They Might Be Giants In Concert: Stern Grove Festival

Stern Grove Stage and Grounds

We watched a free They Might Be Giants concert today at the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco.

Set List

1. Alphabet of Nations
2. We're The Replacements
3. New York City (cub cover)
4. Dr. Worm
5. Asbury Park
6. Meet the Elements
7. Your Racist Friend
8. Spider
9. Birdhouse in Your Soul
10. Withered Hope
11. Meet James Ensor
12. Upside Down Frown
13. Ana Ng
14. We Live In a Dump
15. Letterbox
16. Band recognition bits
    
17. Damn Good Times
18. Encore: She's An Angel
19. The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
20. Particle Man
21. Encore 2: The Mesopotamians

Notes

• I'm not sure about the setlist between "Alphabet Song of Nations" and "Asbury Park." I wrote down the rest so I am pretty confident about the rest. I know Dr. Worm was before Asbury Park.... That's all I got.
  
  
• Show lasted from ~3:15-~4:33 p.m.
  
  
• Lots of great lines between songs: (1) "Hearing lots of song requests we're not going to play"; (2) "We're from NYC and we brought this weather with us."; (3) Lots of riffing on how the good vibes in California threatens to tear apart their band--apparently being from NYC they find it very challenging; (4) "This song goes out to Nick, who has something very important to say to Kat, and the rest is between them" (wedding proposal?); (5) "We were planning to bring along the giant confetti cannon, but the airlines see 'cannon' on the manifest and they get twitchy."; (6) "I am already disoriented from all the secondary smoke blowing in from the crowd."; (7) "I've heard about bad lines of sight before, but imagine having hundred-year old conifers between you and the stage is new on me."; (8) "We're really big on Second Life and Friendster; we spend about 20 hours a day on Second Life."; (9) "If you have any questions, please go to our web site...depechemode.com...and we'll get back to you right away."; (10) "We'd like to thank Frank Riley for booking us here; all your favorite bands are booked by him; he's one influential dude."; (11) "This is the Bill Cosby theme from 1972" while introducing the band recognition bits; (12) "Let's have a love-in, people...."; (13) "Corporate sponsorship is a drag" while exhorting people to donate; (14) "EWOKS, EWOKS, EWOKS!" when coming out for their second encore--in reference to all of us in the trees on the hillside facing the stage; (15) "If you know someone who can help, they should help us."
  
  
• I have not been a TMBG fan, still not sure I am onboard fully, but they put on a very entertaining show. Well done.
  
  
• Stern Grove Recreational Park is an amazing place: the smell of eucalyptus; the cool air; the lush greens and towering trees; the beautiful wooden structures and rough-hewn stones. Five minutes after leaving heavily trafficked 19th Avenue behind, you'd never know you were in the middle of a major metropolitan city. Fantastic.