PHOTOS: They Might Be Giants At The Vic
By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 12, 2009 5:00PM
In our own humble opinion, They Might Be Giant's album Lincoln was the highlight of their career, but we seem to be in the minority since thousands of fans of the band crammed into The Vic Saturday night to hear the band recreate their commercial break-through Flood. Many mainstream fans may deride the band as nerd-rock, but that's a flawed view of a band whose catalog includes a dizzying amount of musical diversity that demands a high level of skill to recreate in a live setting. So yes, there were songs about dead presidents, existential birdhouses and shoe horns with teeth (sung by a duo of sock puppets, The Avatars), but the playful and ofttimes ridiculous lyrics were delivered by an amazingly tight band unafraid to change musical direction, sometimes mid-song. We entered the show somewhat stunned by the extreme dedication of the band's fans, but we left the venue understanding why those folks fell so in love with the talented duo of Johns Flansburgh and Linnell. Sure they're nerd-rock, but they are really kick-ass nerd-rock.