They Might Be Giants @ The Gov, Adelaide 2/10/2024
Brilliant! Absence makes the heart grow fonder and that can be said for Adelaide’s affinity with American alternative “geek” rock band They Might Be Giants playing the second of two big shows at The Gov having previously been rescheduled due to illness. The focus of the show was very much on a celebration of breakthrough album Flood and not necessarily played start to end either which made it all the more interesting. No support meant even more They Might Be Giants playing two sets with a short intermission between both.
They Might Be Giants don’t do anything by halves and whilst the two Johns – Linnell and Flansburgh -are pivotal they surround themselves in elite company in terms of musicianship. It was a big band sound with this ensemble featuring eight in total on stage including The Tricerachops Horns section. Emerging to plenty of cheers Linnell asks Adelaide “how ya doin’?” to which Flansburgh responds “ah it’s just a lot of people yelling. It was a stripped back version of the cover Istanbul (Not Constantinople). Flansburgh was quick to concede he would be in the “penalty box” having “fucked up the first chorus” and with Linnell doing the same on third which he responded saying “it was planned”.
Whilst pointing out that the show is about Flood the next one ironically wasn’t with When Will You Die from Join Us following. What is incredible to watch is the dynamic and chemistry between the two Johns combined with their vocal harmonies. They are modern day geniuses and with a partnership that spans forty plus years and the music they have created shaping the geek rock genre it is easy to see why fans flock in big numbers to their shows.
Flood highlights in set one include the likes of Someone Keeps Moving My Chair, Women & Men and Your Racist Friend but there was plenty more awesomeness thrown in with the likes of Moonbeam Rays, Snail Shell and Let Me Tell You About My Operation. Unlike any other show that you will ever experience there is a twist with Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love played in reverse, and as a proof of concept was recorded and played in forwards in opening the second set. As Flansburgh put it “we want to torture ourselves to the entertainment value of no one”. Nevertheless, very clever to be able to pull something like that off. Finishing set one off on Damn Good Times and hit single Doctor Worm created a great vibe in the room as the band disappeared off stage for the intermission.
Second set opening with the recording on screen Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love played in forward “to prove it was not made up” then kicking off with the instrumental The Famous Polka. Particle Man was awesome There were some great moments in the second set with the band not sticking with a particular style for long and there was a sense of anticipation for what would be played next as no set list would be repeated from one night to the next catering for the uber fan going to both nights or more on the tour.
So many great songs from the early gem Ana Ng to the honky tonk vibe of Lucky Ball and Chain to Spy which saw Flansburgh conducting and directing the other band members to improvise which also extended and involved the audience in the controlled mayhem. Other highlights for me were set closers Road Movie To Berlin and Birdhouse To Your Soul. Seems hard to to this, right?
Returning for the first of two encores starting with the stirring Theme From Flood followed by Dead but no doubt it was the second encore that would have got people talking with a whole fun in covering Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping! Absolute gold, definitely got the crowd moving and grooving then closing with a mash up of sorts with The Guitar with a sprinkling of the Lion Sleeps Tonight. A wonderful celebration of the album Flood and all the classics by They Might Be Giants. Definitely a great Thursday night out.
Live Review By Rob Lyon