TV on the Radio with Celebration at the 9:30 Club
There isn’t a more arresting falsetto in rock right now than TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone’s. This would be a feat in itself, were he not in constant harmonization with lead singer Tunde Adebimpe’s intense vocals -- taking TVOTR’s sound to another level of cool. In fact, were these two not harmonizing, perhaps TVOTR would be just another trip hop, art-rock, doo-wop, retro-funk, Brooklyn-based mash-up collective. To put it another way, this band is unique enough already and the amazing vocal interplay of the two lead singers solidify their place as innovators in rock history. And those of us lucky enough to get tickets for the sold-out October 15th show at the 9:30 club got to witness them in action.
Grizzly Bear was supposed to open for TVOTR, but due to a bus breakdown, the Baltimore-based Celebration filled in instead. As it turns out, Celebration has collaborated with TVOTR before, and TVOTR member (and producer) David Sitak produced their latest album, so this turned out to be a fitting combination. Celebration’s psychedelic and atmospheric sound is jarred by the intensity of Katrina Ford’s singing and stage-presence. I can only assume that there were vocal effects on Ford’s mic, making the movements of her mouth never quite match up with what I was hearing. Her singing is haunting, but at times, she sounds more witchy than ghostly, and more manly than simply full-throated. The most interesting aspect of this band is that Sean Antanaitis plays probably 90 % of the instruments both on the album and on-stage. Between his guitars and multiple keyboards, he was also manning Moog bass pedals with his feet. This guy is amazing. While Celebration’s music would not usually be my cup of tea, they were impressive enough to warrant a second listen.
Being a “late-show” at the 9:30 club, (Jenny Lewis played the “early show”), TVOTR didn’t come on until around 11:50pm. As they walked out onstage, you can’t help but to think that this may be one of the most authentically “cool” bands in rock and roll right now. Kyp Malone could be seen as the funky modern-day version of Jerry Garcia, with his beard and ‘fro, scarf and laid back guitar playing. Meanwhile lead singer Tunde jumps around the stage with an unrivaled fervor and attacks each song in the same manner. They energetically ripped into opening song “The Wrong Way,” and moved into the more mellow “Dreams,” both from their first album Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. The pace got bogged down a bit between “Dreams” and the also calm yet dissonant groove of “Blues from Down Here” from their second album Return from Cookie Mountain.
The energy returned in full-force with “I Was A Lover,” a remarkable song off their second album that displays the intrepid production skills of Sitak. Over a standard drum-machine beat, fuzzed out guitars, horn loops, ebbs and flows of synth and bass and piano samples create a minimalist orchestra of sort. The beat-driven lyrics pull the sounds of the instruments together. My only complaint of this song was that, performed live, the sounds almost blended together too much, losing the distinctness of each instrument’s part that characterizes the studio version.
“Province” was played next, one of TVOTR’s more idyllic pieces. It is on this song that you really notice how the harmonics between Kyp and Tunde create the magic that is TVOTR. Atop piano-based melodies and thick synth/guitar triumphs, Kyp and Tunde create a new instrument between their voices- intoxicatingly beautiful and eerily trance-inducing.
In general, their set was comprised of some of the best songs from both their acclaimed albums. They also balanced the show between the mellow and the frenetic, but never stopped delivering a high-intensity performance. Whether starting a song with a variety of bells and whistling, as they did with “Tonight,” or Sitak turning the mic to the windchimes attached to his guitar, TVOTR were interesting to the audience and seemed to be interested in the music they were creating. One can’t help but envision them playing around in their studio, adding instruments just to see “how it would sound if…” They even had Katrina Ford come back on to add vocals to some of their songs.
The entire last half of the show, including the three song encore, was stronger than the first half. The energy was more forceful and the musicians were more determined to get the audience's hips moving. It helped that some of the band’s lushest and most beat-driven songs were played from about their ninth song until the end. They began “DirtyWhirl," a song with a fast beat and minimal guitars, with soft talking and Sitak beatboxing through the intro. “Wash the Day Away” 's thick distortion melded into the last song of the official set, which they, to put it simply, rocked.
The first song of the encore was a refreshing rendition of “Poppy” off of the band’s first album. This song’s heavy synths and persuasive lyrics brought many of the shoegazers out of their shells and actually (gasp) dancing a bit. The crowd began to scream as Ford came on again and the band began the first notes of the stellar “Staring at the Sun.” TVOTR played this song a bit fast for my liking, but the song’s catchiness and lush melody still resonated.
The band concluded the night by bringing out all the members of Celebration and giving them various percussion instruments to play. They then, fittingly, tore into the percussion-heavy “Let the Devil In.” TV on the Radio, with Celebration in tow, were clearly having a great time onstage. I can imagine, as TVOTR’s repertoire grows, music-lovers of all sorts will increasingly consider this band one that's not-to-be-missed when they come to town. With their unique blending of musical style and their apparent love of live-playing and musicianship, that designation will be rightly deserved.
Photo of Kyp and Tunde by Flickr user Along Came a Gargant