Photos: They Might Be Giants @ Terminal 5

They Might Be Giants @ Terminal 5 – March 10, 2012
Photos: Sam Cornwall

Saturday, March 10 marked the end of a lengthy tour for alt-rock legends They Might Be Giants, who headlined the massive Terminal 5 in their New York City hometown. According to Death and Taxes:

This was no mere boring show, where the band plays a calculated mix of hits while trying to promote their new material. No, this is a band that likes to turn a gig into a fun and goofy event. They performed a rarity in the form of “Mr. Me” and billed “Cow Town” as the first TMBG song ever recorded, plus yelled at people for throwing things from the balconies. There were a couple of interludes featuring sock puppet avatars, one of which also included a brief appearance by the Supreme Court.

Following the slightly dark performance of “Ana Ng” (which is one of my favorites) and “Careful What You Pack,” they divided the audience in half, saying that the time for love was over and that for the next “between 4 and 40 minutes” the crowd would be split for “an atmosphere of total intolerance.” One side of the crowd was “people” and the other was “apes,” and they cheered back and forth. People won, out-fist-pumping those damn dirty apes once and for all. They managed to make one fan pretty happy, by giving a signed copy of “Join Us” to someone who was decked out in a ton of TMBG gear — hoodie, t-shirt, the works — proving that being “that guy” at a show can sometimes work out for the best.

Jonathan Coulton, who toured with TMBG a lot this past year, opened the show and even brought Susan Vega onstage to help with a song. Our photographer Sam Cornwall was there to document the show for us, and you can take a look at his photos of both acts, as well as the setlist below…



They Might Be Giants @ Terminal 5: Setlist

Birdhouse in Your Soul
Cowtown
Mr. Me
Clap Your Hands
Can't Keep Johnny Down
Damn Good Times
Snowball In Hell
Particle Man
Ana Ng
Careful What You Pack
Battle For The Planet of the Apes
Paranoid (Black Sabbath cover)
Spoiler Alert
Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
The Mesopotamians
Lie Still, Little Bottle
Cloisonné
Sleestacks
Don't Let's Start
We Live in a Dump
Where Your Eyes Don't Go
New York City (cub cover)
Spy
Dr. Evil
Doctor Worm

Encore:
Celebration
When You Die

Encore 2:
How Can I Sing Like a Girl?
Istanbul (Not Constantinople)