They Might Be Giants to celebrate 30th anniversary with two sold-out shows at Royce Hall
Alternative rock band They Might Be Giants will be playing at UCLA’s Royce Hall this Saturday. The band will be playing both a daytime and a nighttime concert.
Credit: UCLA Live
By Anneta Konstantinides
Jan. 25, 2012 11:55 p.m.
In its song “I’m Impressed,” alternative rock band They Might Be Giants sings about a man who “gives you five good reasons to follow him.” He’s so impressive, the band continues, that “you see nobody leaving the stadium.”
Such a statement can be applied both to the band’s career and to its upcoming performances this Saturday at Royce Hall, both of which were sold out weeks ago. TMBG returns to UCLA after performing two sold-out shows in 2009 to celebrate its 30th anniversary as a band. The shows will also be a part of the band’s tour in the U.S. in promotion of its most recent album “Join Us.”
According to Phil Rosenthal, director of marketing and communications for UCLA Live, the UCLA performances will consist of both a daytime and nighttime concert to reach their different musical audiences.
The nighttime concert will be geared to the band’s alternative fans, though they shouldn’t expect to hear many tracks from the most recent album. According to one of the band’s singers, John Flansburgh, who fronts the band with John Linnell, since TMBG has already done a concert in Los Angeles promoting “Join Us,” they promise to shake things up for their fans this weekend.
“We’re doing a strange song selection because we’re actually spotlighting our (second album) “˜Lincoln’ (1988). To keep things lively for ourselves as we return to places, we’ve taken to spotlighting different albums when we don’t have an album that just came out. It’s exciting to go back to the hall of fame,” Flansburgh said.
According to Flansburgh, the concept of changing up sets to reflect the band’s massive collection of songs is a TMBG trademark.
“We have a fan-created wiki that dutifully notes our set list from show to show, so when we’re going back to a place, I can look at it and reshuffle a show so that we avoid the strange thing of presenting the same show twice. It makes it more interesting for everyone. We’re very lucky to have a big repertoire to draw on ““ it’s one of the few advantages of being old.”
Along with its alternative success, the band has created a successful career in children’s music and thus will present a family-friendly show for its younger fans.
The band first found success in children’s music in 2002 with the release of “No.” The album was well-received by critics and audiences alike, and according to Flansburgh, scored the band a deal with Disney. It is this diversity of audience, says Rosenthal, that sets some bands apart.
“It’s just really special to have a band that’s cool for 30 years, and for them to do a kids show and an evening show ““ few bands can cross that divide,” Rosenthal said.
Opening for TMBG is folk singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton. Previously a software engineer, Coulton said he was inspired to pursue his dream of being a musician both because of the ease of releasing music online and the birth of his daughter in 2005.
According to Coulton, his show will promise to be flawless entertainment, in which he will sing old favorites about robots and monkeys, as well as his newer, darker material from his recently released album “Artificial Heart.” Coulton, who lists TMBG as a big inspiration and influence in his work, says that the band’s concert will be high-energy and fun.
“They mostly like to have fun on stage. There’s a lot of jumping around, and they’re also hilarious,” Coulton said. “If you’ve never seen them live before, one of the surprising things is that the banter between the songs is high-quality comedy. So you’re getting two shows ““ a comedy show and a rock show.”
