Alternative rock trailblazers They Might Be Giants took their tour to the historical Strand Ballroom in Providence, RI Friday night. The band has had to overcome so much to get to this point. This tour, like so many others, had two years of pushbacks due to Covid. Shortly after the band resumed touring in the summer of 2022, vocalist John Flansburgh was hit by a drunk driver on his drive back from a show and suffered seven broken ribs. Thankfully, he has recovered and fans have been filling venues to show their support.
Before the show even began you could tell by the crowd that it was going to be a fun night. They Might Be Giants provided concert goers with some whimsical TMBG themed paper hats which most fans we were more than happy to wear. As the venue filled up and the floor became jammed packed the band emerged on stage. John Flansburgh addressed the crowd and said (before the concert even started) that he was pretty sure this was going to be the best concert he had ever done before which of course was met with lots of cheering and applause. He had a lot of banter going with John Linnell throughout the show which the crowd was absolutely eating up.
Since there was not an opener, They Might Be Giants was free to pull from their extensive catalog of songs. Their original tour set for 2020 was to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album Flood so many of the 28 songs performed were from that album, but they also performed newer hits like “Brontosaurus” from the 2021 release BOOK.
Their most recognizable song and their top played song on Spotify is “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”. Everyone was singing in unison during this hit. They Might Be Giants also took the opportunity during this song to introduce their brass instrument players who each got to perform outstanding solos.
One of the most fun parts of the show was when the band played their song “Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love” in reverse which apparently goes by the title “Stilloop” when it is played in reverse. They videotaped the performance and then after a brief intermission they played the reverse song in reverse back to the audience which was extremely impressive. John Flansburgh joked around that since they took the time to learn how to play that song backwards they are going to perform it for the rest of their careers. No one was objecting to this and thoroughly enjoyed witnessing this unique live music element.
They Might Be Giants have just gotten started on their tour and have concert dates in locations all across the US and even a date in Vancover, BC over the next 5 months. Absolutely attend one of the shows if you haven’t already – Shows — They Might Be Giants