Concert Review: They Might Be Giants at Brooklyn Steel, NY

Living in New York presents a plethora of options for spending your night out, As the opportunities and spaces easily, your disposal are near limitless. However, with the boundless options at hand, it can feel close to impossible to decipher exactly what you want to do especially when the fear of missing out on something exciting or provoking enters your periphery. Thankfully, Brooklyn’s own They Might Be Giants are well aware of this conundrum and have presented just the solution for those specifically looking for a night of great music with a side of a comedy show in the same night.

They Might Be Giants, commandeered by fearless leaders John Flansburgh and John Lindell, represents a spirit of fun, liveliness, and goofiness that can feel quite difficult to find in the modern age of music. The group has a storied past of playing venues in New York since the 80s, cutting teeth at the Pyramid Club, now called Night Club 101. Whether it’s countless shows at Bowery Ballroom or an adventure at the illustrious Kings Theater, there’s no shortage of rooms for the group to play in. Their three night jaunt in Brooklyn, however, was their first appearance at the now essential Brooklyn Steel, a fact they were more than happy to express their excitement about.

The group walked onstage at 8:05 PM, introducing themselves and announcing their first set would be dedicated to their 1992 record Apollo 18. After kicking off with “The Statue Got Me High,” the group played hits from the album like the hilarious “Turn Around,” “Mammal,” and the infectious “I Palindrome I,” all of which were well received by the fans. One of the highlights of the first set was undoubtedly the cut “Fingernails” with its consistently shifting atmosphere and antsy excitement, along with some masterful lighting to match the never ending shifts. 

The group didn’t only stick to Apollo 18 hits during the first part of the show: they also dove into other corners of their massive discography, such as 2021’s BOOK opener, “Synopsis For Latecomers.” There’s also “The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)” which was one of many examples of the horns section fully activated, the single from their latest record The Earth Is To Dig, “Wu-Tang,” and the act one conclusion of “Doctor Worm.” While They Might Be Giants might have an immense discography, there were certain members of the audience you could tell knew every single word to any song they played. No matter where I was looking, there was always someone singing the lyrics, a telltale sign of the longevity of bands like Giants.

What makes They Might Be Giants shows so interesting is how they feel so comfortable while consistently trying to find goofy ways to play with the live elements. At any given moment in between songs, you would get at least one moment worthy of a laugh track, whether it was their commentary on Timothee Chalamet to the percentage of attendees with beards (anything less than 100% was a failure to John Flansburg’s eyes). However, in the most “They Might Be Giants” way of performing a They Might Be Giants song, the group learned “Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love” completely backwards. They took a video of the performance, and right as the lights went down for the second part of the night, the video played the reverse song in reverse. While the reverb of the drum hits might have revealed the anachronistic nature of the song, it sounded pretty spot on.

Once the “steullB” display was complete, the group reemerged onto the stage and led with an extended acoustic intro from Dan Miller into their explosive cover of “Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” complete with a trumpet outro from Mark Pender. The group leaned into more of their back catalogue with the second set such as 2013’s “The Darlings Of Lumberland,” a track dedicated to the many members in the audience who went to music school and my personal favorite of the set. They also played some crowd pleasers such as “The Mesopotamians,” the closer from 2007’s The Else, as well as “Ana Ng” off of their seminal 1988 work Lincoln. Of course, no New York show would be complete without “I’ll Sink Manhattan,” from 1991’s Miscellaneous T. Towards the end of the evening, the group came out for not one but two encores, breaking out one of their The Earth Is To Dig singles “Get Down” and The Else track “Withered Hope.” Finally, they finished with setlist staples “Spy” and their hit “Birdhouse Of The Soul.”

They Might Be Giants’ dedication towards evenings of happiness and tomfoolery are essential in a climate of pure doom and gloom. They make spaces for the smartest in their high school or their office to hang out and enjoy jokes without the fear of feeling out of place. There’s always going to be nerd rock for every generation, but They Might Be Giants still stands as a pillar for those who need it the most.

They Might Be Giants will be touring their “42 date, fully sold out” tour, in their own words. You can find limited tickets here, as well as listen to their great new album The World Is To Dig here.