All bets are off at a concert. Manners and social mores are more or less tossed to the side. I remember a moment of Gimme Shelter where a guy completely off his face is more or less seizuring his way over a crowd. People jostle, people push. We’re all atheists in the mosh pit.
It’s also tough being tall and wanting to be close. It’s even tougher having a short wife. You feel bad about standing in front of shorter people, but as far as concert etiquette goes, fuck ‘em, right? I’ve seen dudes squeeze into spaces barely large enough to contain a whippet just to be 2 inches closer to the stage and not give a shit about whom they are stepping on. It’s hard having a conscience.
We arrived early at the TV on the Radio/Dirty Projectors show to get a good vantage point. Of course, latecomers would push to the front. Doesn’t bother me. But for my wife of barely five feet, the pushing can be too much. Luckily, Portland crowds are fairly mild to those in other cities.
The Dirty Projectors played an interesting set to a mostly empty Roseland. Though sold-out, people didn’t really filter in until the start of TV on the Radio’s 90 minute set. Promoting last year’s much-raved about Dear Science, TV on the Radio played a set heavy on new material. Singer Tunde Adebimpe, drenched in sweat just a few minutes into the set, launched into the sweet melody of “Love Dog,” one of the many songs from Science that seems inspired by the sugary sounds of soul.
Of course, people pushed to the front of the stage, but most of us were too caught up in dancing to care. As Adebimpe traded off vocals with Kyp Malone, the songs from Science took on a denser, more manic tone than their album counterparts. “Dancing Choose,” “Golden Age” and first set closer “DLZ” felt drenched in reverb and feedback. As guitarist David Sitek experimented with pads and pedals, sometimes the noise overtook the songs. For example, while the pounding rhythm of “Wolf Like Me” was still vibrant, it was almost impossible to hear the vocals under the layers of sound. On their albums, TV on the Radio found the right balance of fuzz and voice. It seemed to be missing somewhat in the live setting.
The highlights of the show were definitely the older songs. “Young Liars” and “Staring at the Sun” sounded positively stately and final song “Satellite” achieved that requisite ache. Encore song “A Method” featured a multitude of guest drummers including members of the Dirty Projectors and a woman who just seemed very, very happy to be on stage. The water flying off of Sitek’s bass drum created a cool effect as well.
TV on the Radio is an endlessly inventive band and while Dear Science has only increased the group’s profile, it was the look back, the revisitation and revalidation of the old tracks that highlighted this performance. It is good to see the band hasn’t forgotten its roots.
