They Might Be Giants, the long-running masters of weirdness - who are, somehow, also weirdly accessible - have staked their claim on Covington’s Madison Theater for two nights to celebrate their massive catalog, the band, and their fans.
Night one featured the band occupying the whole of Madison Theater’s stage with founding members John Flansburgh and John Linnell, a horn section featuring members playing trombone, trumpet, and sax, plus 3 more members filling out the rest of the group.
The stage setup allowed for band members to move on and off between songs, with lighting that fluctuated from basic to adventurous, and a large, humorously edited and stylishly put together animated background that also switched to camera feeds at various points. Minus one interesting technical issue that kept John Flansburgh moving around the stage singing his backing parts while trying to troubleshoot a possible electrical problem - while it certainly seemed frustrating, it felt particularly on brand and took nothing away from the experience. Frankly, I was impressed by it all.
Their fourth album, Apollo 18, was featured heavily, and the crowd were treated to a variety of tracks including the Fingertips Suite, “I Palindrome I,” “The Statue Got Me High,” and so many more fan favorites and deep cuts that only a band like They Might Be Giants can bring to the stage.
As I was moving around and through the venue - a sold out crowd, mind you, so no easy feat at Madison Theater - I was struck by the diversity of the crowd itself, which I think speaks to something very specifically tied to They Might Be Giants’ longevity and general appeal.
TMBG can’t be put in any one genre box, and as a band that’s been around since the mid-80’s, they also can’t be dropped into any one era, or explained as one specific type of music. TMBG are very much their own thing, and their cross-genre playfulness along with their four decade existence mean that they can appeal to the music geeks, the punk rockers, the goth kids, the indie rock nerds, and all the generations that those labels might apply to. And then a bunch of other people besides. I saw a lot of parents, a lot of kids, folks much younger than me, folks much older. I’ll never not smile at a family together at a show, no matter what band is playing. I absolutely love to see it, and it felt particularly poignant for a lot of the families I saw last night.
That’s not something many bands can pull off, so being able to catch the first of two nights in Covington that let They Might Be Giants take their time, make their way through a lot of songs, and hit a lot of high notes that had fans singing along and grinning ear to ear throughout their time with the band - that was truly special.
Only 2 of their 15 tour dates have tickets left. One of them being tonight’s second show in Covington. So if you missed out on the first night, now’s your chance to witness the weirdness for yourself. Have fun, y’all. You’re in for a real treat.
