They Might Be Giants: The Sheen Center 2026

It was a privilege to sit down with John Flansburgh and John Linnell — "The Johns" of They Might Be Giants — before their FUV Live Concert at New York's Sheen Center. 

These guys have been making music since before I was born and were already legendary creatures of the indie-college, rock, and DIY scene by the time I discovered them in the late 1990s. With a catalog that now stretches across dozens of albums and just as many genres, TMBG have humbly (and joyfully!) left their mark all over the last four decades of popular music, from kids music and television theme songs to true-blue, sing-along rock classics. They might be funny, but their legacy is no joke. 

Their latest album, The World Is to Dig, does not hide its preoccupation with the iconographies of fame and the ever-changing/never-changing form of the "hit record."

Highlighted by the opening sneer of "Back in Los Angeles" and a Side B cover of The Raspberries' "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)," the band still avoids the low-hanging fruit of parody or mean-spiritedness, and instead turns in something much more complex and openhearted. (I thought I was getting Zappa at first glance and was delighted at The Raspberries bait-and-switch.)

As is often the case with TMBG, the ideas (musically and lyrically) function as both universally accessible and also extremely niche, a tough balancing act made to look effortless by the clever songwriting and rollicking full-band arrangements.

The World Is to Dig is absolutely a triumph, but yes, in fact, that could be said about pretty much any of their 24 albums over the years. They Might Be Giants know this, of course, and they aren't offended if you didn't; they are just happy you are here. Their 15-song FUV Live set spanned their career, from the new "Get Down" to pure classics like 1989's "Birdhouse in Your Soul," which closed out the concert.

I really wanted to talk about everything with Flansburgh and Linnell — music history! The DIY! Underground comix! — but could barely find the words. Ever the gentlemen, the Johns graciously allowed me to unspool, thoughtfully recommending I read Tommy James's (yes, that Tommy James) 2010 autobiography Me, The Mob, and Music, before storming the stage with the same Giant band they had enlisted for the new album: bassist Danny Weinkauf, trumpeter Mark Pender, saxophonist Stan Harrison, trombonist Dan Levine, drummer Marty Beller and guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Dan Miller.

As these recordings show, four decades in, these guys have not lost the sense of wonder nor the sense of humor that started them down this road, as friends, creative collaborators, and unlikely legends. 

[Recorded: 4/21/26. Engineered by Jim O'Hara. Produced by Meghan Suma. Videographers: Mia Vilke, Lily Crean, and Adithi Vimalanathan.]