TMBG Review

Sometimes I think I am strange and that my mind works on strange levels. In an ongoing quest to be free from all pigeonholes I can be pigeonholed quite easily. Then I attend a concert and everything becomes clear. If I thought I was one piece short of a full pie, this evening's concert assures me that no matter how eccentric I become, in reality I am just another schmuck working on a law degree.

They Might Be Giants are silly. They sing about presidents long dead, they create images of birdhouses in the soul, and even have an entire song of nothing but the names of countries. They cannot sing a lick, yet managed to fill up the University Center ballroom with people from all age brackets. They poke fun at their own idiocy, call up people long since dead in a segment entitled 'necrophonetime,' and let audience members try their hand at accordions.

Some people think authors like Bukowski write in the extreme just to see how far they can push readers, make them feel violated, and then bring them back for more. Others think Tom Waits has made a concerted effort to see how far he can trash his voice and still have people purchase his records. I think They Might Be Giants think of the most off the wall idea, toss it around, and challenge themselves to turn it into something that the adoring masses will purchase. How else can you explain the success of Particle Man? I Palindrome I? Istanbul? I'm not sure what this proves about them (or their audience), but I can assure you they were worth the two sawbucks I laid down to see them.

The show started off with Alphabet of Nations and New York City before a series of tunes off their new album. The Cap'm and The Mesopotamians were the highlights, but to be honest nothing really stood out from that portion of the show. In fact, the interruption of the new song stuff with Birdhouse in Your Soul drew the loudest response of the first half (probably not too surprising). Fingertips is still one of the weirdest tunes I've ever heard, Istanbul still makes people go crazy after however many years, and the close of the show with Doctor Worm had everyone hopping (literally). They encored with Damn Good Times and insisted we form a Congo line before dropping into Particle Man to close the show for good.

Why do I write these words? Because after the amount of positive energy experienced in that room, my ears are still ringing and my eyes are still wide open. A band with no political statement? A band who just wants to play music and be happy? A band that makes people hop? A nice change of pace for a grumpy S.O.B. like myself. I didn't even mind that they skipped Lucky Ball and Chain and Your Racist Friend.