Coming out of the pandemic, most (perhaps overly obsessed) music fans had a checklist of artists they wanted to see live as soon as possible. If you’re a devotee of the early aughts indie rock scene now known as “indie sleaze,” you were treated to tours from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, The National, and even the increasingly elusive Strokes. But one stalwart group, inactive even before the live music industry screeched to a halt, remained stubbornly dormant even as festivals resumed business-as-usual operations. But after almost six years, TV on the Radio finally returned with a string of (New York, LA, and London) club shows in late 2024 before embarking on a tour of high-profile festival dates earlier this year.
One such date that seemed conspicuously absent from their itinerary was an appearance at the now-defunct Pitchfork Music Festival. The fit would have been obvious, and not just because the band has already headlined Pitchfork. Still, Chicago indie-rock fans were consoled with an early September date at the Riviera. The band reemerged into an entirely different rock landscape than they were operating in last. Pop-minded hardcore, shoegaze, alt-country, and psychedelic rock seem to be the flavors du jour. But these veterans, leveraging legacy rather than a new record, have plenty of demand for their reunion shows.
In the wake of popular books like Meet Me In The Bathroom, their New York rock scene has been thoroughly commodified as thinkpiece fodder. The output from these bands has been sparse to say the least, with TV on the Radio (who have a strong case as the most consistent of any of these groups) last releasing music in 2014 with the underappreciated Seeds. Ending their lengthy absence allows fans of a certain ilk to rekindle their relationship with a discography now two decades old. And for younger concertgoers? This will be their first chance to see one of indie-rock’s (actually) unique institutions.
Art students Tunde Adebimpe and Dave Sitek founded TV on the Radio in Brooklyn, basically 10 minutes before this became a cliche. They never enjoyed the meteoric rise of peers Interpol or the MTV-friendly profile of The Strokes, but TV on the Radio appealed to a critical consensus better than most. They never cultivated their “brand” that these other bands had in spades, but the plainspoken and underdressed group of decidedly dorky gents probably reflected their listenership better than, say, Interpol’s Carlos D. They tend to lean into their bookish qualities rather than embrace the hipster hedonism that permeated throughout low-rent Brooklyn neighborhoods. That’s not to say there wasn’t dynamism. Tunde Adebimpe has serious stage presence, even leveraging his charisma into an actual acting career. TV on the Radio also boasts some of modern rock’s strictest quality control. Furthermore, it can truthfully be said that there aren’t any other artists who sound like TV on the Radio.
It should be noted that the group was touring for the first time without founder/producer Dave Sitek, who is doubtless off adding sheen and texture to a Karen O project or something like that. Another absence, although not new, is that of Gerard Smith, who played bass on all of the band’s releases before dying in 2010. The core trio was supplemented by a pair of players in order to recreate Sitek’s multi-instrumental industriousness.
From a live standpoint, you need to catch these guys on the right night at the right place. The band’s hyper-precise layers of synth and guitar, paired with an efficiently groovy rhythm section, require the right sound and setting. Tunde Adebimpe, coming off the well-received solo debut Thee Black Boltz, is as energized as you’ll find. His vocals are some of his era’s best, and when harmonized with Kyp Malone’s, they completely transform this band from a mere indie group to an experience.
Starting with a slow-burner like “Young Liars,” now a 20-year-old cut off their debut EP of the same name, was a welcome sign that the band hasn’t lost its grasp on creating tension and gravity with both instrumentation and their vocal harmonies. The BPMs were immediately kicked up with one of the band’s catchiest and most euphoric tunes. The Obama-era optimism of “Golden Age” hasn’t lost its effect, despite how distant the sentiment might feel. “Lazzerey” finds the band mining good-old-fashioned pop rock, with chugging guitars and an infectious chorus.
Breakthrough hit “Wolf Like Me” always rips live, and their new setup has done nothing to stymie the bludgeoning percussion and tenacity of Tunde’s stage presence. The crowd, populated largely by a bunch of 30- and 40-somethings that might not otherwise get out on a school night, was enthusiastic but not quite energetic. It’s been a while since moshing has gone down at a TV on the Radio show, but the crowd responded like they had been waiting years for this performance.
The setlist featured at least one cut from every release, and while every one of the band’s songs is unmistakably a TV on the Radio song, there’s enough sonic variety in their discography that an album or setlist won’t bleed together. “Dancing Choose” blends punk energy with horn-drenched funk, while the trip-hop percussion of “DLZ” keeps time for some of Adebimpe’s most urgent vocal deliveries. They even dabbled in psychedelia, stretching intros and passages alongside trippier visuals than TVOTR audiences are used to.
After a brief pause, the band launched into a pair of bittersweet tracks, most notably “Trouble,” where Adebimpe seems to come to terms with loss and acceptance. What came next was something every fan in the building had earmarked. It’s unlikely there’s a TV on the Radio song more fitting to close out a show than “Staring At The Sun.” The song’s intro, even when lengthened and distorted, is unmistakable to anyone who’s heard it. Malone’s higher register sits just above Tunde’s voice, and their collective vocals eschew in the punishing bass loop. The song has always sounded like the sky is falling, and their live rendition fully explores its climactic effect. TV on the Radio ticked every box they could have, so it’s hard to imagine anyone in the crowd leaving unhappy.
Their first act was steeped in counterprogramming during the hyper-patriotic Bush era. And while that might not have been as potent during the 2010s, TV on the Radio’s uncanny blend of art rock and electronic music has aged better than most bands from that scene. Almost every record, some now multiple decades removed from release, is considered a classic, but the band’s future seems murkier than it did during their inactive stretch. Will Sitek rejoin the band? Will there be another TV on the Radio record? In uncertain times, it can’t hurt to enjoy a few classics from an old favorite. And that’s precisely what TV on the Radio brought to the Riviera.
