They Might Be Giants, Somerville Theater

Friday morning, I was checking film schedules at the local Capitol and Somerville Theaters. Then I saw the stage performance sidebar: They Might Be Giants, playing that evening.

What?!? TMBG are playing one subway stop from my office? Tonight? Why didn't anyone tell me about this?!?! And Ticketmaster says they're sold out?!!?

DAMNNN YOOOUUUUU!!!! DAMMMNNN YOUUU ALLLLL!!!

Or alternately...

<WilliamShatner>KHAAAAAAANNNNN!!!<⁄WilliamShatner>

Anyway, on a whim after work, I wandered by the theater to see if anyone was selling tickets. As a matter of fact, yes--$33 for a front row balcony spot. Awesome.


The Johns put on a great show. Some songs off their new (2007) album, some of their more recent stuff (Older, Doctor Worm, James K. Polk, New York City), and lots of crowd-pleasing old favorites (Ana Ng, Birdhouse, Letterbox, Particle Man, The Guitar....all sorts of stuff that I know all the words to). As a wonderful surprise encore, they played all 20-odd "Fingertips" tracks from Apollo 18--the 15-second song snippets that would be interspersed between the regular songs, if you put the CD on shuffle play. Or as Beemer once put it, "Each of them is a threat of something that they could make into a song..."

In case you were wondering about the three heads in the background of the stage: Wikipedia to the rescue (I also lacked this item of TMBG lore, myself)--

Their atypical instrumentation, along with their songs which featured unusual subject matter and clever wordplay, soon attracted a strong local following. Their performances also featured absurdly comical stage props such as oversized fezzes and large cardboard cutout heads of newspaper editor William Allen White. Many of these props would later turn up in their first music videos.

If you would permit me to wax nostalgic, it was a bit odd to see the band that provided the geek-rock soundtrack to my undergrad years, and realize that they've been performing for 25 years (since 1982). Flansburgh looks like, well, a 40-something with a gut (to be fair, if you're not allowed that when you're married and 47, when would it be allowed?), who could be the hip/funny high school science teacher. He's obviously having a good time bouncing all around the stage. But I guess I feel some goofy protectiveness for a band that I'm such a big fan of.

To wit, I know that they're not lacking for work, given their new albums, touring, kids' albums and side projects all over the place. But I sometimes wonder if it is depressing to realize that a few albums from the 1990's reflect their greatest popular successes, and although people will keep buying their new work, they won't see that same level again. Also, the classic rock-band-with-a-history playing their "standards," and whether or not they get tired of doing so (i.e., the "No, we're not gonna fucking do 'Stonehenge'!" problem).

Anyway, looking at the Somerville Theater upcoming events--Eels are playing on Monday 31st (thanks, Jess, for playing Souljacker on the ride down to New York). Tempting, but I actually have to be at work early on Tuesday.

But as for other live music--Peter Mulvey (folk/rock solo guitar) is playing in Arlington next Friday, five minutes from my front door--anyone interested?