TV On The Radio - Live @ The Jefferson Theater - Charlottesville, VA

TV On The Radio playing the Jefferson Theater this past Saturday in Charlottesville, VA

Well I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that thanks to some new friends at Red Light Management, we were able to get in a position to make this piece FULL of fantastic and stunning imagery to record the night. The bad news? Our camera totally s!@# the bed, so while we were able to get some OK shots off of our digitals, we are ensaddened by what could have been. Next time will be different though. I promise.

Now that that's out of the way.

TV On The Radio, despite or maybe because of their punkish roots have never quite seemed comfortable on the stage. That isn't to say they haven't been good, because they are. Insanely good in fact. But when you have to live up to the ridiculously high bar that they set with their records well...you can see where I'm coming from. Having seen the band once before on the Dear Science tour I knew pretty much what to expect going in...and I also had my hopes up for what I wanted to see them do. The question then is did they deliver? The answer?

A resounding "holymotherofgod" yes.

TV On The Radio has finally delivered on all of the promise that their records have given us. In my review of the new record (here) I suggested that it may just be the new material and how it was recorded that has turned this band into the monsters on stage that they previously only were in the studios, but that's probably not all of the equation. Time, sure. You just get better as time goes on. Practice? I have no idea. My best guess would be that after years of trying to figure it out they are all finally comfortable in their collective TV On The Radio skin. Just take a look at the setlist. It's all over the place.

Killer Crane 

Young Liars 

The Wrong Way 

Caffeinated Consciousness 

Dancing Choose 

You 

Blues From Down Here 

Keep Your Heart 

Province 

Staring at the Sun 

Will Do 

Repetition 

Wolf Like Me 

Encore:

Forgotten 

Red Dress 

Satellite 

 

And I can tell you that while the stand outs were definitely found more in the newer material, despite its unfamiliarity, the older songs now sound like they should have sounded all along.

 

Alive. Angry. Sweaty. Sexy. Just like TV On The Radio Should be.

 

Click on the image below and head over to take a look at

our  poor excuse for coverage fantastic photos from the night.

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