They Might Be Giants Kicks Off a Fun-Loving, Two-Night Stand in Cleveland: Review

Goofballs of the alt-rock world, They Might Be Giants shared its quirky catalog with an eager Cleveland audience on Friday night at the Agora. 

The sold-out show marked the first of two Cleveland concerts in the band’s “The Big Show” tour. (On Saturday, the New York-based group will continue at fellow AEG venue Globe Iron. When they’re done, altogether, TMBG will have played roughly five hours’ worth of music, about 60 songs, in the city.)

These two shows serve as a punctuation mark, wrapping up the group’s latest tour and marking the end of a year-and-a-half jaunt around the United States.

And what a fun tour it’s been.

TMBG lead band members “The Johns” (singer and multi-instrumentalist John Linnell and singer-guitarist John Flansburgh) shared their nerdy rock (“Brontasaurus,” “Particle Man”) and kid-friendly earworms (“Dr. Worm,” “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”) in the band’s two-part set, which featured a strong focus around 1994 album John Henry on Friday night.

Lighthearted lyrics met musical mastery, perhaps nowhere as noticeably as in the absurd, Simlish-sounding “stelluB” experiment: an exact reversal of the band’s song “Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love.” 

Other experiments didn’t work as neatly. At one point Flansburgh accidentally started playing the wrong song while the band played “Memo to Human Resources” — and instead of brushing it off, the group took the opportunity to chaotically attempt to play both songs simultaneously.

Whether it worked or not, the audience was in on the fun, cheering, whooping and singing along, even as songs unexpectedly clashed together. Generations of Clevelanders came together to celebrate the 43-year-old band, bobbing along to each well-loved song.

While conducting the horns, drums and guitars onstage, Flansburgh took an opportunity at one point to turn to the crowd. He stretched his arms out, pointing toward every corner of the venue. A crescendoing “woo” moved in waves, directed by his movement.

It was more than just TMBG performing at this moment. It was a community celebrating this quirky mix of music, together — on stage and off.

See more photos from the show below.

They Might Be Giants, Nov. 21, The Agora

1. “Subliminal”

2. “Snail Shell”

3. “Out of Jail”

4. “Unrelated Thing”

5. “Meet James Ensor”

6. “The Famous Polka”

7. “Stuff Is Way”

8. “Synopsis for Latecomers”

9. “No One Knows My Plan”

10. “Spy”

11. “Dirt Bike”

12. “You Probably Get That a Lot”

13. “stelluB”

14. “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” (The Four Lads cover)

15. “Dead”

16. “Everything Is Catching on Fire”

17. “Memo to Human Resources”

18. “Can't Keep Johnny Down”

19. “Shoehorn With Teeth”

20. “Brontosaurus”

21. “Lie Still, Little Bottle”

22. “Let Me Tell You About My Operation”

23. “Where Your Eyes Don't Go”

24. “Moonbeam Rays”

25. “2082”

26. “Damn Good Times”

27. “Particle Man / Rocket Number Nine Take Off for the Planet Venus”

28. “Birdhouse in Your Soul”

Encore:

29. “Twisting”

30. “When Will You Die”

Encore 2:

31. “Doctor Worm”

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