Shows in 2009

Happy 2009! They Might Be Giants are continuing their monthly residency at (le) Poisson Rouge, so if you're in the New York area be sure to get to a show! Check out This Might Be A Wiki's shows page for more info or stay up to date with TMBG's official shows RSS feed.

January 2009

17 - Montclair, NJ - Alexander Kasser Theatre, MSU (4PM Kids/8PM Adult)
30 - Providence, RI - Lupo's
31 - New York, NY - (Le) Poisson Rouge (3PM Kids/7:30PM Adult)

February 2009

28 - New York, NY - (Le) Poisson Rouge

March 2009

28 - New York, NY - (Le) Poisson Rouge

Science images and Philly interviews

While the Grammy nominated Here Come the 123s is still on peoples' minds, people are looking for news on the upcoming Here Comes Science. Frequent TMBG collaborator Hine Mizushima has posted some stills from her new video for the upcoming kids album. (Maybe your guess of which video it's for will be the same as mine if you look closely.) The images were also featured in a recent TMBG newsletter.

These newsletters and MySpace postings of the past weeks have been ramping up the promotion for two purposes. First, to let us know of their new holiday bundles (which you can still order by Sunday to guarantee merch by Christmas via FedEx). They've also put some holiday themed songs on their MySpace profile page.

The second topic is, as always, shows; such as the pair of New Year's Eve shows at the TLA in Philadelphia. To help get the word out on upcoming shows, they've announced an RSS feed on their website that will update you of all upcoming They Might Be Giants shows.

Another promo gig the band had recently is an interview with Phrequency on these Philadelphia shows (via TMBW). John, John, and Marty sit in to tell the folks how they start writing a song, give their Grammy reaction, and tell of some interesting fan interactions.

Also in Philly, the group held an interview with Preston & Steve of 93.3 WMMR. You can hear the audio of the interview (via TMBW again), view pictures from the meeting, and watch video of the two songs performed on the show: "Particle Man" and "Why Does the Sun Really Shine?"

Interview and Podcast 37A

Over the weekend, the folks from Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child had an interview with John and John before a show. After a round of questions on Benjamin Franklin, we find out that Here Comes Science will concern itself with ideas in science and not famous scientists themselves, though Flansburgh reveals that at one point he was working on a song about Nikola Tesla. Also revealed in the interview is the story of "Doctor Worm"'s origin.


Released yesterday is They Might Be Giants Podcast 37A. This special Halloween themed episode has some scary poems, some scary songs, and some songs related to Homestar Runner. Along with the recent "200 SBemails", a new song titled "Crystal Fortress" is played, which will appear in a future Homestar Runner project.

Included in this episode is the topical "Vote or Don't," a new song exclusive for the podcast. As US election day is upon us, the most recent TMBG newsletter includes a healthy "guide to voting" which you can re-forward to all of your friends. (And why not keep in the info on the podcast and show dates as well?)

Speaking of show dates, news is that the November 29 show at Le Poisson Rouge will be an Apollo 18 show featuring a full play-through of They Might Be Giants' fourth album.

Upcoming show and podcast details

A post to TMBG's MySpace on Wednesday and a newsletter today spill the details on some upcoming shows on the schedule. Sunday's free kids show in NYC at the New York Times book festival will feature Hannah Levine and a horn section to get the full power of their recent kids songs.

The next day They Might Be Giants will be playing a short three-song set at a benefit for Barack Obama in a sold out event. The updates state that Yo La Tengo and Marshall Crenshaw, among others, will also appear at the event.

Lastly in show sneak peaks, TMBG will be performing Flood in its entirety for three shows on this circuit: Oct. 24 in Northampton, Oct. 25 in NYC, and Nov. 28 in Washington DC. Some shows may be have a Flood set while others may disperse the songs throughout their normal set.

Rounding out the news is word on Podcast 37A. The TMBG Podcast has recently been updated with new episodes and these are a good way to feature recent work. 37A is said to include Homestar music. This most definitely means the recent "200 Sbemails" will make an appearance, but if they want to make it a theme they might also include "Different Town," from another Strong Bad e-mail, and possibly "Experimental Film" and "Figure Eight," for which the Homestar creators made the music videos for. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast feed on either iTunes or the web to hear what gets played when it comes out.

