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They Might Be Giants at Berklee

They Might Be Giants
Berklee Performance Center
October 1

With the release this summer of their first non-kids album in four years (that would be three discs ago, since The Else ), Brooklyn-based quirk-rock legends They Might Be Giants pulled into Boston’s acoustically-designed Berklee Performance Center as part of the first leg of their tour promoting _Join Us_—and their smart, hilarious brand of rock ‘n’ roll in general.

On this date, however, the two Johns and company were doing something quasi-absurd, yet fitting, and unique to this tour-stop: dividing the night into two full concerts, one featuring songs titled A-M, the other N-Z. Though they didn’t quite stick to this (John Flansburgh admitted the group would be cheating a bit on the alphabetical nature of the show), here are some letters—and accompanying songs—that were particularly well-received on this night of two nights (in somewhat particular order).

The Hits:

Though Flansburgh observed early in the first concert that they discovered in prepping for the shows that all the hits were between A-M, some were, in fact, in N-Z and TMBG finagled one or two others into the second set.

A: “Alphabet of Nations” was a very appropriate way to start off the family-friendlier first show (both were about an hour-and-a-half), as it encapsulates the fun, funny, and somewhat heady nature of TMBG and featured both Johns just lending vocals, with Dan Miller (usually on lead guitar) on keys, Danny Weinkauf on bass and Marty Beller on drums.

M: “The Mesopotamians,” off of 2007’s The Else, was buoyant and, being situated—album-wise—amidst their recent kids’ music period, showed the influence of making teachable songs and their already established Monty-Python-of-alt-rock status.

I: With a Middle-Eastern vibe provided by Curt Ramm’s trumpet intro, TMBG launched into the intelligently humorous barn-burner “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” played as the last song before the first encore (there were three) at the early show and as part of the first encore (of two) at the late show.

B: Played anthemically as the second encore at the first concert, “Birdhouse in Your Soul” was charming as usual and the crowd responded to one of the duo’s more melodic numbers that is as straight-ahead rock as TMBG gets.

P: “Particle Man” received a polka-makeover as John Linnell squeezed the accordion, Ramm trumpeted to great effect and the whole band upped the tempo significantly towards the song’s end.
The New Material:

C: Off the new disc, “Cloisonné” (“partitioned” in French) has an intriguing songwriting backstory and features Linnell on bass clarinet.

S: “Spoiler Alert” a wistful, whimsical, four-wheel-centric tune sung, during the two concerts, by two sock puppets—the TMBG “Avatars”—that are shown on a video feed on the projection screen at the stage’s back, discussing corporate sponsorship and conversing with a photo cut-out of Meg Ryan’s head (in the first show). And, the band played the opening salvo of Ozzy Osborne’s “Crazy Train,” to get the crowd amped up.

J: “Judy Is Your Viet Nam,” also a part of Join Us, was performed boisterously and fit right in with the catchy melodies of the older stuff.

U: The hook-y alt-rock of cheeky love song “Upside Down Frown,” off of The Else, was complemented by the audience hand-clapping, “slightly above the head, Mick Jagger-style” at Flansburgh’s behest.
Lastly, during each concert, TMBG devoted a slot to what they call “Ape Club,” where the spectators were divided (by pen flashlight) into two sections—“apes” and “people”—one shaking their raised fists and yelling “Apes!” and the other doing the same but yelling “People!” Each half of the audience, which alternated yelling, was accompanied by half of the band playing frenetic, fierce hard-rock. The “people” were proclaimed winners in the early show and the “apes” prevailed in the night-cap.

Blending their new songs pretty seamlessly into their classic repertoire, TMBG provided high-powered rock and highly humorous lyrics, proving they—15 full-length albums into their career—can still pen pop gems for the young and old alike.