TV on the Radio Deserves a Better Audience
Ah, so now we know where the festive audiences are: seeing the Scissor Sisters or Kinky. Because they were certainly not at the sold-out Showbox Wednesday night for the Brooklyn band double feature of Grizzly Bear and TV on the Radio.
Kicking things off, Grizzly Bear was less grizzly than bearish, and not at all what we expected from the talented foursome. We had heard their Pitchfork-acclaimed Warp release and weren't sure exactly how they'd translate the sonic masterwork into a winning live performance, but they succeeded with their full harmonies and arsenal of instruments. It was all quite lovely. While Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen split lead-vocal duties, the band had a secret weapon in jack-of-all-trades Chris Taylor, who wowed us with weird vocal echoes and excellent whistling ability. Meanwhile, drummer Chris Bear--yes, that's his real name--was the shit. Dynamic and powerful one minute, delicate the next, he showed off his jazz chops, even playing the cymbals and the drums themselves with his, ahem, bare hands. After seeing this performance, we totally have a thing for him. With good reason.
Next up was TV on the Radio. Wednesday's show marked the fourth time we have seen them live, and every single time we have found them to be awesome. So it's a crying shame there wasn't more enthusiasm at the venue, as TVotR crafts atmospheric songs of longing and insecurity in this millenial age, tracks that work just as well on the dancefloor as in the bedroom. We simply cannot resist a band who kicks off their brilliant new album with a steady beat, melancholy horn loops, and the bittersweet line "I was a lover, before this war." Sad, yet ass-shaking? More please.
There was some activity on the floor for the band's declaration of intent "The Wrong Way," the breakdown of "Dreams," and the driving force of "Wolf Like Me." But besides that, the crowd was downright static, in direct contrast to the whirl of activity that is lead singer Tunde Adebimpe. TV on the Radio closed strong, with encores of "Poppy" (we had totally forgotten how much we love that song), their still-finest-moment "Staring at the Sun," and an all-hands-on-deck finale with Grizzly Bear joining them to hit things.
The mix was a little muddy (especially on the vocals - TVotR has great lyrics, so it'd be nice if we could make them out, mmmkay), but the band was on-point. Ultimately, the only thing that kept this show from being truly transcendent was the crowd's energy. There better not be a repeat performance of this lethargy at Art Brut tomorrow night. If so, Seattle audiences, you're totally going On Notice.
Photos care of Flickr / user Drake LeLane.