Podcast 36A, interviews, and more

I have so many links this week I may need to start updating more frequently again. Starting out from the weekend, TMBG's Sunday appearance on Out Of The Box on Q104.3 has been archived on the show's site for both streaming and downloading. John, John, and Marty were interviewed and played some songs live in the studio.

Plush You, a blog dedicated to handcrafted plush items, interviewed TMBG collaborator Hine Mizushima this week. The interview gives us some info on her creative background and explains how she got involved in making videos ("With the Dark," "The Secret Life of Six") for They Might Be Giants.

In movie news, it seems that there won't be as much TMBG in Coraline as everyone originally thought. ShockTillYouDrop.com visited the set of the movie sat down with director Henry Selick. Selick states that the film was initially going to feature more songs but it has since been limited to "a few moments of music." Chud.com, who attended the same set visit, lets us know that only one of the songs They Might Be Giants wrote for the film will ultimately make it on screen. You may remember that "Careful What You Pack" came from these unused songs. In addition to relaying some behind the scenes interactions with the band, Selick informs us that Bruno Coulais is scoring the film, in case you pondered if TMBG had involvement in that as well.


Coraline won't get wide release until next year, so if you're looking for a TMBG fix, hit up the They Might Be Giants Podcast. Released yesterday as an early preview on their MySpace page, Podcast 36A has been sent out. Songs from the podcast include a few from their ringtone projects, a Beatles cover, and more. The podcast-announcing newsletter states a 36B is on the way.

Wrapping up a post too long for its own good is the rumor mill. "Tippecanoe And Tyler Too" was played in today's podcast and Flansburgh reminds everyone to go out and vote (for the people they're going to vote for). It looks like John may be getting a little more active than that in spreading the good vibes for his candidate of choice. A Twitter post from a one Mr. Noah Carter indicates that They Might Be Giants will be making an appearance at a supporter-organized fundraising event for Barack Obama.

So who is Noah Carter? I have no idea either, but he's listed as one of the hosts of the event along with several relatively famous people from the New York area. The event itself is in Brooklyn on October 6th and TMBG has a show in New York on the 5th so this wouldn't be out of their way. It's also not noted if they will be performing or just showing face.

Flans in New York Times, new Theynow

Time to wrap up this week's links. Sunday started off with plenty of action as John Flansburgh appeared in print in The New York Times. In the article, Flans lists five music acts he'd play for his kids. If you didn't pick up that paper, TMBG's MySpace and website blogs both posted pointing out that it's available online as well.

Sunday also brought about another installment of Theynow. This latest episode brings us a TMBG cover and some other songs you're likely to enjoy as well.

Finally this week, Flansburgh posts on their "Rent Party" stand in NYC. They'll be playing the last Saturday of every month at Le Poisson Rouge starting next month. If you can't make it to any of those, a MySpace post lists upcoming shows elsewhere including a free kids show in Minnesota.

New Coraline song preview

This Might Be a Wiki seems to have the news this week. Yesterday, WBWC 88.3FM in Cleveland, Ohio, and streamed via their website, held a They Might Be Giants marathon. It was 18 hours of TMBG filled with great songs and what seemed like dozens of user requests. Don't expect this one to be archived folks.

CMJ has announced several of the bands set to play in the CMJ Music Marathon and They Might Be Giants are included. Scheduled for late October, you can find the full list of announced bands on the marathon's website.

Lastly for the week, Neil Gaiman has been posting updates on his journal telling of IGN's Coraline previews. Yesterday's video has a snippet of a song, sung by Linnell, about halfway through. This is the first we've heard of the Coraline songs and if it's a glimpse of what's to come we're in for a treat in the soundtrack department.

Audience appreciation shows this weekend

You may have heard that the Disney Music Block Party Tour has canceled several shows, but They Might Be Giants' dates seem to have been unaffected. Their scheduled shows in New Jersey and Maryland have already taken place and their final run of late August shows in New York seem to be the only concerts remaining from the event.

In other show news, TMBG has a MySpace blog/bulletin out telling us that Saturday and Sunday's audience appreciation shows will have "selections from" Factory Showroom and Apollo 18, respectively. "Selections from" doesn't exactly mean "album shows," but I would expect them to focus on that night's album with more than the usual songs from it.

If you can't make it to this weekend's shows, see if they are playing another show near you sometime this fall or pick up a live show from TMBG's download site.

