, and TMBG would appreciate you coming out. By the way they give out free bumper stickers or foam hands; you can tell that John and John love and appreciate their fans.
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They Might Be Giants at First Avenue, Minneapolis (06/01/13) |
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