A Rock to Wind the String Around

Carina and I joined Tom and Kelly and Amie and Duff for the They Might Be Giants concert last night. This was the fourth time Carina and I saw them, and as always it was a fantastic show.

I’ve seen a fair number of concerts, and I always enjoy watching the bands have fun when they perform: I imagine that playing the same songs night after night on a tour must get at least a little mechanical. But TMBG showed no signs of boredom. Indeed, it was pretty clear they were enjoying themselves and having at least as much fun as the audience.

I was a little surprised when they played Birdhouse in Your Soul as their second song – I rather expected them to play that later in the show – but it worked well enough to really get the audience going. The whole set was surprising, in truth, as they played a fair number of songs that I didn’t expect them to play live, like Why Does The Sun Shine?, Rhythm Section Want Ad and We Want A Rock. They played Particle Man but not Istanbul (Not Constantinople). I was slightly disappointed that Minimum Wage was absent, too, because I love that little ditty so much, but it’s their show and not mine.

They mentioned their free podcast several times during the show. I haven’t listened to it yet, but I’m sure it’s enjoyable. If you like TMBG, give it a try. If you haven’t seen them in concert yet, I strongly encourage you to go as soon as possible – TMBG is one of the most entertaining live acts I’ve seen.