TV On The Radio @Bowery Ballroom, Apr. 18th

Tonight met up with Wawa and the Indie Twins at the Bowery for TV On The Radio's sold out gig. This was my third time catching TVOTR. The first time I saw them in January 2005 opening for George Clinton at B.A.M. Unfortunately, they only played an abbreviated 30 minute set, and I was sitting in the nosebleeds. Then, last October, I caught them opening for Franz Ferdinand at the Theater at MSG. While I normally dig getting tickets as close as possible (we had GA Pit tickets up front), the sound mix where we were standing during the MSG show was so bad -- the bass dominated their entire performance. So I was really looking forward to tonight's show, at my favorite NYC venue.

And they did not disappoint. They played a nice tight set for about 70 minutes, and they were brilliant. They played a good mix of old and new tracks. I cannot wait for their new album to come out. The sound mix was great since we were about 2/3s of the way back from stage, in front of the bar. I could see everything I needed to, and I could hear everything just fine. Also our positioning afforded a nice view of David Bowie lurking in the balcony. We all knew he'd be there, but it really is a thrill to see him occasionally checking out what's new in the indie rock world. And the length of the show was perfect for a late night gig, especially for my weary post-kung fu class legs.

Stacey and I were so excited by the show, we cut out during the intermission to grab t-shirts at the merch table. Unfortunately, "Staring at the Sun," which is one of my favorite tracks from their last album, started up before we could head back upstairs, but one of their roadies was "helping" with the singing, so I was not totally missing anything great...

It was certainly one of the more diverse crowds I had ever seen at Bowery. Wawa told me that he'd be catching TVOTR later this summer at Jones Beach opening up for Bauhaus and Nine Inch Nails. Now, that'll be interesting, I'm sure...