01 July 2008

TV on the Radio @ Town Ballroom, Buffalo NY, 6/30/08



I have to admit: I bought Return to Cookie Mountain in 2006, and, despite the wide critical acclaim, it never grabbed me. So it was with initial ambivalence and hesitation I went to last's night's show, at Jess' urging that "they're really fun live!"



And they were. I'm a convert. In comparison, the album stuff falls flat. While there was plenty of dancing (good!) and moshing (bad!), the set consistently delivered a soul-fueled prog rock performance. With heady head-bangers interspersed with slow jamz, the Buffalo debut of this great group was fraught with high spirits and deep emotion.



I mean, c'mon, I know that you also totally want a T-shirt with a giant rosary on it and instructions on how to use it (well, all us lapsed Catholics, anyway.)



And really, experimental rock doesn't even scratch the surface: Guitar + wind chimes + cymbals + clapping + whistling = WIN





And, there was secret-sharing! Because I positively can't keep this a secret (nor could I expect the other few hundred folks there) TVotR announced they just finished a NEW ALBUM!!!!! I am hoping/thinking it will be out this fall/winter. He said "it sucks though!" which I highly doubt, if it has any of the energy that was expressed last night. But they did debut one of the new songs:



So, it is with some remorse I am not offering up any downloads, as I only have album cuts and it just seems trite in comparison. The good news is that there were many recorders out there, so I recommend poking around Hype Machine and YouTube for clips in the next few days as they surface: you'll be amply rewarded with goodness.

2 comments:

Joel said...

Great show last night! Dude...Shout Me Out was a great tune. Looking forward to the new album.

El Manicero said...

I am glad they have won another convert but seriously what bad crack are you smoking, Return To Cookie Mountain, and in fact everything they have recorded pretty much are awesome and say what you will about the weaker cuts, but not "flat". Definitely not flat. Take another listen or two and see if you still don't dig it. What a lucky bastard that you got to see them live as I haven't had the chance yet.