Shows/2026-05-29

38 wikians attended: 33rdFootstep, Allisonlikesstuff, Birdbrain, BlueCanary, Brianwlevine, CapitalQ, Chriscost0318, Craighecht, Derek Denim, Dinnercereal, Divmazie, Ithrewtheglass, J2, Jane is your Vietnam, Jillian, Jm, Kayakcup, Kevin713, Liam2015, Lucy, Lukehennisch, LynntendoDamecube, Ninetheninth, NoraQRosa, Oliveirach, Rabid-child-1986, Radiofreehailey, RealityMinus3 & Zeke Rat, ResentfulAppendage, Richegreen, Rosefox, Sapphirebullets, SeaIntoTheLandem, TDK, Vvedge, Waymu, Wireless mike, Zafiredis

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Setlist:

Set 1:

• Sammy Intro
• S-E-X-X-Y
• The Bells Are Ringing
• New York City
• Spiraling Shape
• XTC Vs. Adam Ant
• Till My Head Falls Off
• Pet Name
• Exquisite Dead Guy
• Metal Detector
• How Can I Sing Like A Girl?
• James K. Polk
• Wu-Tang
• Hit The Ground
• stelluB
• Brontosaurus
• Particle Man
  • Southern Man

Set 2:

• Video of stelluB reversed
• Stompy Intro
• Synopsis For Latecomers
• Birdhouse In Your Soul
• Whistling In The Dark
• Meet James Ensor
• The Famous Polka
• Stuff Is Way
• You Probably Get That A Lot
• Older
• Moonbeam Rays
• Eyeball
• Withered Hope
• Let Me Tell You About My Operation
• The Statue Got Me High

Encore 1:

• Twisting
• Get Down

Encore 2:

• Shoehorn With Teeth
• Doctor Worm

They Might Be Giants
Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, NY
May 29, 2026 at 8:00 PM

Trivia

• This show marked the first performance of "Exquisite Dead Guy" since 2000.
  • Coincidentally, this show marks the first performance of said song to fully incorporate live vocals from both Johns and full-band accompaniment (including horns), as opposed to using recordings, and utilizing puppets for that song.

Fan Recaps and Comments:

Rosefox:

Usually I would do a full show recap, but all I can think about is "Exquisite Dead Guy."

I love that the vehicle for this extraordinary experience was a really weird, morbid, un-catchy song that's older than probably half the people who were at the show. Some of us have been carrying that song around in our heads for years and years, cherishing it in all its strangeness long after the band seemed to have forgotten it and moved on. Like "Token Back to Brooklyn" the night before, this was a gift for the people who camp out in the depths of the catalog — and yet there were so many of us, hitting the harmonies from the very first ba ba-da ba ba ba-da ba, singing loud like we wanted the band to know that the effort of dusting off the song wasn't in vain.

We hushed for the glissando, knowing what was coming. John and John looked out at us and quietly asked, "How'm I s'posed to let you know the way I feel about you?" Then they threw back their heads and sang it out from the bottom of their hearts, and nearly two thousand of us roared it back, turning what I've always heard as a tragic plea into a declaration of affection so profound that it can't be expressed in words. How are we, the fans, supposed to let them know the way we feel about them, the band? We can't. It's a parasocial relationship. They don't really know us and we don't really know them; they're up there on the stage, unreachable. But we can sing their song (one of their more obscure songs!) back to them, with them, in full voice, and bridge that gap for an instant like an electric spark.

They played a bunch of other songs, apparently. It was a good show, which I know because I remember thinking afterwards that it was a good show. I'm writing this 24 hours later and the rest of it is already fading into a blur of pleasant memory. But I hope I never forget what it was like to watch them bravely pull that song out of storage for the first time in a quarter-century and offer it to us, and to feel us all offer our hearts back to them.