Concert review: They Might Be Giants at The Orange Peel

From the moment that my child self saw the quirky video with silly dancing for “Don’t Let’s Start” on MTV, I knew that They Might Be Giants was a band for me. Succeeding videos for “Birdhouse in Your Soul,” “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” and Particle Man” — the latter two on the hit animated series Tiny Toon Adventures — sunk the hook in further, securing lifelong fandom of the NYC-based duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell. 

There’s long been a misguided tendency to dismiss They Might Be Giants as a less-than-serious novelty act because the duo writes quirky tunes with a sense of humor, but Flansburgh and Linnell deserve a great amount of respect for creating one of the most consistent and idiosyncratic bands of the past few decades.

Currently on tour, performing the beloved 1990 album Flood in its entirety, the duo returned to a jam-packed Orange Peel on March 10. Joining the Johns on stage were longtime bandmates Dan Miller (guitar/keyboards), Danny Weinkauf (bass/keyboards), and Marty Beller (drums), as well as the killer horn section of Dan Levine, Stan Harrison, and Mark Pender (the latter of Late Night with Conan O’Brien fame). 

Initial technical difficulties allowed Flansburgh and Linnell an opportunity for some funny banter before launching into the first of two sets with the infectious jangle pop of “Letterbox.” Although the band would be performing all of Flood, it was quickly made apparent that there would not be a direct track-by-track recreation of the record. Instead, the songs were spread out pretty evenly over the course of the sprawling concert with TMBG working in other favorites from the band’s extensive catalog, including four from the underappreciated recent release Book (2021).

The back-to-back, one-two punch of “The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)” and The dB’s-referencing gem “Twisting” provided an early thrill so personally satisfying that I could have left feeling fulfilled right then. Fortunately, there were plenty more high points during the first set, including a surprising little ditty about The Orange Peel that the duo initially introduced during a 2004 tour in which a special ode was written for each venue. 

Keeping things as interesting as possible, synthpop Flood cut “Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love” was performed entirely backwards, including the vocals. A reversed recording of the rendition would later be played back directly before the start of the second set. 

After the brief intermission that followed the fantastic first set closer, “Doctor Worm,” They Might Be Giants immediately got things rolling with the wildly fun cowboy synth fantasy “Minimum Wage.” Loading up the later set with fan favorites, the group was able to keep its aging fanbase fully engaged, and no moment was more stimulating than the rendition of the band’s career-defining cover of The Four Lads’ “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” which was teased with a long sequence of solos by the horn trio. It wasn’t until the band closed out the second set with the thrilling “Birdhouse in Your Soul”  that They Might Be Giants had exhausted the entirety of Flood. 

An encore of “How Can I Sing Like a Girl?” and “When Will You Die” was enjoyable but lacked the closure needed to put an emphatic stamp on the night. Fortunately, the ecstatic crowd enticed the band for two more, resulting in a cover of Cub’s “New York City” before the grand finale “Fingertips.” Having been hoping for the head-spinning Apollo 18 song suite for the entire evening, it provided an ideal end to the nostalgia trip.

Setlist

Set 1
Letterbox
Synopsis for Latecomers
Brontosaurus
The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
Twisting
Someone Keeps Moving My Chair
We Want a Rock
The Darlings of Lumberland
Hot Cha
Spy
Asheville
evoL eruP fo stelluB erihppaS
2082
Moonbeam Rays
Road Movie to Berlin
Doctor Worm

Set 2
Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love (Reversed video playback )
Minimum Wage
I Can’t Remember the Dream
Man, It's So Loud in Here
Your Racist Friend
Women and Men
Dead
Number Three
Whistling in the Dark
Lucky Ball and Chain
Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (The Four Lads cover)
Particle Man
Rocket Number Nine Take Off for the Planet Venus (The Sun Ra Arkestra cover)
Theme From Flood
Birdhouse in Your Soul

Encore
How Can I Sing Like a Girl?
When Will You Die

Encore 2
New York City (cub cover)
Fingertips

(Photos by Jonny Leather)