Shows/2026-05-30

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• Setlist

Setlist:

Set 1:

Set 2:

Encore 1:

Encore 2:

They Might Be Giants
Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, NY
May 30, 2026 at 8:00 PM


Fan Recaps and Comments:[edit]

Rosefox:

What a fantastic capstone to a three-night stand. The Lincoln songs always go over well, and because they're so short — which was affectionately mocked in the patter — you can fit a lot of them into one show. The Stick made a triumphant appearance for "Lie Still, Little Bottle" and Marty was solemn and precise for his three cowbell notes on "Shoehorn with Teeth." (If a bootleg picks up somebody yelling "WHY?" right after JF sings "But he doesn't get nervous," that was me, with a hat-tip to the great Da Vinci's Notebook.) I think my favorite of that set was "Piece of Dirt," which JF gave such deep and soulful pathos. JF and JL like to make fun of their age, but they're both far better singers now than they were when these tracks were cut, with impressive power and range of expression.
The new songs were fun too, and the band clearly had fun performing them. Nostalgia's great and all, but there's an especially vibrant character to the material that was written/arranged for the full band from the start.
Good music has an anesthetic quality, but it fades quickly during the break between sets. Those of us who had been to all three shows (and stood outside on line for some number of hours each night) spent those twenty minutes cursing our aching feet, knees, and backs. But ending the first set with "Birdhouse" usually means the second set and encores are going to be a nonstop party of other big hits, so we had that to look forward to.
The only hiccup in the second half was a muddled "Cloisonné"; I imagine it's an absolute nightmare to play live because you either nail it or you really don't, and this time they didn't. But it was really funny to hear the crowd putting on squeaky voices for "I don't wanna tell 'im, mister!" Otherwise, no complaints whatsoever. As soon as we were slammed into "Man, It's So Loud in Here," "Damn Good Times" (with an unusually un-flashy solo from Dan Miller), and "Don't Let's Start" back to back to back, the anesthetic kicked in again and I danced like I'd never been in pain in my life. We needed the relative breather of "2082" and "Wearing a Raincoat" before the pedal went to the metal again for "Twisting." I love watching the crowd for those big numbers, everyone punching the air and yelling "SHE WANTS, SHE WAAAAAAAANTS!" It was a fantastic crowd, even by Saturday night sold-out show standards, and I often took my earplugs out so I could hear us all singing along together.
The second set concluded with "Get Down" (clearly destined to join the dance hit pantheon) and a stellar "Istanbul," both featuring the horns at their very best. We didn't have to wait long for the encore of "Operation" and the always-cathartic "When Will You Die." The lights went down, we pleaded for one more song... and they came back and gave us "The End of the Tour." Ohhhh, I cried. I'm sure I wasn't the only one crying. The band looked practically ready to cry. JF played his tiny little solo with such a solemn expression that it felt like a dirge. Our beautiful, incredible, amazing, transcendent three nights together had come to an end, and we couldn't help but grieve.
But they will always come back to Brooklyn. And we'll be waiting.

WithoutABoxInside:

I second all of Rosefox's comments above, this was a fantastic show with impressive energy throughout, and both Johns in excellent voice. JF in particular was really on, swooping around the stage. I've never heard "Piece of Dirt" sounding so good. Also delighted to hear "I'll Sink Manhattan" live, and JL was quite expressive on a really tight "2082" and the lovely closing "End of the Tour".
A couple bits I jotted down afterward:
• There was a running gag about 3-inch CDs (a format that'll come back in style any day now), and Paul in "Snowball in Hell" was concerned about his coworker's stack of 3-inch CDs.
• JF: "To the person with the sign that says 'Play Boat of Car': we’re not going to play Boat of Car. don’t wear out your arms. we appreciate your love for the best of our material, but there’s not enough time and we have to get to our most middling songs." (then into Birdhouse)
• "Can’t Keep Johnny Down" had a funny projection of the aisle of an airplane, a Harrison Ford movie playing on the back of one of the seats… clearly just some found footage they took 
• At the beginning of the 2nd set, as the Godzilla theme played, Flans intoned, “The year is 2026, and…” and then "Man, It's So Loud In Here" started up immediately, which was fun
• At one point JL lamented that he'd worn out his voice and he was sounding like Brian Keith on Family Affair, or maybe Sebastian Cabot. The Johns then traded impressions of these characters ("Listen to your father, Buffy"). This went on for a while to a bewildered audience reaction. JF: “We’re the only ones here who’ve seen that show." JL: "In fact, that show doesn’t exist. We have a rich fantasy life.”
• I love the weird extended outro on "Twisting", transposing the organ riff to different keys and finally to the Kaoss pad while keeping the groove going. Maybe they always do that, idk, but it was delightful and everyone was having a great time dancing. This show was (of course) a great time in general.

