They Might Be Giants – Fitzgerald Theater – St. Paul MN – October 3rd 2026
On the night of Saturday, October 3rd, 2026, it felt like They Might Be Giants, one of the most prolific alt-pop duos on the West Coast, could blow the roof off the building at any moment. This particular show was day three of a four-date “An Evening With” tour run for TMBG in the Twin Cities, with back-to-back sold-out dates in both Minneapolis at First Avenue and in St. Paul at the Fitzgerald Theater.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt that level of excitement bottled up inside a sit-down theater setting. Oftentimes in historic venues, the vibe can feel stuffy and a little pretentious, but this show brought a feeling that was anything but. The crowd ranged between the ages of 5 and 75, and every age group was just as excited as the generation before, all giddy for their favorite music to begin filling the room. From the moment the band members began filling in on stage, I knew I was in for much more than I had expected, as the two Johns’ had brought a brass trio, plus a rhythm guitarist, bassist, and drummer to complete their full eight-piece tour package. Though the most impressive piece of the stage had to be John Linnell’s keys setup, with two mini decks alongside his main keyboard, an accordion, and what looked to be a stylophone built into the body of the keyboard itself.
Before the band played a single note, John Flansburgh addressed the audience as if we were all old friends, asking everyone from the farthest rows in the upper balconies to come and fill the aisles, dance to their hearts’ content, and enjoy the show with a more up-close-and-personal feel. As soon as those words were spoken, it was as if all of the kids in the audience had been freed of invisible shackles as they filled the space around where I had begun taking photos from. I could almost feel a sigh of relief from all the parents, since they too had been freed from the stress of trying to contain wiggly children in a small seat for two hours straight.
When everyone had gotten sorted and comfortable, their first set of two for the night was a mix of songs from the band’s fourth studio album Apollo 18. I loved seeing that even with such a large discography of studio albums (twenty-four!!), young people and original fans alike were singing along word for word to songs that were far from the most popular the band had written. As they transitioned into the second set (a mix of hits new and old), the energy in the room became even more charged, and most everyone in the room knew all the words the rest of the way.
As I made my way upstairs to take photos from up above, I could see all of the kids that had made it up front, and it was truly endearing to watch the younger crowd feel comfortable enough to dance by themselves, without the perceived judgment from stranger-danger adults towering all around them. It takes a special kind of musician to unite generations separated by over fifty years, and They Might Be Giants have cultivated the perfect catalog for that experience to exist.