...the thinking man's drinking band

Well, Easter-eve (is that even a real term? Probably not...okay, then March 30) found Marc, Michelle and me down at The Roxy for a concert by the guys who put the "rock" in geek rock, They Might Be Giants, with opening act Spiraling.

Now, no surprise, but I was really looking forward to this concert. As I've grown older, I've subjected just about all my tastes to brutal and constant re-evaluation: "Is this really worth my time? My money? Attachments, emotional or otherwise? Does it entertain, challenge and excite me, or does it merely not suck?" They Might Be Giants have always come up in the affirmative column with regards to these questions, and ever since they introduced me to OK Go last year, I've even come to trust them with regard to their choices in opening acts.

This time, however....

Okay, look...I tried really hard to like Spiraling. To their credit, they're good musicians who don't seem like poseurs at all. But...jeez, they sound a whole lot like Styx!

Well...all right: they've got a crunchier guitar sound, so think "Heavy Metal Poisoning." And they know a bit more about jazz, so throw in a few flatted-fifth and diminished-seventh chords. Oh, and Tom Brislin, the keyboardist, loves his pitch-bender, so add some unnecessary glissandos in there, too. Plus, Brislin frequently hits notes on his keyboard, whips his hand away as if the key were intensely hot, then holds that hand at eye-level while shaking it limp-wristedly. For some reason, I found this intensely annoying.

So, simply put: I didn't like Spiraling. However, if you think that Styx doing "Heavy Metal Poisoning" in a jazz fusion style with effete affectations is your thing, by all means give 'em a listen.

So, after Spiraling left the stage, we were treated to about 45 minutes of old school rap (including Kurtis Blow's "Basketball," during which I surprised myself by remembering all the words). Then TMBG hit the stage in a low-key fashion; they strolled on, said "Hi" and went straight into "Dead," from Flood.

I always find myself at a loss for words when it comes to describing a TMBG show. If you've ever been to one, you'll probably know what I mean. The music is definitely rock and roll, but it's so smart and informed by so many eclectic musical traditions that it's hard to encapsulate. If you've never actually been to a show but are familiar with the music, you'd be surprised by how edgy the live versions come across. With an entire studio at their fingertips, John Linnell and John Flansburgh (the group's founding members and principle songwriters) spend an awful lot of time tweaking their sound until it's just right. This perfectionism, plus the music's quirkiness and lyrical oddness, makes TMBG the poster-band for geek rock, emphasis on geek.

Live, however, all possible accusations of pretension are quickly eroded by the flood of energy and spontaneity rushing off the stage. As a pretty standard, 5-piece line-up (2 guitars, bass, drums and keyboard) TMBG fill the sonic space taken up by production skills and studio tricks by playing upbeat, gritty, loud (-ish...you know, loud but not "damn-my-ears-hurt" loud) rock music; emphasis on rock and to hell with the geek. On top of all that, you've got a laid back group of guys who look like they really enjoy what they're doing. None of the between song banter seems forced; the set list moves along fluidly and enjoyably, never seeming too rehearsed or mechanical; and the light and sound production is top notch.

In a show this good, pulling out highlights is pretty difficult. However, I'm of a critical bent, so I can point out a few.

"Cyclops Rock," from Mink Car, brings with it the crowd pleasing bright lights and confetti, reminding you that this is a party, not some morbid-teen-angstfest.

"She's Actual Size," from Apollo 18, is drummer Dan Hickey's occasion to shine. While he's taking his solo, Flansburgh narrates, giving the audience "Dial-A-Drum-Solo" options: "To hear this drum solo in Spanish, press or say '2,'" says John. "Two!" screams the audence. Hickey breaks into a Latin rhythm. "To hear this drum solo in the style of Buddy Rich, press or say '3.'" "Three!" shouts the audience. Hickey riffs off of Rich's intro to "Bloomdido." At this show, we got 13 options, all of which were flawless. After Flansburgh's done with his voice-over, Hickey wails away for a bit before, in one of the best examples of echo use in a concert setting I've ever heard, Flansburgh comes back in on the vocals and the song resumes as if it had never been interrupted.

Perhaps owing to the lameness of Atlanta's country and R&B heavy radio selection, the "Spin the Dial" portion of the show, in which the band plays along with random songs they find by scanning the FM dial, didn't really take off. However, the guys did manage to latch on to Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby," which the audience greeted with much laughter, and even brought it back during "Older," which the audience greeted with groans that led to laughter.

"Man, It's So Loud in Here," TMBG's ironic take on the appropriation of techno subculture by the mainstream, was particularly fitting, featuring a spinning disco ball and a lighting treatment that was startlingly reminiscent of a dance club. Also neat about this song is that it featured only Flansburgh and Linnell onstage. This revisitation of the original TMBG line-up continued through "Robot Parade," from the forthcoming album No, and lasting until that song's end when Flansburgh called lead guitar player Dan Miller out to begin his virtuoso, chord-based acoustic guitar solo. This solo, which lasted only a couple of minutes, blended seamlessly into "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," heralding the return of the full band and, during the extended jam session at the end, "Ice Ice Baby."

Miller again showed off his chops during "Twistin'," when, apparently at some sign from Flansburgh, he incongruously broke into the two-handed, finger tapping style of Eddie Van Halen during his guitar solo. Having grown up in awe of EVH, this served to up my respect for Dan Miller a couple of dozen notches.

In a moment that, surprisingly, brought tears to my eyes, TMBG closed their regular set with Factory Showroom's "New York City." I thought that this was a classy move. Considering the fact that overbearing patriotism has become the norm, with shredded flags fluttering from car antennae everywhere I look, I found it moving that a bunch of guys from Brooklyn could reserve the last song of their set for an unabashedly pro-New York song without calling any further, undue attention to it. It showed that they know precisely where their hearts are, and that personal knowledge is enough for them.

They Might Be Giants set list
1. Dead
2. Minimum Wage
3. James K. Polk
4. Cyclops Rock
5. Birdhouse in Your Soul
6. Why Does the Sun Shine?
7. She's Actual Size (with Dan Hickey's drum solo)
8. I Palindrome I
9. Spin the Dial
10. Older
11. Boss of Me
12. Man, It's So Loud In Here
13. Robot Parade
14. Dan Miller's acoustic guitar solo
15. Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
16. 4 of 2
17. John Lee Supertaster
18. Particle Man
19. She's An Angel
20. Meet James Ensor
21. Twistin'
22. Ana Ng
23. New York City

First Encore
24. Drink!
25. The Famous Polka
26. Dr. Worm

Second Encore
27. Ultra-Hidden Track from Apollo 18
28. Fingertips