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Home Concert Reviews They Might Be Giants @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Wednesday, December 12,2007
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They Might Be Giants @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Nov. 9, 2007
November 15, 2007
Legendary
nerd rockers They Might Be Giants (TMBG) brought their 22-year almanac
of wailing ridiculousness to the revamped Turner Hall last Friday
night. Two Johns from Brooklyn who seem to be stuck in the continual
limbo of a perverted bookish musical, they let loose a mix of old and
new tunes that continue to defy generic pigeonholing. The aging crowd
was easily encouraged into clap-alongs and the formation of a giddy
conga line that snaked around the ballroom, which John Flansburgh
declared the longest in Turner Hall's brief history.
With the
core of Johns directing the circus on guitar and keyboard, a solid trio
of musicians filled out a classic five-piece band, which was then
accented by a blaring horn section that ascended from the shadows of
the balcony. The duo traded off nasally lead vocals, while sometimes
"harmonizing" to pitches that weren't really pleasing at all, yet
somehow pleasantly rattled the eardrum. Solos were plentiful and kept
things from getting too monotonously weird. From John Linnell squeezing
away on an accordion, to the highlight solos of lead guitarist Dan
Miller, one from atop the towering house speakers and then a wicked
acoustic intro into "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," the final song
after two encores.
As TMBG jumped through decades and from album to album, they played an array of songs off of classic albums like Flood, Apollo 18 and John Henry, as well as a handful from their most recent release, The Else.
The last song of their first encore, "Fingertips," a disjointed string
of far-flung styles and obscurity, pretty much summarizes TMBG in a
cracked nutshell. It was damn near impossible to keep a straight face
throughout the show. With their unique breed of lighthearted music as
infectious as chickenpox, TMBG surely brought out the inner child of a
misled academic youth.
Also in Concert Reviews:
The Cure @ The Allstate ArenaFlight of the Conchords @ The Riverside TheaterM.I.A. @ Turner Hall BallroomThe Hives @ the RaveThe Avett Brothers @ Turner Hall BallroomDeVotchKa @ Turner Hall BallroomThe Swell Season @ The Riverside TheaterTegan and Sara @ The Pabst TheaterBlack Rebel Motorcycle ClubMaritime @ Turner Hall
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