Live Review: TV on the Radio at Fox Theater

TVOTR put on such a good set at last year’s Treasure Island music festival. I was in a sea of people as the band furiously ripped through their catalog. I couldn’t wait to see them at a smaller venue. Not quite small, but welcoming enough, the renovated Fox Theater is an ideal venue.

The liberal leaning Bay Area was ready with open arms for TVOTR. Although W’s out of the oval office, it would have been nice to hear their tribute “Dry Drunk Emperor,” but he’s gone and they’ve moved on. As for content and sound, last year’s Dear Science was a big departure from their work at the first part of this decade that reflected things like the paranoid fear of Armageddon and Bush’s presidency. Dear Science is upbeat and sexy and was the featured album of the show, which wasn’t a bad thing, but there were a lot of exclusions; “Let the Devil in” would have sounded great with the theater’s acoustics. The songs they did play rocked. “Halfway Home” used a Kid A loop effect. The piano in “Family Tree” was haunting. The crowd obliged singer Tunde Adibempe when he sang “Lord if you got lungs, c’mon shout me out.” “Starring at the Sun” sounded urgent and showcased the band in full rock mode. The groove of “Golden Age” pronounced the bands evolution.

- Review submitted by Jeff Bracco.