They Might Be Giants Play "Exquisite Dead Guy" in NYC for First Time in 25 Years

They Might Be Giants released their 24th album, The World is to Dig , back in April, and they’ve been on tour supporting it, doing multi-night runs in various cities. For NYC that meant three nights at Brooklyn Steel, and each night was an “An Evening With” (aka no opener) that had them backed by an eight-piece band, including three horn players. They also mixed up the setlists each night; most of night one (5/28) focused on their fourth album, 1992’s Apollo 18 . Night two (5/29) pulled largely from their sixth album, 1996’s Factory Showroom , and night three (5/30) got a set from their second album, 1988’s Lincoln . See all three nights’ setlists below.

We went on night two, where the Factory Showroom spotlight set included their first performance of “Exquisite Dead Guy” in over 25 years. Watch attendee-taken video of that, and see photos by Rob Menzer below.

The band will be in Boston for two nights later this week, and then their tour resumes in the fall and runs through November, wrapping up with four shows in Washington DC. See all dates below.

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

They Might be Giants (photo by Rob Menzer)

SETLIST: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS @ BROOKLYN STEEL, 5/28/2026

Sammy Intro

The Statue Got Me High

Turn Around

She’s Actual Size

Narrow Your Eyes

Mammal

I Palindrome I

Dinner Bell

Fingertips

Synopsis for Latecomers

Spider

The Guitar

stelluB

Wu‐Tang

Authenticity Trip

Doctor Worm

Play Video

Stompy Intro

Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

Brontosaurus

No One Knows My Plan

I’ll Sink Manhattan

The Darlings of Lumberland

Out of Jail

The Mesopotamians

Moonbeam Rays

Ana Ng

New York City

Number Three

See the Constellation

Subliminal

Particle Man

Encore:

Get Down

Withered Hope

Encore 2:

Spy

Birdhouse in Your Soul

SETLIST: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS @ BROOKLYN STEEL, 5/29/2026

S-E-X-X-Y

The Bells Are Ringing

New York City

Spiraling Shape

XTC vs. Adam Ant

Till My Head Falls Off

Pet Name

Exquisite Dead Guy

Metal Detector

How Can I Sing Like a Girl?

James K. Polk

Wu‐Tang

Hit the Ground

stelluB

Brontosaurus

Particle Man

Synopsis for Latecomers

Birdhouse in Your Soul

Whistling in the Dark

Meet James Ensor

The Famous Polka

Stuff Is Way

You Probably Get That a Lot

Older

Moonbeam Rays

Eyeball

Withered Hope

Let Me Tell You About My Operation

The Statue Got Me High

Encore:

Twisting

Get Down

Encore 2:

Shoehorn With Teeth

Doctor Worm

SETLIST: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS @ BROOKLYN STEEL, 5/30/2026

Santa’s Beard

Stand on Your Own Head

Piece of Dirt

Where Your Eyes Don’t Go

Pencil Rain

Lie Still, Little Bottle

Cowtown

I’ll Sink Manhattan

Shoehorn With Teeth

They’ll Need a Crane

Snowball in Hell

Ana Ng

Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)

Wu‐Tang

stelluB

Birdhouse in Your Soul

Man, It’s So Loud in Here

Damn Good Times

Don’t Let’s Start

2082

Wearing a Raincoat

Letterbox

Can’t Keep Johnny Down

Cloisonné

Twisting

Doctor Worm

The Glamour of Rock

Get Down

Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

Encore:

Let Me Tell You About My Operation

When Will You Die

The End of the Tour

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS: 2026 TOUR DATES

Jun 5 Fri Citizens House of Blues Boston, MA, United States

Jun 6 Sat Citizens House of Blues Boston, MA, United States

Sep 24 Thu Pabst Theater Milwaukee, WI, United States

Sep 25 Fri Pabst Theater Milwaukee, WI, United States

Sep 26 Sat Barrymore Theatre Madison, WI, United States

Sep 27 Sun Barrymore Theatre Madison, WI, United States

Sep 29 Tue The Truman Kansas City, MO, United States

Oct 1 Thu First Avenue Minneapolis, MN, United States

Oct 2 Fri First Avenue Minneapolis, MN, United States

Oct 3 Sat The Fitzgerald Theater St Paul, MN, United States

Oct 4 Sun The Fitzgerald Theater St Paul, MN, United States

Nov 6 Fri Emo’s Austin Austin, TX, United States

Nov 7 Sat Emo’s Austin Austin, TX, United States

Nov 8 Sun Emo’s Austin Austin, TX, United States

Nov 10 Tue The Heights Theater Houston, TX, United States

Nov 11 Wed The Heights Theater Houston, TX, United States

Nov 13 Fri The Echo Lounge & Music Hall Dallas, TX, United States

Nov 14 Sat The Echo Lounge & Music Hall Dallas, TX, United States

Nov 19 Thu 9:30 Club Washington, DC, United States

Nov 20 Fri 9:30 Club Washington, DC, United States

Nov 21 Sat 9:30 Club Washington, DC, United States

Nov 22 Sun 9:30 Club Washington, DC, United States

_Originally reported by [Brooklyn Vegan](https://www.brooklynvegan.com/they-might-be-giants-played-exquisite-dead-guy-for-the-first-time-in-over-25-years-in-nyc-pics-video-setlist/)._