They Might Be Giants – Spinning Platters

Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Moon Hooch at the Warfield, 6/14/2013

They Might Be Giants have been playing together, in some shape, since 1982. Please, take a moment to let that sink in; this Brooklyn-based nerd-pop outfit has been churning out music for more than thirty years. This is a band that’s spanned five different presidents. A band that has witnessed countless similar acts form and breakup, reform and rebreakup. A band that has been making music for twice as long as Jaden Smith has been alive. A band with a legacy this long has two choices: They can become their own cover band, playing the hits that their audience crave, never growing, never changing. Or they can keep producing new music, evolving their sound, keeping their live-show fresh.

Fortunately for both the band and the fans, They Might Be Giants opted to take option B, and their set at the Warfield last Friday was all the better for it.

Continue reading “Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Moon Hooch at the Warfield, 6/14/2013”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/13/13-6/19/13

Psst: He's playing at Brick & Mortar Music Hal on Thursday. He's not hiding out in Asia. — Psst: He’s playing at Brick & Mortar Music Hal on Thursday. He’s not hiding out in Asia.

Not only do we have a ton of great shows, but if you look on Thursday, we also are giving away tickets to California Academy of Sciences’ Nightlife event this week!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/13/13-6/19/13”

Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Jonathan Coulton at The Fillmore, 11/12/11

tmbg5 — John Linnell of They Might Be Giants

After an inexplicable ten years without seeing They Might Be Giants, I got to the Fillmore early to get that spot right up front just like I remembered. What I wasn’t sure of was if I would still hear my favorite song and would the two John’s still rock it like crazy. Lucky for me, and hopefully everyone else at the sold out show, everything I hoped for happened, plus even more. Continue reading “Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Jonathan Coulton at The Fillmore, 11/12/11”

Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Oona at The Napa Uptown, 8/21/2010

TMBG with confetti — This is They Might Be Giants with confetti, but not all that much, really. See inside for details.

If I had to give a title to this review, apart from the boring, SEO-friendly titles we always use here, it would be “They Might Be Giants vs. The Napa Uptown Theatre.” I think that the band started the show really loving the beautifully restored theater, but by the end of the performance, I feel like there may have been some antagonism between the two. Was this an actual fight? Or merely a love-fest in disguise? It was a bit hard to tell. Continue reading “Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Oona at The Napa Uptown, 8/21/2010”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/19/2010-8/25/2010

full-house-1 — Pictured: Crowded House, playing The Warfield on August 23rd.

Howdy, Bay Area live music fans! I’ve got a great week for you! It’s a good time for you to stop sleeping for a while!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 8/19/2010-8/25/2010”

Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Guggenheim Grotto at The Fillmore, 11/13/09

This show is planned down to the last detail.

Somewhere in Los Angeles today, They Might Be Giants are playing a show at which they’ll play Flood in its entirety. Shows where bands play the entire album are a bit boring because you know exactly what’s coming next, and most of the fun of a band like They Might Be Giants is wondering just what the heck will be played next. While you can see from the above set list photo that there’s no question what’s going to happen next, I like the element of surprise. Continue reading “Show Review: They Might Be Giants with Guggenheim Grotto at The Fillmore, 11/13/09”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: November 11th-November 17th

More things to do in the Bay Area. All of them good. The greatest band ever is playing the Warfield on Friday, but here are better things to do.

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New Release Round Up 9/22/09 – 29 Instant Album Reviews

This band is not made up of girls. Didn't they learn their lesson from Barenaked Ladies?

When Pouria started writing this weekly column, he said there might be weeks where he was too busy to listen to 30-or-so albums. I said, “no problem, we can get a guest columnist on those weeks.” So when he told me this week that he was too busy doing stuff like seeing Bon Iver to write this week’s column, I said “wait, you were serious about that?” Since I hadn’t arranged a guest, I’m doing it myself. Let’s just say that doing this is a lot harder than Pouria makes it look. Now, on to the mini-reviews. Continue reading “New Release Round Up 9/22/09 — 29 Instant Album Reviews”