"Davy Crockett" and new Disney dates

While July may have mostly been a quiet month for They Might Be Giants, they're ending it with a bang. A new music video has been uploaded to the Family Podcast feed for "Davy Crockett (In Outer Space)." The video uses some great animation ideas including the use of chalk and felt with 2D and 3D effects. The song is included in the Disney Music Block Party CD, for which TMBG will be touring.

A new TMBG newsletter sent out today reminds everyone that they will begin this very Block Party tour this weekend and into next week in five shows. Not mentioned is that, due to Barenaked Ladies canceling their appearances, They Might Be Giants have added three additional dates on the kids festival in late August.

In non-Disney show news, the band used the newsletter to announce two free audience appreciation shows at the Mohegan Sun. As usual, TMBW has a big list of all of upcoming shows, so look for the locations nearest you.

Finally, the newsletter makes mention that Dan Miller was recently married. Making the rounds online is an article from The New York Times about the courtship and wedding. The article also includes links to a song written by Dan for his bride and another article concerning the wedding dress. Congratulations Dan!

Linnell interview, shows into next year

The Press of Atlantic City had an interview with John Linnell earlier this month that slipped by. The interview promoted TMBG's appearance at the Appel Farm Arts & Music Festival. Pointed out by the TMBG LJ group, the article mentions the influence of certain substances on the band, among other topics.

In show news, TMBW has posted several new shows for the fall and into next year in New York City. Most take place at Le Poisson Rouge, home of the former Village Gate, an early venue in They Might Be Giants show history.

Photos and good kids' songs

They Might Be Giants have been appearing online in various places in the last couple of days. One such appearance is in a list of "top 10 kids' songs that don't suck" on one of Paste magazine's blogs. Two of TMBG's songs make the list at numbers five and three.

John Flansburgh and John Linnell are seen at Allen & Delancey in a photo for a Time Out New York article on the restaurant available online. The article is completely unrelated to TMBG except for the image, but there you have it.

Farmanimalsrock from the TMBG LiveJournal community found photos of the They Might Be Giants show at Big Twig Studio a few months ago on the WJFF website. WJFF, who aired the concert live, is still hosting the pre-show interview with John and John on their website for streaming and download.

In other distant show news, TMBW is reporting a new show has appeared on the band's booking agency's website for September in Minneapolis, MN, giving you plenty of time to plan for the concert.

Family podcast, net neutrality album

They Might Be Giants' Friday Night Family Podcast updates again today. This episode starts us off with puppet Linnell and the broom introducing "Even Numbers" from Here Come the 123s. After the video, Linnell and the broom perform a rendition of "I Am Not Your Broom" from TMBG's first album for kids, No! Closing out the episode, puppet Flansburgh joins Linnell to give a goodbye chant.

After a few weeks of delaying, the Disney Music Block Party Tour website is finally up and running. There, you can get all of the information you've been looking for including who's playing where, how much tickets cost, and other details.

A while back, there was word that They Might Be Giants would be contributing to an album in support of net neutrality. While TMBG and other acts were mentioned as on the compilation, there wasn't any other information about the project. Today CMJ has posted an article with more information about the album, which is titled Rock the Net: Musicians for Net Neutrality. According to the article, the album will drop on July 29 and we see from the track listing posted that the opening track will be They Might Be Giants' "We Live in a Dump." ClickZ has posted an album cover as well. Both articles link to the Rock the Net website which currently has zero information about the album.

Tour dates, gift ideas, and more jokes

After a few weeks of delaying, solid information about the Disney Music Block Party Tour is finally coming out. The tour runs from the end of July to the end of August, but each artist is only playing select dates. Head over to This Might Be a Wiki for more info on which dates TMBG will be playing and for ticket links.

John Flansburgh has made a list of gifts he recommends for Fathers' Day over at Etsy.com. The site specializes in handmade items and Flans' list includes objects from TMBG collaborators the Chopping Block and Hine.

Lastly, another "May Day" segment starring the puppet Johns has made its way online. The video contains the segment's song and jokes from Flans and Linnell. Remember, the They Might Be Giants Family Podcast updates on Fridays so subscribe to the iTunes or web feeds to get the newest episodes automatically.

"May Day" and "Davy Crockett" videos

In last week's Family Podcast, the Johns introduced a new segment in which they sang a short song and told some jokes. YouTube user SpookyBanter has gotten a hold of a new installment of this "May Day" bit and posted it online. In it, puppet Linnell and the broom from the segment tell some jokes to the tune of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends."

