Jan 25, 2009

TV On The Radio @ Metro Theatre

Huge. Mark down another great show in January. TV On The Radio came and conquered. Their maelstrom of noise and fury seized us from the very beginning and didn't let go until the scintillating encore. It was a unique blend of passion, soul and unrelenting rhythms that won us over Saturday night at the Metro Theatre. Undoubtedly exciting and undeniably fun.

I had seen them perform 3 years earlier at the Gaelic Theatre and that performance had me longing for a return. Thankfully, they didn't disappoint. To begin with, they gave us old tunes. What a start. "Young Liars" was all burning desire, ominous and menacing. A delight for older fans. The only concern was that the vocals were a bit low and muddied. But they soon improved and whilst never perfect I didn't think the sound hindered the performance. The first touchstone of the night was "Dreams". This floored me, the drumming was intense and powerful. If there were any lulls in the set it was probably a couple of the new songs. Especially "Golden Age" and "Dancing Choose". Although the crowd lapped them up, I do prefer my TVOTR to be dark and soulful rather then bouncy and poppy. So, "Wolf Like Me" set me straight. Ferocious and ecstatic, this song burst the walls and some lungs as well. "Stork & Owl" was great as well, a great showcase for the vocals of Kyp Malone. His singing was a definite surprise and highlight. Stoic to the nth degree, Kyp reeks cool. His vocals are a beautiful countenance to the full throated soar of Tunde Adebimpe. Can I say here that this man is a thunderstorm on stage. He feels every note and song line, throwing himself into the music with an animal intensity. I hate to think how much fluid he lost on the night. This was exemplified on the towering "DLZ", another standout on a great night. The set closed with "Satellite" and we were all feeling pretty content from the performance. But the encore, oh the encore. This raised the gig from very, very good to great. Despite the abscence of "A Method" ( I really wanted this) and "Lover's Day" (I REALLY WANTED THIS-and you had horns?), I couldn't complain. "Love Dog" was sultry and suave, then "Blues From Down Here" was near perfect in its rendering. "Let The Devil In" was another great example of some amazing percussion (How good was the drummer?), whilst "Staring at The Sun" was speeded up and amped up, with great results. It resonated long after the gig had ended. A band of great talent, at the top of their game gave us all a night to remember.

Set List
Young Liars
The Wrong Way
Dreams
Crying
Golden Age
Wolf Like Me
Dirty Whirl
Stork & Owl
Shout Me Out
Dancing Choose
Red Dress
DLZ
Satellite

Love Dog
Blues From Down Here
Let The Devil In
Staring At The Sun

2 Comments:

  • At January 25, 2009 , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Yeah, I had a lot of fun as well. We saw you guys but the crowd was so packed we couldn't make it down to you. And then after the gig everyone just kind of disappeared into the sea of people.

     
  • At February 10, 2009 , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Hey I've posted vids from this show here http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6202F1CB37AB0011

    It was an awesome set!

     

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