Present Joys

YES

I listened to a bunch of early 90s TMBG bootlegs this past week. So amazing.

Let’s promise to never forget how rockin’ this song is.

I had the chance to see They Might Be Giants play at the Newport Music Hall this past saturday (2 mar 2013)! I took my sister along with me. The opening band, Vandaveer, was a bad fit for the audience. The frontman for the band was annoying (he was “trying way too hard”, as my brother would say) and the music was really unappealing. On top of that, all the usual Newport unpleasantness abounded—lame acoustics, dirty, sticky surfaces, generally terrible logistics.

But TMBG was freaking wonderful! They played a lot of songs from their new album Nanobots (“You’re On Fire”, “Call You Mom”, “Circular Karate Chop”, “Insect Hospital”, and “Nanobots”) and they all sounded very tight! We did “Battle for the Planet of the Apes” and a new thing where the Johns would take turns shining a high-powered flashlight in the face of a random audience member and would then make up a nickname for him. And of course there were lots of great tunes. I particularly enjoyed hearing “Whistling in the Dark” with full band + accordion performed literally in the dark.

The band is so vibrant and technically proficient and imaginative and fun. It’s a really heart-warming, satisfying experience to see them perform. My only complaint is an enduring, long-term one: more accordion, please.