say, say my playmate: tv on the radio @ burton cummings theatre
It was everything I wanted to be. I haven’t been this excited about a show in a really long time. There are a lot of bands I love on an intellectual level but who, for whatever reason, fail to reach that visceral level of musical obsession for me. True musical love for me is marked by a compulsive need to listen to a song or a record over and over and over again, usually while in some kind of physical motion, walking down the street, or whatever rather than say as an isolated selection on an esoteric playlist or some such.
My point is that I love TV on the Radio and everything I’d heard about their live show was that it was amazing. So for their date last night at the Burton Cummings Theatre I fangirled out. Sometimes I just have to be a fan, sending out my adoration and appreciation from the very front row, rocking out and flipping out and having as good a time as I possibly can.
1. Kyp, 2. Get wavy, 3. Patchwork backdrop, 4. Tunde
The show was fantastic, and that was the unanimous conclusion of everyone I talked to afterward. TVotR are just such a skilled, tight band and Tunde is so energetic. So we all felt we got our money’s worth and were in no way disappointed by this first appearance in our little mid-sized Canadian market. Now, the sound at the Burton Cummings is not the greatest, and I personally chose to sacrifice even more of the sonic quality by being right up against the stage; my pal Whitney was up front with me at first but then excused herself to listen from the back of the main floor, where she said the treble register was more in balance with the bass.
This was the set list:
Wash the Day Away
Wrong Way
Blues from Down Here
Halfway Home
Golden Age
Wolf Like Me
Crying
Young Liars
Red Dress
Shout Me Out
Dancing Choose
DLZ
Encore:
Family Tree
A Method
Staring at the Sun
A really good mix of stuff from all of the band’s EPs and full-lengths, including their “hits” like “Staring at the Sun” and “Wolf Like Me,” both of which it’s fair to say I would’ve been super disappointed if they hadn’t played them. I felt like it was a set list that took into account that this was their first show in our city so the vast majority of us wouldn’t have had a chance to see them. I would’ve liked to hear “I Was a Lover” and “Dirtywhirl,” but that’s a minor quibble.
Opening act was TVotR’s fellow Brooklynites, Dirty Projectors. I wasn’t super familiar with them before the show, and I was pleasantly surprised. The six-member band’s instrumental skills aren’t in the same league as their vocals, which made it obvious why they’re on tour with vocals-centric TVoTR. The three women in the band sang some beautiful soprano harmonies with the band’s retro-pop-rock, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Now a word on the merchandise. As someone who doesn’t really wear t-shirts, I’m always over the moon when a band offers a merch option beyond a jersey crew-neck. Like that time Stars had Sigg bottles with their name on them, one of which I still carry with pride and joy. What do I like even more than enviro-friendly water bottles? TOTE BAGS.
ESPECIALLY ones with a talking owl carrying bunches of bells. Another thing in its favour besides its obvious awesomeness of design is its reasonable price point — $15.
Thus concludes my effusive remembrances of TV on the Radio in Winnipeg. It was great. The end.
(Cross-posted to The Book of Right-On.)
Tags: burton cummings theatre, music, shows, tv on the radio