SeaIntoTheLandem:

Oh man. I was so tired when I woke up the morning of the 30th. I barely did anything during the day, as it was already noon by the time I was able to drag myself out of bed. I ate lunch at a diner near the venue, where I was seated at a booth despite being a party of 1. I then immediately made my way to the venue to go stand (or, sit) in line because I was too tired for anything else. Because it was the weekend, there were more early birds when I got there than the previous two shows. So, I was further back in line, and yet I was somehow able to get a spot at the barrier when we were let into the venue, even with my bag! Next to me was a younger (teen) fan who told me that this was their first concert EVER! There was an even younger fan in the front of the crowd, someone's 8 year old kid. The show was 16+, so we do not know how he was allowed to be there.
Lincoln. What an album. I'm surprised they didn't start doing Lincoln spotlights sooner, it seems like a no-brainer! Starting with Santa's Beard was an interesting choice. Christmas in May, may-be? I think I like Lincoln songs better as a sequenced album, but I don't mean that the live performances were bad. Because they were very good. I was very excited to hear They'll Need A Crane live, as a lover of both the song and cranes (machine and bird alike). For Shoehorn, Flans instructed us to "cheer as as if [we're] hearing music for the first time" after each note Marty played. And so we did, and it was awesome (and really funny).
While I was waiting in line and talking to my fellow fans about what we wanted to hear that night, I had said I was hoping for Man, It's So Loud In Here and Damn Good Times, despite having already caught them live before. They're just so good! And sure enough, when the band came back out for set 2, they went into Man It's So Loud and then Damn Good Times immediately after. I couldn't believe it! I was so happy! And then right after was a song I love to death, but assumed that they just hadn't been playing for some reason. The Glamour Of Rock was fun, it's a great little live song, though it would probably benefit from being a tad longer. The End Of The Tour as the final encore was amazing, though it would have hit harder if they played it at the actual end of the tour.
I was one of the two lucky recipients of a drumstick from Marty this night! After the show, I hung out with a group of 10-ish people (who I only knew from the Internet prior to these shows) outside the stage door. We ended up getting a big group photo with Marty, as well as his wife who initially was staying out of our way, but Marty asked us if we wanted her in the photo too and we all said yes and waved her over. There is no real way to say this without sounding slightly parasocial, but I am very grateful that he seems to really care about the fans. We also saw Mark Pender, who I got to sign my Beast of Horns CD, and he also signed the copy of A Bug's Life on N64 that I mentioned in the recap for the previous show. A Brooklyn Steel staff member came out and gave some of us some stray setlists, perhaps as an offering to get us to go home. I got one of these setlists, which now serves as some pretty sweet wall decor.
What an amazing 3 nights. I don't doubt that the amazing performance from the band was in part due to the fact they were playing in their home city. These three shows were their first time at Brooklyn Steel, and both Johns kept mentioning how much they love the venue. No doubt that they will be playing here again in the future, and I hope that I can make it there, too.
The next day, I had to drag myself home. A train ride back to New Jersey, and a grueling 7 hour drive back to Cleveland. When I got back into my car, I was on the verge of tears. Not because I was sad I was leaving (though that was a small part), but because I was so so so happy from everything I had experienced and the people I had met. My heart was full.
And oh my god, I was still going to the shows in Boston!!!
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