They Might Be Giants: Jax Beach

Saturday, 06 March 2010 11:04

They Might Be Giants are in the midst of a schizophrenic tour this year, which included a show at Freebird Live in Jacksonville Beach, March 2. With this tour the band is doing three different shows, alternating the set list between venues. They Might Be Giants just released its third children’s album, “Here Comes Science.” Miami and Orlando shows were billed as “Family Shows,” while Tampa and Tallahassee got “Adult Shows.” I went to the Florida show billed as a “Flood Show.”

By John Davisson

Flood was originally released in 1990. The show was a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the seminal album. The band greeted the crowd by stating that we were just seven songs away from "Flood." Anybody that is familiar with this quirky band might not be surprised to learn that there was a twist: the band performed the album in reverse order. This actually makes sense as it saves the most popular tunes, like “Birdhouse in Your Soul,” “Istanbul (not Constantinople),” and “Particle Man,” for the end.

After the Flood, the band performed a few other tunes, making for a generous two-hour set. Although generally a duo (John Linnell and John Flansburgh), the guys were augmented by an additional guitarist, a bassist, a drummer and a trumpeter. The equipment, which featured lighting as well as sound, barely fit on the small Freebird Live stage, but made for a nice presentation. A mirror ball and confetti cannons were nice touches.

Between-song banter was pretty funny as they good-naturedly joked about having one day off in Florida and it was a cold day in Jax beach. I guess they were expecting fun in the sun. They Might Be Giants has just been added to the Bonnaroo lineup in June.

Check out They May Be Giants music here.