Shows/2024-05-15
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Setlist:
Set 1:
- Stompy Intro
- Synopsis For Latecomers
- Birdhouse In Your Soul
- Moonbeam Rays
- Bangs
- Man, It's So Loud In Here
- Hovering Sombrero
- Drink!
- Wicked Little Critta
- Mink Car
- Cyclops Rock
- Older
- Working Undercover For The Man
- Let Me Tell You About My Operation
- stelluB
- Brontosaurus
Set 2:
- Video of stelluB reversed
- Subliminal
- Particle Man
- Spider
- Underwater Woman
- Meet James Ensor
- The Famous Polka
- The Mesopotamians
- Lie Still, Little Bottle
- The Glamour Of Rock
- When Will You Die
- Cloisonné
- Number Three
- Don't Let's Start
- Doctor Worm
Encore 1:
Encore 2:
They Might Be Giants
Madison Theater in Covington, KY
May 15, 2024 at 8:00 PM
Fan Recaps and Comments:
This show had a surprise Mink Car theme.
- This was my very first time seeing TMBG and MY GOD, WHAT A FIRST IMPRESSION! I got in line outside of the theater at ~4:00, and they started letting people into the lobby around 5:45 or so. We then get let into the actual theater part at 6:30, and we all ran to the pit to try and get to the very front (even though the staff kept yelling out "No running!") Me and my mom got to be in the very front, right on the rail, a little to the right of Linnell's keyboard. At this point, I started absolutely freaking out. Then, an hour and a half later, the little intro video thingy played, and I felt that stomach drop feeling, like when you're feeling a rollercoaster going up and then dropping 200 feet. Marty came on stage first, followed by Dan, Danny, John, and John. Everyone went crazy, me especially. To be honest, my eyes were a little watery. They opened with Synopsis for Latecomers, and I was looking up at Linnell while singing along. He noticed and looked back, and I smiled at him, and he smiled back. The first set highlighted Mink Car, and it ended with Brontosaurus. Set 2 was more of a variety set. I was absolutely shocked when they played Famous Polka, I was jumping and screaming the whole time. When they brought out The Stick, Flans held it up like it was a holy staff. The crowd was going absolutely nuts. When they put it away, I screamed out "WE LOVE YOU THE STICK!" Near the end of the show, someone yelled out and asked Linnell if he wanted a cat sticker, and he replied with something like "I don't want a cat sticker right now" (emphasis on right now) and that entire section where the question came from erupted in high pitched screams. After the second encore, we all kept clapping and screaming, hoping they'd come back and play one last song. We all chanted "ONE MORE SONG" and it eventually turned into "TEN MORE SONGS." After we were sure they weren't coming back out, we left. All in all, it was an incredible show.
- My first TMBG show, my second concert ever. Absolutely incredible.
After they played Synopsis For Latecomers and Birdhouse In Your Soul, they had a slight pause where they talked for a minute or two. Flans mentioned the concert from the day before and how everything had broken, and to make up for yesterday being a disaster, they were gonna play 22 different songs and have the exact same banter in between (cannot verify if this is true). Flans asked Linnell about his day and Linnell said he had gone to a museum, and Flans mentioned that he called his mother, then noted that Mother's Day had already passed. After that, they played Moonbeam Rays.
Flans gave a copy of BOOK to someone in the crowd.
He mentions that they've been doing a sort of "spotlight" for albums during this tour and announces that the album of the night is Mink Car.
They play Bangs, Man It's So Loud In Here, and then they took a slight pause which Linnell filled with this amazing monologue (mostly word for word):
"As some of you know, Mink Car was released on September 11th, which kind of stole our thunder a little bit... but you know, after all this time, which was more important?"
Funniest thing I've ever heard him say I think.
They played Hovering Sombrero after that, then Flans introduced the concept of "audience participation" to everyone, and made us all yell "DRINK DRINK!" during Drink. He made the balcony start, didn't seemed pleased with their performance, then made everyone in the pit and middle tier try, also to his moderate disappointment. He also tried to convince everyone to throw their fists in the air. He called for the middle tier house lights to be turned on when we all chant, which was amazing as we were in the middle tier near the railing. During this they put a video feed of the crowd on the projector and we could see ourselves in the feed! It was great.
