Art Basel Music: TV on the Radio Brings All the Energy to Ricochet Miami, December 2

​TV on the Radio
Spotify's Music Loves Art
Ricochet Bar & Lounge
Thursday, December 1, 2011

Better Than: A Big Mac.

Last night, eating a double cheeseburger, drinking a Perrier, and considering trying Spotify's Kool-Aid, about two hundred people took iPhone pictures of TV on the Radio at Ricochet.

The invite-only show at the new Midtown bar was both intimate and overwhelming. The evening offered little standing room and very high volume. But still, it was a sweetly powerful performance.

The guys from TV on the Radio may not be especially young men. But onstage, they have all the energy of teens. And they are, of course, seasoned musicians who have all the skills of masters.


The show started slowly with singer Tunde Adebimpe making funny faces and wiggling his arm as if it were rubber. He asked, "You guys feel good inside?" More than halfway through a week of Art Basel, the answer is no. But either way, the band responded with maximum energy.

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In came the trombone, TV on the Radio's music representing a cacophony of influences.They yo-yoed back and forth from sounding like a jam band to creating ethereal dark blues and then just hitting the crowd hard with straight rock before shifting back to slow and heavy. By "Staring at the Sun," the place was fully and aggressively involved in the show. Adebimpe at one point lost his glasses. At another, he dove into the crowd.

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The night also featured a performance by genderbender artist and Florida native Kalup Linzy. His work was shown on small screens above the bar. And if you've never seen Linzy's work, please check it out. His show "All My Churen" is a soap operatic recreation that will make you, among other things, question all daytime television thereafter.

Though the small bar was packed with advertising, at least we got a free t-shirt with fries on it. Whomever placed these tees, this band, and artist together on the bill was clearly a thinking person. And to them, we give thanks.

Critic's Notebook

The Crowd: Weird mix of bottle-service Midtowners and art kids.

Personal Bias: So tired. Basel end, please.

TV on the Radio's Setlist
-"Young Liars"
-"The Wrong Way"
-"Caffeinated Consciousness"
-"Golden Age"
-"Red Dress"
-"Blues from Down Here"
-"Staring at the Sun"
-"Repetition"
-"Wolf Like Me"
-"Waiting Room"

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