On June 18th and 19th, prolific band They Might Be Giants took residency in Lakeview’s historic Vic Theater to play to a crowd that spanned from age sixteen to sixty. However, as the man behind me noted, “there’s no thirty-year-olds here. It’s twenty-year-olds and Gen-X-ers. I was expecting a bunch of 50-year-olds, you know, but I realized these guys are marketing geniuses. As soon as their main audience got old enough to start settling down and having kids, they started making kids music. They taught those kids their ABCs, and now they’ve aged into the scene.”
I can’t really argue with that logic. Like most people in my generation, my first introduction to They Might Be Giants was the theme song to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I’m sure many of the old souls present grew up listening to “Here Comes Science,” “Here Come the ABCs” and “Here Come the 123s,” albums that were not featured in any set played that night. Yet, there was no generational gap when it came to knowing the lyrics to the songs that were played. All ages shouted the words in unison together, and as frontman John Flansburgh noted, knew them better than the musicians themselves.
To their credit, they did cover a great deal of their extensive discography. The band started right at 8:30 and played two hefty sets with an intermission. Known for their eclectic style and humorous songwriting, They Might Be Giants made use of spectacle and play throughout the night. Guitarist Dan Miller disappeared from the stage during a song only to appear on one of the top balconies in the theater to play a dramatic, yet technically impressive, guitar solo. Flansburgh and John Linnell–the group’s founders–made frequent banter between songs, displaying their vibrant senses of humor and close friendship that has developed over the almost 50 years they’ve played together.
They Might Be Giants formed officially in the mid-80s, but the Johns have been playing together since they met in high school in Lincoln, Massachusetts. The two officially formed their duo in Brooklyn, New York, and eventually moved on from a drum machine to a backing band. Since then, they have released nearly 25 albums and toured countless venues.
The current tour they are embarking on is called “The Big Tour.” Rather than having a consistent setlist, they have opted to focus on a different album at each show, playing its highlights along with various other pieces from their other albums. I was lucky enough to see the night that was highlighting Apollo 19. This 1992 album with hits such as “The Statue Got Me High” and “I Palindrome I” is, in my opinion, a peak example of the group’s prowess and humor. Many of the storylines in the tracks are nonsensical and out-of-this-world. The band maintains a silly nature in its performance, but does not sacrifice musical quality in the slightest. The songs are catchy and interesting and a bit sporadic, and the band plays with all of its skill and gives each section chances to show off.
They even performed the track “Fingers,” a song that is completely inconsistent and essentially is made up of 27 mini-songs with little connection to one another in meter or in theme. They explained that they used to believe they could never play it live, but were challenged to find a way. I was frankly awestruck that they performed it so exactly and recalled each part in perfect sequence. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how much technical talent and skill their silliest music requires.
At its core, They Might Be Giants has an inherent charm that comes from just how much fun they seem to have together. The band is comprised of experienced and talented musicians–from strings to brass to accordion–and they all riff and joke and play together like what they’re playing isn’t incredibly impressive. What they play is silly, but they do it well, and with generous love for their audience. The crowd that I was a part of cheered for so long that the band played not one but three encores, returning to the stage two separate times when the audience couldn’t be quieted. After 44 years of touring, They Might Be Giants still gathers hordes of energetic fans, both old and new.
Thank you to Radio DePaul, The Vic, and Jam Productions for giving me the opportunity to experience one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen. Thank you to Jo Stewart for taking some of these pictures and getting me so close to the barricade.
