LIVE REVIEW: TV ON THE RADIO, Troc, Last Night

EVA SAYS: Overall, the show was relatively mediocre. And this is coming from someone who’s a pretty big TV On The Radio fan. In general, I really dig the whole Fela Kuti + The Roots + The Killers thing they’ve got going on. To me, they’re the epitome of what integrated urban culture sounds like. It’s not white and it’s not black and it’s not rock and it’s not rap. And it’s not exactly electro or world music either, though it does combine all of those things. Early on, it seemed like they were off to a good start. Lead singer Tunde Adebimpe looked damn good up there sweating his shirt off to the rhythm of his gyrating hips. I spent a good chunk of time trying to diagnose him- with his eyes glazed over and his hands moving meticulously over his face, he look strangely possessed and I thought for sure he had to be ‘on’ something. He did, after all, grace the audience with a “Happy 4/20.” But as each song bled into the next, despite the ridiculously short set, they just sorta fizzled out. I could only jive along for so long until I fizzled out with them. Perhaps in the end I’d attribute that to poor stage presence or even just fatigue from the holiday’s celebratory rituals. But that isn’t to say that I don’t still regard them as ingeniously creative musicians. And at the very least, I’m glad I’ve had the chance to see them now before they blow up ten-fold, cause at the rate their going, these guys are only going to get huger. C+