They Might Be Giants: The Big Tour!

Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming

90s Alternative legends They Might Be Giants played the Admiral this week and it was so much fun! These long-time college radio heroes still know how to bring a fun show and light up a room. Dubbed "The Big Tour" the band played two sets with a 20 minute intermission. They played the Bourbon Theater in Lincoln the night before but I heard the set lists were completely different. The band showcased a lot of material from their classic album Flood along with a stuffed set of classic hits. The thing that's so great about TMBG is they seamlessly blend music and comedy. They have some really rockin tunes but you find yourself smiling and laughing so much there's no way you see TMBG and you don't walk away feeling uplifted.

The band had so many fun jokes about Omaha and America in general. The room was cracking up when singer John Flansburgh kept saying "Thank you Sokol Auditorium" (the Admiral's previous namesake). I don't know if we'll ever not call it Sokol. He quipped about staying in the "Sokol hotel" next door and how wonderful it was. Such a hoot! Towards the end of the first set they did something I've never seen before. They played a song backwards! They filmed it so at the beginning of the second set they could play it back and everything would sound normal like it was playing forwards. Insane! Such a cool touch of genius.

I was a little bummed they didn't do the puppet show I saw the last time they were here but after doing some math I realized that was like 15 years ago! So I get that they're doing a whole new production now. Overall it was an amazing time. I can't wait to see them again soon!

A huge thanks to TMBG team for photo access. Thanks for reading and we'll see you at the next one!