Still reeling from a 30th birthday-induced hangover, I crossed town Monday night to Brixton Academy to watch TV On The Radio play live. Our tickets came courtesy of friends Matt & Katie who have just upped sticks to South America, and I persuaded Ruth to join me despite her thinking we were seeing the 80s band who wrote Video Killed the Radio Star. With Ruth now 8 months pregnant, the stewards let us sit in the balcony area with great views of the stage, and smug smiles as everyone crammed into the standing section.
We'd missed warm-up act the Noisettes, opting for beer & burgers at local pup The Trinity Arms instead, but arrived just before TVotR came on the stage at 9pm. The atmosphere was electric as always at Brixton Academy, the venue for some of my most memorable gigs including Arcade Fire, Interpol and the Libertines. Lead singer Tunde got the audience clapping from the outset, and his flexible gyrations and arm waving gave him the look of a Baptist minister. Superstar producer and linchpin of the Brookyln music scene, Dave Sitek, was a more muted presence on stage, often playing guitar with his back turned to the audience. Kyp Malone, meanwhile, was sporting a phenomenal beard and chipped in with some heartfelt singing and guitar licks.
Having missed out on a music festival this summer, getting to see one of my favourite bands at a great venue was a good back-up option. My highlights of the set were Halfway Home, which changes tone in dramatic and majestic fashion and works wonderfully live, and Wolf Like Me, which gathers pace mixing soul and a steady beat, only to collapse into a languid middle section and then morph into a faster, more intense final act. Fabulous live song. Some of their catalogue didn't work so well on stage, but Golden Age and Staring At The Sun got a deservedly warm reception. I have a feeling my wee bairn will be a TVotR fan.
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