Live Review: They Might Be Giants, Dark Fair

Being the support act for an overseas act, especially one with ardent fans, isn't easy, yet Melbourne duo Dark Fair appear not to be daunted. This is admirable, especially as they have been relegated to the side stage tonight. Their brand of post-punk meets new wave, with some garage and rock influences thrown, in works well, with enough of a fresh take to make them interesting.

John Linnell and John Flansburgh, the two men behind They Might Be Giants (TMBG), take to the stage, accompanied by their current bandmates Dan Miller, Danny Weinkauf and Marty Beller. The audience is immediately served with a visual reminder that TMBG is in no way an ordinary band thanks to the fact that Linnell is carrying with him a Venti-sized Starbucks take-away cup, which he promptly places on one end of his keyboard and continues to sip from throughout the show. They launch into a perfect rendition of Lost My Mind, taken from their most recent Nanobots release, and then serve up the highly enthusiastically received Don't Let's Start immediately afterwards. Call You Mom is as wonderful live as it is on Nanobots and leaves us in no doubt that this band is a tightly tuned unit. Given their extensive back catalogue, it is nice to see that they delve as far back as They Might Be Giants. Highlights include the Fingertips, which actually comprises 21 separate tracks, each lasting no more than one minute: It's crazy and utterly wonderful.

Flansburgh, the more talkative of the two, is on fire with his between-song banter, which ranges from, but is not limited to concern about the whereabouts of the female bathroom facility (until he finally spots the 'Ladies' sign). There's also a fine introduction of the bass clarinet (played by Linnell) and Flansburgh also claims he's telepathically being made aware of everyone in the crowd's “real nicknames, not the ones [they've] had since school” – examples include 'Blacula' and 'Tim Tam'. This is the warped and wonderful sense of humour fans have come to expect from TMBG and they do not disappoint.

We're treated to two encores, and they finish with an elongated and frenetic version of Istanbul (Not Constantinople), leaving the packed-in audience shattered and ecstatic. Despite a running time of almost two hours, tonight's show finishes far too quickly. We can only hope they don't wait another 12 years to return.