Music
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They Might Be Giants After 33 years together, TMBG remains a quintessential cult band that never made it big (and perhaps never sought such fame). John Flansburgh and John Linnell have had flashes of commercial success, like “Birdhouse in Your Soul,” “Boss of Me” (which became the opening theme to Malcolm in the Middle), and the Austin Powers theme song “Dr. Evil,” but who needs the the mainstream? Two guys with two million quirky song ideas, Flansburgh and Linnell always been slaves to their own whimsy-rather than the marketplace. Deploying their angular, power-pop nerd-rock sound, they’ve made albums for kids, albums about concert venues, and albums about science. This year the band revived its Dial-A-Song concept, releasing one song a week via dialasong.com (rather than the old telephone-answering machine of the ‘80s). Their new album, Glean, released last month, documents the first several weeks of new songs, with two more albums slated to follow. Tonight the duo will play two full sets of music, with no opening act. That means the faithful will be rewarded with both new tracks and old favorites dating back to the vinyl era when TMBG got its Brooklyn start. DAVE LAKE The Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., Seattle, WA 98105 $27 and up. Thursday, May 7, 2015, 8pm
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14th Annual More Music with Sheila E. Sheila E. joins as Music Director during this celebration of the 14th year of this youth music program. The Moore, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $15 Friday, May 8, 2015, 6:30pm
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Neil Diamond When he tells you you’ll be a woman soon, you’ll be a woman soon. When he says Caroline is sweet, you sing along in agreement. When he declares that he’s coming to America, you travel with him. His name is Diamond, but you already knew that. Tonight, the legendary crooner-74 years young-will pack the Key with a very particular demo: women from the baby boom (second husbands, boyfriends, and perhaps their daughters reluctantly in tow), raised on jukebox pop and AM radio, their ears transporting them back to teenhood at the first few bars of “Cherry, Cherry.” The man got his start penning songs in the Brill Building and placed early hits on The Monkees. He’s a part of musical and pop-cultural history, a complete egotist and ham, and utterly beloved by his fans. Lower Queen Anne will be ablaze with rhinestones tonight, and the tip jars will be full at Keys on Main during the preshow festivities. T. BOND KeyArena (Seattle Center), 305 Harrison St., Seattle, WA 98109 $61 and up. Sunday, May 10, 2015, 8pm
