They Might Be Giants: A Dial-A-Song Celebration in Williamsburg

DMNDR, April 27, 2015
by Jason Wien

Last night, I found myself nudging my way through a crowd at Music Hall of Williamsburg with the DMNDR company camera and an over-priced rum and coke. They Might Be Giants, a band famous for withstanding the tests of time since the early 80’s, were minutes away from storming the stage and the venue walls had already begun rumbling from the excitement of five hundred or so restless fans.

Their reason for playing, aside from the obvious, was to celebrate their service, Dial-A-Song—a pledge made by the band to release one new song each week for the entire year of 2015. But that didn’t stop them from ripping through a 30-year career spanning set list in less than two and a half hours. As co-vocalist, John Flansburgh, fervently hopped alongside other possible giant, John Linnell, the audience danced and stomped in unison until the whole damn place shook. Grown men in their late forties and young kids as young as sixteen stood beside each other, flailing their arms like those inflatable men that sit outside of gas stations and grand openings for car washes and department stores. Women stood pogo-sticking with their knees while they bobbed and swayed to the nerdy-pop outfit’s classics, “Istanbul”, “Robot Parade” and “Doctor Worm”.

All compliments to their innovation and longevity aside, They Might Be Giants are a fantastic band with notable hits and a wild sense of humor. If I came for the music, I certainly stayed for the marvel of everything else. The music was fantastic, but the interactions with the audience, the odd telephone skits and the visuals are what kept the show fresh, entertaining and ultimately one of the better live performances I’ve seen in a long time.

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