Anyone who goes to a They Might Be Giants show will be given a good lesson in not just how to be a good act, but how to be a class act. The geek rock veterans make no secret that they love what they do and do it well, captivating not just their loyal audience but also venue staff and newcomers alike. The Fillmore knew They Might Be Giants, and They Might Be Giants knew the Fillmore.
Group co-founders John Flansburgh and John Linnell stood at center stage, taking turns acting as lead vocalists, instrumentalists, masters of ceremonies, crowd handlers in an audience shouting match during “Battle of the Planet of the Apes” and Black Sabbath-singing sock puppet operators. Flanked by Dan Miller, Danny Weinkauf and Marty Beller, they opened the show with kiddie keyboard-backed “Older,” opening a diverse portion of the setlist that the band jokingly called “filler,” including the excellent “Radio Radio”-inspired “We’re The Replacements” and the synth-tastic “Never Knew Love” from 2011’s Join Us (Idlewild Recordings).
The main event of the evening, however, was a complete performance of the act’s first big label album with Elektra, 1990’s Flood… in backwards order. The reverse tracklist provided a course for the evening full of crowd-pleasing highs and lows, with Flood’s short songs leaving plenty of time for Flansburgh and Linnell’s famously quick and nerdy senses of humor. Each and every song underlined the notion that this band deserves to be seen and works hard to give the audience their money’s worth.
Songs like the humorously convicted “Your Racist Friend,” the dumb love anthem “Women and Men,” the personal theme song “Minimum Wage” and the self-affirming “Whistling In the Dark” demonstrated one-of-a-kind songcraft. The Flood performance not only confirmed the band’s legendary eclecticism, but also confirmed their spot as trailblazers for the college rock alternative-gone-pop era that would come in the years after Flood’s release. Without a hint of smugness or self-absorption, They Might Be Giants provided the audience with the opportunity to discover or remember how uniquely talented they are, and how lucky the world is that they continue to tour and make music.
What made this great show even better is that the band was grateful to play it, and their genuine concern that the audience enjoyed it as well. Closing the show, Flansburgh, in flight attendant voice said that he “knows you have your choice in ossified alternative bands,” and thanked the audience and venue crew for making the evening such a success. Closing with a rare double encore, including an impressive rendition of the infamous 21-track “Fingertips” movement from 1992’s Apollo 18 (intended to be odd snippets to be interspersed when using a CD’s player’s shuffle feature) they made it clear they were a force that deserved to have not one, but two sold out shows in San Francisco.
Setlist:
Older
Subliminal
Doctor Worm
Drink!
Never Knew Love
Damn Good Times
We’re The Replacements
XTC Vs. Adam Ant
Battle For The Planet of the Apes
Road Movie to Berlin
They Might Be Giants
Sapphire
Bullets of Pure Love
Women and Men
Hot Cha
Whistling in the Dark
Letterbox
Minimum Wage
Hearing Aid
Someone Keeps Moving My Chair
Spoiler Alert
Paranoid (Black Sabbath)
We Want a Rock
Twisting
Particle Man
Your Racist Friend
Dead
Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
Lucky Ball and Chain
Birdhouse in Your Soul
Theme From Flood
Encore:
Can’t Keep Johnny Down
Fingertips
Encore 2:
How Can I Sing Like a Girl?
When Will You Die
