They Might Be Giants | Bowery Ballroom, NYC | 8/1/07

Forget The Decemberists, They Might Be Giants are the true heroes of nerd-rock. With a career that has spanned over 20 years, with numerous releases, these quirky pop-stars are still going strong. Last night, the group played to a sold-out Bowery Ballroom, for the third show out of their four-week residency there. Initially billed as the “80′s night,” the group did start off with some older jams, like “Mr. Me,” but moved into the “90′s territory” they covered the week before. With the addition of the Velcro Horns, the groups on-again-off-again horns section, the already fantastic musicians were able to round-out their unique pop songs with that little extra “umph” needed in the live setting. Of course, humor is always a large component of the group’s songs and there was plenty of it to spare last night. In between drummer Marty Beller’s drum solo and Eleanor Roosevelt calling from the dead regarding an issue with her iPhone (long story…), the crowd had grins from ear to ear, when they weren’t singing along to every single lyric. This was my first experience with the Giants in a live setting and despite not being as familiar with their material as some of the diehards, they certainly put on a great show that will please new fans and old alike.

More photos, including pictures of opening act The Last Car, are up on flickr.

Set-list and some more photos after the jump.

Set-list from They Might Be Giants @ Bowery Ballroom – 8/1/07 (source: This Might Be A Wiki)
– Mr. Me
- Dirt Bike
- Metal Detector
- Working Undercover For The Man
- Museum Of Idiots
- She’s Actual Size
- Whistling In The Dark
- Doctor Worm
- In The Middle, In The Middle, In The Middle (with Robin Goldwasser)
- Doctor Evil (with Robin Goldwasser)
- Bee Of The Bird Of The Moth

No Velcro Horns:
- Phone Calls From The Dead (Eleanor Roosevelt)
- Snail Shell
- Spider
- James K. Polk

With Velcro Horns:
- Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
- Take Out The Trash
- Withered Hope
- With The Dark (full song premiere)
- Turn Around
- Ant
- Put Your Hand On The Computer (band intros)
- Birdhouse In Your Soul

Encore #1 (with Velcro Horns):
- Bed Bed Bed Bed Bed (just Linnell on vocal, Marty on drums, and horns)
- Spy
- Mr. Tambourine Man
- Purple Toupee

Encore #2 (without Velcro Horns):
- Maybe I Know
- She’s An Angel (with Dan Levine)
They Might Be Giants