They Might Be Giants brought The Bigger Show Tour into their home base of Brooklyn on Thursday night, May 28th, to kick off a three-night stand at Brooklyn Steel. The first show was the only non-sold out night of the run, as the diverse crowd filled in as the band went on promptly at 8pm.
Billed as “An Evening With…,” this tour features TMBG playing without an opener, using the first set to focus on a different album from their past and the second set to play a wide range of tunes from their expansive back catalog. As the title of the tour suggests, there are a lot of musicians onstage supporting John Flansburgh and John Linnell: a three-piece horn section (Dan Levine, Stan Harrison, Mark Pender) and Danny Weinkauf – bass, Dan Miller – Guitar, and Marty Beller – drums, who revved the sound up to arena rock heights on a few numbers.
That powerful musical energy was on full blast for the opening “The Statue Got Me High,” which featured huge brass, pounding drums, and screeching guitar as Flansburgh announced the first set would focus on Apollo 18, the fourth studio album from the band, released in 1992.
Linell strapped on the accordion for “Turn Around” while “She’s Actual Size” was a dramatic Broadway production complete with an early show drum solo. The horns took a breather for “Narrow Your Eyes,” which sounded like a lost Turtles track from the 60’s with grooving acoustic strums and gorgeous harmonies. The horns returned for the bands take on “”The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)” which got funky, had singalongs and a few unexpected noise rock breakdowns.
One of the appeals of a TMBG show is the stage banter, and the two Johns chatted with witty charm about celebrities in Knicks courtside seats, pre-show naps, and “bro-y” barber shops in Brooklyn. The full band dove into an impressive rendition of the hyperactive “Fingertips” and challenged themselves by playing “Silver Bullets of Pure Love” backward. A newer tune, “Wu Tang,” had the crowd singing along while a banging version of “Dr. Worm” closed the first set.
After a video proving they really played the song backward, the second set started via Miller’s gorgeous acoustic work as the band eventually joined him for a dramatic spin through “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” which contained multiple horn solos and fake endings. Flansburgh mentioned that “I’ll Sink Manhattan” was written in the neighborhood as the band gave it a jazzy workout before “The Darlings of Lumberland” delivered odd tempo changes and coordinated dances.
The excellent “Ana Ng” was sped up with stomping punk intensity, “New York City” was dreamy and hip-swinging, while “See The Constellation” rocked hard. One of the band’s classics, “Particle Man,” was a joy to close the set with a surprise verse of Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again” dropped in the middle.
The first encore was highlighted by the funky “Get Down” and more dynamite brass solos, while the second encore started with a James Bond-inspired take on “Spy” before ending the night with a bouncing, upbeat “Birdhouse In Your Soul”. It is great to see the quirkiness of TMBG mixed with top-notch musicianship as the band continues to delight their obsessive fans over forty years into their successful career.
