Easily one of the best shows I've had the opportunity to catch this year has been TV on the Radio, with their guests, Dirty projectors. I didn't know what to expect going in: it was at a venue I'd never been to that I'd heard horrible things about (in the West Edmonton mall?), I had no idea who was opening, and I really hadn't listened to much of TVotR's material beforehand.
I'm starting to think that's the best way to walk into a show... because when I'm blown away, it's always been in an epic manner. This show was one of those.
Dirty Projectors started their set with just two band members. My natural assumption at that point was that they were going to be a mellow opener. Just a guy, a girl, and their guitars.Holy crap, was I horribly mistaken. After the blissfully pretty Two Doves, out tumbled the other 4 members of the 6 piece group, ready to melt faces. The rest of their set was mind-bending time signatures, inventive guitar riffs and amazing harmonies. The girls had the latter down so perfectly for the live show that at points I couldn't believe that sound was being created sans-laptop - mind you, there was a laptop... it just wasn't being put to use to tweak their vocal work. Those same three rocked out vocal acrobatics bouncing over ranges so fluidly that it would have made Mariah Carey blush (shut up... I loved her when I was 11). I think I stood for their entire set wide-eyed with my jaw on the floor, poking at my friend every time the group did something else that took my breath away. She may or may not have had horribly bruised arms by the end of the show. Looking out over the crowd, I could see my reaction mirrored in the faces of a handful of other people. Dirty Projectors: You blew my freaking mind. Pretty much an awesome reason to go visit Brooklyn again. After four full-length albums, this might be the one that makes everyone sit up and listen. Even though it's only June, Bitte Orca is seriously contending for a spot on my inevitable "favourites of 2009" list (which you can pick up HERE and HERE, btw).
I'm starting to think that's the best way to walk into a show... because when I'm blown away, it's always been in an epic manner. This show was one of those.
Dirty Projectors started their set with just two band members. My natural assumption at that point was that they were going to be a mellow opener. Just a guy, a girl, and their guitars.Holy crap, was I horribly mistaken. After the blissfully pretty Two Doves, out tumbled the other 4 members of the 6 piece group, ready to melt faces. The rest of their set was mind-bending time signatures, inventive guitar riffs and amazing harmonies. The girls had the latter down so perfectly for the live show that at points I couldn't believe that sound was being created sans-laptop - mind you, there was a laptop... it just wasn't being put to use to tweak their vocal work. Those same three rocked out vocal acrobatics bouncing over ranges so fluidly that it would have made Mariah Carey blush (shut up... I loved her when I was 11). I think I stood for their entire set wide-eyed with my jaw on the floor, poking at my friend every time the group did something else that took my breath away. She may or may not have had horribly bruised arms by the end of the show. Looking out over the crowd, I could see my reaction mirrored in the faces of a handful of other people. Dirty Projectors: You blew my freaking mind. Pretty much an awesome reason to go visit Brooklyn again. After four full-length albums, this might be the one that makes everyone sit up and listen. Even though it's only June, Bitte Orca is seriously contending for a spot on my inevitable "favourites of 2009" list (which you can pick up HERE and HERE, btw).
(See how entranced they are?)
On to the main event: I would be more inclined to call this a religious experience than a rock show. Don't jump all
over me for the comparison: rather than "it changed my life, I'm a TVotR die-hard forever and ever now" kind of experience, it was the atmosphere of the whole production. Energetic, euphoric, and overwhelming at points... like something you'd experience in a Southern Baptist church; but with more alcohol and better dressed young people. I really felt like TVotR's live sound is miles away from what you hear on their albums (well, at least what I'd heard on Return to Cookie Mountain). Rather than the mellow(er), trip-hopish sound that I'd grown accustomed to, the live sound was pure, instrument-driven rock. The focus was intense guitars, hammering drums, and my love of all loves: saxophone and clarinet. If they'd left the mix table at home, I wouldn't have even noticed. And dancing! Oh my god, every time Tunde Adebimpe starting hopping, swaying and bouncing all over the stage, I was seriously disinclined to keep my feet planted in one spot (considering the space I had to move in, this may have caused me some issues throughout the night). The last song of the encore, Satellite, brought out members of Dirty Projectors for a climaxing cacophony of glorious sound. Oh, my ears were happy... until the following day, when they wouldn't stop ringing. The intensity of the night left the band with a broken floor tom - from a rendition of Young Liars - and the crowd exhausted and satiated, despite the questionable venue. I really wish my batteries had lasted long enough to get a good video clip, because the words just don't seem to measure up to the experience (apologies for the shaky camera work!) They're on tour all over the place until the end of August, so for sure check them out if they stop anywhere close to you. You can grab a copy of their newest release Dear Science (or any album, for that matter), from their label Interscope Records, or any decent music store.
I missed these guys at Bonnaroo, and now I wish I hadn't! Great post - glad I found you on Feministing!
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