W W W . E X O D U S T E R . C O M - T H E Y . M I G H T . B E . G I A N T S

They Might Be Giants
@Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO
7/9/05

So when I mentioned to my dad that I was going to a They Might Be Giants show that night, his response was, "You still listen to them?" (I decided not to raise the issue with him that he has spent the last half century listening to the 50s doo wop of his youth.) But yes, my fandom of TMBG is long-lived. The first album I purchased was Flood, the first concert I attended was their show, and the first (and only) band t-shirt I own has the TMBG logo. Oh, and they were the only band I listened to with any regularity during the twentieth century.

So I was excited when the concert date for They Might Be Giants was posted in Boulder. And the show did not disappoint. In fact, it was one of the best shows I have ever been to. The set list had an excellent variety - "classics" from Flood, new songs from both their recent "adult" and children's releases, and even songs from the early albums that seldom make the rotation in my CD player. They also featured a lovely medley of tunes from their web-only release Venue Songs, composed on the road in honor of the various venues of the last tour. Even though they were composed in such a short amount of time, the lyrics were witty and the tunes were catchy. This part of the set was definitely a standout of the show, disappointing only in that there was no Fox Theatre song introduced.

The Johns (Linnell and Flansburgh, not Kerry and Edwards) were in prime form for the whole show - on their game, more conversational than in past shows, and clearly happy to be performing their music. I was impressed by both their energy and commitment to do a good show - even after over twenty years of making music as TMBG.

The negatives? The opening act, Corn Mo, seemed to energize the crowd but was underwhelming to the ears. And the drug-addled Boulderites in front of me at the show were extraordinarily annoying - the man in pigtails hopping excessively and his female friend doing bad hands-over-head gyrations while invading my personal space. But no complaints at all about the rest of the show - a great performance and great fun to attend.