photos by: Tamara Lee ~      previously published: Guttersnipe

Let me just preface this by saying that TVOTR is one of my TOP fave bands of all time. I hardly ever get so fanatical about music, but I have every album and could probably list at least 25 of their songs that I am obsessed with. I even pushed back my vacation for a month when I heard they would be playing in town!

So, as to be expected, I was giddy and spastic at their show at the Commodore last Wednesday night. As soon as they came on I couldn’t decide what the heck I should do; dance, laugh, cry, lick something….oh yeah, shoot photos….right …:)

They bombed on stage with huge and hot energy that the crowd couldn’t deny. The beats were intelligent and calculated, as Adebimpe and Malone traded vocal lead back and forth and the rest tore up their instruments in response. It’s apparent that these guys can put their money where their music is; proving that they are every bit as talented as the albums.

The sound was thick, but maybe too much so… my only disappointment is that I wonder if a standard sound system can actually handle everything these guys have to say? At times it was hard to recognize the song (even Wolf Like Me) being overrun by a thousand layers of sounds. Perhaps some better mixing was required. Perhaps the sound guy threw in the towel and went for a bevy.

Despite that, these guys ripped open their musical hearts and left the spoils for the crowd’s dinner. And ecstatic fans ate. it. up. It would be incredibly hard to wane my love of TVOTR, and based on the sweaty grins I passed on the way out, I would say the crowd felt the same. All in all, amazing to experience what many describe as “blowing them away”.

FULL GALLERY HERE.