Last Week Live: They Might Be Giants

“A lot of bands are about bringing people together. We’re about pulling them apart.”

John Flansburgh was joking, of course, because together with John Linnell, They Might Be Giants have created nothing if not a unified community of fans. And after more than thirty years, the fans knew what to expect from a TMBG concert: a lot of music, absurd humor and sock puppets.

At their Apr. 6 concert at Rams Head Live, the band opened with the energetic “You’re on Fire” from their new album, Nanobots, but they soon moved on to play some older favorites. TMBG’s musical and lyrical style has remained so consistent over the years that the new songs flowed seamlessly with those from their other fifteen albums.

Often senseless at first listen, many songs tackle serious topics set to upbeat, catchy music, like “Circular Karate Chop,” a song about bullying from the new album, or the popular “Birdhouse in Your Soul.” Others such as the new “Tesla” and classic “Mammal” are more specific.

The audience loved all of them, and the the energy in the room didn’t wane until the two encores were over. The crowd spanned a range of ages — not surprising considering the time TMBG has been around — but Flansburgh cheekily commented on the typical fan: “How many people can have glasses and beards at the same time?”

The Johns’ comedic banter between songs, along with elements like a projector screen with a camera on the audience, kept the crowd engaged throughout the night.

Early in the show, they talked about Baltimore, saying that they don’t know much about this city apart from The Wire. Flansburgh said that their hotel location in the city is “quarantined in a pocket of adult entertainment stores.”

Of the Ram’s Head Live! venue, Linnell said it gives off “a future science fiction courtroom vibe” with the multiple tiers of standing space.

Given a repertoire of songs that often seem nonsensical, it would have been strange if this concert was just like any other. The Johns delivered the weirdness, though, by invoking some quirky concert traditions. About a third of the way through the show, they split the audience in half, giving each side the task of shouting either “people” or “apes” when prompted. Later, they played a game where Linnell shined a flashlight on audience members and Flansburgh gave them random nicknames like “Dianasaurus Ross” and “Nutello.”

A highlight for the audience was definitely the appearance of the Johns’ alter ego sock puppets, The Avatars of They, who chatted, sang songs and conversed with a cutout of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Even the opening band matched the eccentricity of TMBG. Moon Hooch, discovered on a subway platform last year, is comprised of two saxophone players and a drummer. The audience was a bit hesitant at the nearly-lyricless sound, but they eventually embraced its uniqueness.

The crowd clearly came not just for high-quality, entertaining music but for the experience of being at a They Might Be Giants concert, and the band never forgot this. At one point, Flansburgh went to the front of the stage, and where another musician might have reached out to high five the fans, he bent down and let an audience member play his guitar.