“I want to bottle you up and pour you on my pancakes you’re so sweet.” This is how Tunde Adebimpe described the crowd at TV on The Radio’s first Boston show at The Middle East some years ago. The sweetness seems to have stayed in the audience in the years since. Boston crowds can be fickle to say the least, but TV on The Radio brought out the best in them at the House of Blues on April 16. With a mix of songs from their newly released Nine Types of Light and hits from their entire discography, TVOTR brought out an energy rarely seen in Boston crowds at rock shows.
Opening with a breathtaking version of “Young Liars” from their debut EP of the same name, TVOTR set the tone for the entire night: it would be loud, it would be soulful, it would get you moving. As great as the band is on record, the energy they bring live is incomparable with each song taking on a bigger catharsis and emotional intensity. It was an incredible experience with lead singer Tunde shaking around, moving from one side of the stage to the other with an effortless energy. “Young Liars” transitioned perfectly into an energetic, sped up take on “The Wrong Way.” The faster pace made this song swing and boogie on a different level than the record (which is saying a lot, cause the recorded version is pretty energetic).
Many other highlights of the night came from the band’s sophomore album Return To Cookie Mountain. “Blues From Down Here” was particularly great with its soulful swagger becoming even more palpable live. Producer and guitarist Dave Sitek stood in the back getting all sorts of feedback and atmospheric distortion from his guitar while Kip Malone and his awesome beard (seriously, dude has the best beard in music) crooned. Kip’s vocal range was on showcase for a few tracks such as “Province,” which had him singing in both a sultry baritone and a staggering falsetto.
The show was also a chance for the band to showcase songs from Nine Types of Light. “Caffeinated Consciousness” was played early, yet fit awkwardly in the set. Its energy is a bit more reserved than much of the band’s other rock songs. Other songs from the new record fared much better. The lovelorn “Will Do” hit a higher emotional peak live. But the highlight of the new material was a rendition of “Repetition,” which the band performed after the always exciting “Wolf Like Me.” The live arrangement was longer and even more frantic than on the record. It provided a great closer for the main set.
The encore opened with songs from Dear Science, the most underrepresented of all of the band’s albums. The atmospheres of “Love Dog” and the funk of “Red Dress” were both great live and made people wonder why the band didn’t perform more songs from their most accessible and funky record. Closing out the night was “Satellite” from Young Liars. Bookending the set with tracks from their debut EP was a strange move. It’s not their best known material but it certainly came off fantastically live. I don’t think anyone left the House of Blues unhappy or unimpressed. It was a pretty sweet evening, just like TV on the Radio’s first Boston show.
Ed. note – The bassist for TV On The Radio, Gerard Smith, died of lung cancer yesterday, April 20. He was 36 years old.
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