They introduced Wicked Little Critta in fake New Englander accents and apologized for the "language" in the song and said it "was about Ben Affleck". During the song they show video feed of Linnell playing one of his little synthesizers on the projector. Linnell replaced the line "I like him" with "He's Ben Affleck".
They played Mink Car with b-roll of the Join Us hearse replacing the submarine from the beginning of the Yellow Submarine movie. They immediately go into Cyclops Rock after. Linnell calls it a "sometimes song" for them, to which Flans comments that it's hard to play without making a bit of a mess. They talk about Mink Car being available on vinyl for the first time ever. Flans almost plays the wrong song next, but Dan corrected him. He reminds everyone that he wrote the setlist this morning, then they start Older. Everyone in the crowd starts clapping horribly out of time, to which Linnell refuses to start singing. Flans then suggests a new beat for everyone, which allowed Linnell to start. Flans introduces Working Undercover For The Man.
He starts off Let Me Tell You About My Operation with a wall rattling, reverberating scream as close to the microphone as he could manage. It was terrifying but it was so cool. Flans spent most of Operation leaning on a stack of amps and wandering around the stage. They put a spotlight on Marty during it as well, and he did amazing as usual. After the song ends Flans mentions a rug on the side of the stage that's placed right on top of a big pile of wires right after a staircase, he says "I thought that was very clever of whoever put that there, it was kinda like a 'fuck... you'".
They preface Stillub by saying "We promise we aren't just talking to ourselves up here, we'll play the video after intermission to prove it". Then Flans introduces the backing band and the horn section. They all play Brontosaurus, then we go to intermission.
During intermission they played BBL Drizzy on the overhead, which was a bit crazy to hear at a TMBG show.
The reverse video plays, a small instrumental backing plays, directly into Subliminal.
During intermission Flans took off his jacket because the entire venue was so hot. He at some point also talked about the venues "commitment to the vibe" with the lack of AC and the hazy almost-smoke in the air. Linnell asked how his break was, and Flans replied "It was great, I had.. a banana, I'm trying to have a healthier 2024".
Flans introduces Dan Levine on euphonium for Particle Man. They suddenly started Spider, and just as quickly it ended. They started Underwater Woman right after.
Before they start Meet James Ensor, Linnell and Flans discuss an art exhibit in Europe featuring some of Ensors work that wanted to them to perform on opening day. Flans also takes the time to thank the sound guy at the venue for being patient despite his job (apparently it's hard work to be work the sound booth).
They go into The Famous Polka and of course, omit the lyrics instead favoring just their instruments. They played the Mesopotamians after.
They start Lie Still Little Bottle with a very whimsical keyboard solo from Linnell, while Flans brings out The Stick to much fanfare. He holds it out like it's a sacred, holy item, and with one loud "BANG", they begin the song. It was mesmerizing. After the song finishes, the keyboard plays again and The Stick is taken away.
Flans then announces that they're going to play a new song, which is about their lifestyle, and they play The Glamour of Rock with a visualizer of 3 washing machines on the projector.
During When Will You Die, Linnell mentions the horn section alongside the list of names.
Marty does a count-off at Flans' request leading into Cloisonné. They say they're going to play a song off of their first album, and play Number Three.
They take a pause, and Linnell starts talking and is quickly interrupted by someone (who I later found out was my friend in the front row) yelling "DO YOU WANT A CAT STICKER?" to which he replies, "No, I don't want a cat sticker, right this second..." and continues talking. He then talks about how someone had shown him a post featuring pictures of himself and Alison Bechdel where you're meant to identify who's who, and he says that he really couldn't tell. Flans starts almost explaining the joke of the picture and Linnell says something along the lines of "You're really reading into this, aren't you?" He also mentions that he really loves Bechdel's work and is honored to be compared to her. They start having some conversation about humor and writing going hand in hand. This goes on for a few minutes before they realize they've just been chatting and continue the concert. They play Don't Let's Start after.
Dan Miller moves up to the keyboard for Doctor Worm so Linnell can play the accordion.
After Doctor Worm, the band leaves the stage for a few minutes, then return for the first encore, Letterbox and Spy. Most of Spy was improvised, with Linnell playing a sample of Here Comes Santa Claus and walking around conducting the other members. They leave again, and return for the last encore with No One Knows My Plan. It was amazing to see especially since it's one of my favorites of all time.
The entire show was absolutely incredible and I can't wait to see them again.