No actual video of this next one yet, but TMBG's MySpace blog points out that a fine video for "Ballad of Davy Crockett (In Outer Space)," their contribution to the Disney Music Block Party album, is in the works. There is still little information about the upcoming tour the album is part of. The website will allegedly launch tomorrow with more information, and while dates are starting to leak out, nothing has been confirmed.

Flans interview, radio takeover archive

A new TMBG newsletter was released, echoing a MySpace post, and in it a new show is announced for Milwaukee, WI in late June. Two previously announced shows are taking place this weekend in Kansas City, MO and the Kansas City Star has an interview with John Flansburgh. As the Jiggle Jam Family Music Fest is They Might Be Giants' Saturday show, the interview stays on the children's music topic and asks about the intent behind their first children's album and how kids' shows differ from regular shows.

Back in January, John and John took over radio station Y Rock and played a bunch of their and their crew's favorite songs. An archive of that hour is finally up on the Y Rock website for streaming. You can find the setlist on the site as well under 9 pm.

Finally, from the fan side of things, a new Theynow was released with some covers and live music and check out Hine's latest art project, 9 Practical Applications for The Else.

Flansburgh on The Egg, upcoming radio show

John Flansburgh has been interviewed a few times recently. All Over Albany spoke with him about TMBG's upcoming show at The Egg finding out John's inspiration for its song and what his first impression of the venue was. John also spoke with WAMC in Albany, NY over the radio on the venue song for The Egg, his philosophy behind performing and promoting their kids' music, and his relationship with John Linnell.

The other day a new TMBG newsletter was sent out hinting at Podcast 34B (though a new MySpace bulletin states it's 33B, which is probably the correct number) and reminding everyone of upcoming shows. The newsletter also mentions a sold out live radio concert on Friday to be broadcast on WJFF. The songs will start at 8 o'clock but the band will show up early for an interview at 7:30.

Soundcheck appearance, Conan reminder

They Might Be Giants appeared on WNYC's Soundcheck today promoting Here Come the 123s. During the interview, they played "One Dozen Monkeys," "Apartment 4," and "Alphabet of Nations" live in the studio.

A few MySpace updates have been posted. On TMBG's MySpace blog, an update mentions the Soundcheck appearance and also reminds everyone of their upcoming Late Night with Conan O'Brien performance tomorrow night. In other live news, TMBW has several new shows on their shows page.

Finally, They Might Be Giants have placed second in Zooglobble's KidVid Tournament with their video for "Seven Days a Week (I Never Go To Work)." There were a ton of votes in the finals so if you need help counting, check out Friday's Family Podcast for a refresher and get your kid video fix for the week.

Far off, upcoming shows

High Road Touring, TMBG's booking agency, and Rounder Records, their label, have some previously undiscovered shows on their tour pages. Starting with the soonest, there is a kids show on May 3 at the New York Public Library. Another kids show will be on May 24 in Kansas City for the JiggleJam Family Music Festival. With two new kids shows two new adult shows are in the listings as well. On June 21 there will be a show at Coney Island in New York and on August 10 there is a show at the Wolf Den in the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT. Note that these shows are fairly far off, so there is definitely room for errors or changes in the schedule.

Kids interview, review, and TV performance

John Linnell spoke with Parenting.com in an interview that has been making the rounds. John speaks of creating children's music, what his son listens to, and his advice for parents.

They Might Be Giants' artist profile over at Disney Music has been silently updating. In it is the actual quote from Entertainment Weekly giving Here Come the 123s an 'A.' The site also give notice that TMBG will be appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on Thursday, April 10 to perform a song from Here Come the 123s.

"I Can Add," new shows, and interview

A new Friday Night Family Podcast has been released today. In it are two videos from Here Come the 123s, "I Can Add" and "Seven Days of the Week," which is seeing its second showing on the Family Podcast.

Three new shows have appeared on theymightbegiants.com's shows listing. Two are for a family show and an adult show on April 19, in Albany, NY. Another new show is for June 7, at the Appel Farm Arts & Music Festival in Elmer, NJ. A new TMBG newsletter has been sent out that also announces these shows as well as mentioning Podcast 32B.

An interview from yesterday has John, John, and Dan appearing on talk station Real Radio and playing a few songs live. In addition to four songs, TMBG talks a lot about getting jobs as theme writers and how that works. The Beat Swamp has the 40-minute (commercials included) segment recorded.