HowWasTheShow Music Player (Beta):

This text will be replaced by the flash music player.

 
Latest posts in the Forum:

 
Please Visit Our Sponsors:

About halfway through The Dirtbombs set, a fellow concertgoer remarked “In a perfect world, Mick Collins would be more famous than Mick Jagger.” While I don’t fully agree with his sentiment I can see the rationale. Jagger once unconvincingly proclaimed “I ain’t no glamour boy, I’m fierce!” in a Living Colour video while Collins, dressed in beat up t-shirt, jeans and black work boots, along with his ever-present shades, said no such thing from stage though it was clear he ain’t no glamour boy, either, and is about 50 times fiercer than Jagger could ever hope to be. The Rolling Stones were once an exceptionally relevant band but haven’t been for roughly two decades; though many people seem not to be able see that. The Dirtbombs haven’t ever really been considered relevant and this is an injustice. It amazes me that in post-White Stripes Detroit that of all of the “next Detroit bands” that could have been, The Dirtbombs weren’t it.

 

The noisy, feedback-tinged mix of garage rock, punk, R&B and classic rock, while maybe not as radio-friendly as Jack and Meg White, is powerful and engaging. It forces you to listen, whether you want to or not, and has some killer hooks. Also in the mix here: they have two drummers (Ben Blackwell and Pat Pantano) that are both on par with Dave Grohl (yeah, seriously) for sheer power behind the kit. Having two drum kits may seem a bit gimmicky but it seems necessary here, somehow. It seems as though the drums would get lost if they didn’t have the second set. They also have done away with the second bassist and now Ko Melina plays a “fuzz” guitar they call it, with which she churned out wall after howling wall of what was effectively controlled feedback. The 45 to 50 minute set came to a stunning denouement with Pantano climbing atop Blackwell’s drum kit from the front and then both of them treating the crowd to an earsplitting 10-plus minute tribal beat, complete with time changes, while the crew tore down the rest of the instruments. It was as stunning a sight (and beautiful racket) as I have seen anywhere for quite some time.

 

Oh yeah, there was a headliner. I sort of forgot after watching the opener. I stepped out in front of the club between sets and it seemed like a lot of people did. The Dirtbombs were all that anyone was talking about—TV On The Radio had better bring it and indeed they did.

 

TV On The Radio - Photo by Jon Behm

In 2004, nearly everyone hailed their debut full-length Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, a modern masterpiece. I was not in this camp. Sure, the album had a few good songs on it, the single, “Staring At The Sun” in particular. Overall, however it was an uneven, difficult album full of potential that could have easily been thrown away on the sophomore record. Improbably, 2006’s Return To Cookie Mountain built upon the spare, effects-heavy template they had constructed, adding even more effects and somehow growing stronger for it. On this year’s Dear Science, they have upped the ante still and the payoff is even larger than before. They have a sound that is all their own, sort of the American version of Radiohead, in a way, though they sound nothing like Radiohead at all. The sound is much more organic and has none of the icy distance that is so present in Radiohead’s work. However, they are similar in the way they approach the music melding seemingly disparate genres (avant-noise, soul, ‘70s-era R&B, turntablism, etc.) and create a sound that is lush and sparse at the same time somehow. Tunde Adibempe’s falsetto vocals add another layer of sound and function almost like an extra instrument themselves. They build some of the beats heard on the album live onstage using a truckload of effects pedals and everything was spot on. Even their lesser, earlier work seemed to glimmer just a little more. Bands like TVOTR don’t often shine like this in a live setting. The songs often sag or sound nothing like the recorded product and the bands bear the stigma of being a “studio band”, which is often a death knell for a touring band. These guys knew what they’re doing however and put on a show that was superior to any recorded material they have ever produced. I had been a slow convert to TV On The Radio previous to this, always approaching with an open but reserved ear. This show fully converted me, however. I’ve cast off all reservations and am turning the volume up.