7 October 2024 – The Tivoli, Brisbane – words by Joe Harbour – pictures by Bec Harbour
Monday was a public holiday and I don’t know what everyone else had planned, but I was going to be enjoying a very cool night at the Tivoli watching probably one of the most funnest, energetic and cleverest bands in recent memory. They Might Be Giants from Brooklyn, New York have been around since the early 80’s and have been going ever since. Tonight was a showcase for their seminal album Flood which came out in 1990 to much acclaim and this was two sets interspersed with newer tracks from the albums Book, Nanobots among others.
TMBG bring a silly, fun and and almost childish flavour to music and I highly encourage parents to introduce them to their children as they will only gain by listening to them. Think adult songs for kids or kids songs for adults… one or the other.
They Might Be Giants – Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
So this evening there were no supports and we got right into it and didn’t look back (John Linnell did have a rearview mirror on his keys). This was the first of 2 shows, the second having sold out which was actually the first to be announced, so shows they have a solid following in Brisbane (and Australia wide) and the place was very full for a second show.
They Might Be Giants – Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
TMBG kicked off with tunes like ‘Someone Keeps Moving my Chair’, ‘When Will You Die’, ‘Lie Still Little Bottle’, ‘Brontosaurus’, ‘Dead’ and ‘Twisting’ to name a few. Each set was large (around 14-15 songs), they follow no tour set list and change up randomly each night, but we got newer songs mixed with older favourites and were treated to a tune called ‘Stellub’ which is ‘Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love’ sung live-but backwards. And the when they opened the second set we got the live recording of the ‘Stellub’ played in reverse which was how we got ‘Sapphire…’ and I think they blew more than a few minds there. And they filmed it. The first set had more songs like ‘Synopsis for Late Comers’, ‘Particle Man’, and ‘We Want a Rock’.
They Might Be Giants – Tivoli – photos by Bec Harbour
The second set was just as packed with classics from across the catalogue with the rest of the songs not played from Flood like ‘Hearing Aid’, ‘Minimum Wage’, ‘Women and Men’, ‘Letterbox’, and then mixed in between were tunes like ‘Dr Worm’, ‘Darlings of Lumberland’, ‘Don’t Let’s Start’, ‘2082’ and of course ‘Birdhouse In Your Soul’ and ‘Istanbul (not Constantinople)’ which the crowd knew every word to.
Overall I had a blast, the crowd had some good interactions and sing-alongs and it was very cool to see parents and kids there both getting right into it side by side!
