Shows/2026-05-02
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38 wikians attended: Aisterion, Akcroap, Beansf, BirdMaskJ, BlindGuy, Dasgamerjaja, Disinvited Guest, Epros, Exit12, GerwinK, Goo ish, GreenGame, Hydroponicallygrown, Jargent, Jonasd, Kolventra, LostAlyx, Lowqualitygravy, MeggieSue, Moe.bush, Mrsbluebeard, NotThatJohnF, OrMaybeImJustSmall, PetertheTMBGfan, ProstheticForehead, RecordCollector06, ResentfulAppendage, ScudcloudZ, Sirubberduckie, Sloop Goop, SrSwaggio, Tedadore2, TeeOS, Tom117, Unmutual, Valerie, Wbrimley, Zander
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Setlist:
Set 1:
- Sammy Intro
- Subliminal
- Snail Shell
- Out Of Jail
- Unrelated Thing
- Meet James Ensor
- The Famous Polka
- Dirt Bike
- No One Knows My Plan
- Spy
- Token Back To Brooklyn (a cappella)
- The End Of The Tour
- stelluB (false ending, as described by Flans)
- stelluB
- Wu-Tang
- Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)
- Synopsis For Latecomers
- S-E-X-X-Y
- Where Your Eyes Don't Go
Set 2:
- Video of stelluB reversed
- Stompy Intro
- The Mesopotamians
- Brontosaurus
- Authenticity Trip
- The Guitar
- Man, It's So Loud In Here
- Twisting
- Eyeball
- Hit The Ground
- Can't Keep Johnny Down
- Cloisonné
- Get Down
- Doctor Worm
Encore 1:
Encore 2:
They Might Be Giants
Vic Theatre in Chicago, IL
May 2, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Fan Recaps and Comments[edit]
During the improv portion of "Spy", this show featured a surprise a cappella rendition of "Token Back To Brooklyn" from John Flansburgh, which had previously only been performed live once in 2008.
- Snail Shell is one of my favorite TMBG songs period. Getting to hear it live was super cool. Looking forward to Factory Showroom night tomorrow...Exquisite Dead Guy and Till My Head Falls Off is a VERY specific combination for me in particular. Also, the surprise Token Back performance was great. Flans killed it up there
- Chicken guy outside the venue was back. Apparently, he wasn't alone, as there was another employee holding the camera for him as opposed to a tripod. Same shit as last night with them claiming their chicken was better than a TMBG show, which could not be possible in the slightest.
- My first TMBG concert and first time in Chicago!!! That was AMAZING I'm still in shock. Spy was genuinely one of the coolest things! Incredibly happy about StelluB as well, as I've wanted to see that played live! The setlist was perfect too, spotlighted John Henry but also played a good mix of the favorites. The band absolutely did awesome, I've only seen two other artists live and you guys are definitely my top favorite easily. I've just about lost my voice from screaming and singing lol. Gotta love the Johns banter too. (JF, got any NFTs available?) Thank you TMBG! Hopefully they come back to the Vic next year, that theatre was neat. Still can't get over the fact I actually got to see them.
- Wanted to add this to my recap, that person in the Particle Man beanie and Flood shirt was me yay!!! Glad you liked the bracelets :)
- John Henry is my favorite album, so I was very happy to see it. And while I did enjoy what they played, honestly, I could have done with more John Henry! We didn't get some of my favorites on that album: Sleeping in the Flowers, I Should Be Allowed to Think, Why Must I Be Sad?, Stomp Box. Hard to know what to cut to make room for them, though. I guess I could do without Dirt Bike. And while I would personally be fine cutting Overnight Sensation, I can see that the boys are just having so much fun up there playing it, I guess I can let them have it. They deserve to play what they enjoy.
- Meet James Ensor directly into The Famous Polka (with no break or even a pause) was incredible. Worked perfectly. Two great tastes that taste great together.
- Man It's So Loud In Here was a very welcome surprise. It sounded wildly different from the album version, which makes sense since they are playing with a live band and not recorded synths. But I was happy I got to see it. Quite enjoyable.
- I was shocked that they didn't play Istanbul or Particle Man, but shocked in a good way! I am glad they don't feel like they need to play all the biggest hits every single show. Let's see the weird stuff, the rare stuff! Speaking of...
- I didn't recognize Token Back to Brooklyn when Flans sang it. But I'm honored that I was there to see it nonetheless!
- My first time seeing the Johns live and my first time in Chicago too! I was simply blown away! So pleased with the setlist, especially Man, It's So Loud In Here! It's among my favorite songs and it came out of nowhere. I was happy to see a sizeable crowd of younger attendees, too! Shoutout to the couple of fans (one in a Trogdor The Burninator shirt, the other in the Particle Man beanie and Flood shirt) who handed me bracelets outdoors! The energy was incredible, I'm still so thrilled to have seen it (and the only other recorded performance of Token Back To Brooklyn! I LOVE how flans made it sound so hauntingly different from the original, I think it suited the nightmarish-helplessness air of the lyrics better. I still think it was crazy to witness the second performance of it, the first of which occurring before I was even born). The Vic is such a lovely venue and Chicago Night 2 is something I'll remember forever. Hoping to attend another one of these some day !!!