So a few weeks ago at Arthurnights, I may or may not have been striking up conversation with the handsome gentleman behind me about recent concertgoing experiences. While I gushed about the National at the Troub (which was scrumtrelescent, thank you), he mentioned something to me that I was ready to declare blasphemy: "TV on the Radio was SO terrible live that we left before the encore. TERRIBLE!" Taken aback as I was, I maintained composure and felt out his reasoning behind said claim. The (less handsome now) gentleman in question continued, "Yeah, it was just like that Pitchfork Review." This is where the outburst took place.

So the review under discussion was not as negative and caustic as their reviews tend to be, but the unschooled Pitchfork reader doesn't understand that one must translate what they read into regular human emotion, rather than taking it at its cynical face value. Consequently, this person understood the review of their October 17 Chicago performance as a negative one. I want to take this time to refute a few things:

TV on the Radio has very complex, studio-based songs. Imagine if the Beatles had tried to take Revolver into the live context… Obviously things are going to be a little interpretive and a little sloppy at first. While some corners are going to have to be cut, the evolution of the live sound is a beautiful process to watch. I caught TVOTR with Franz Ferdinand at the Greek last October (I know, incongruous), and it was the first time that I saw them perform "Wolf Like Me." While they had not yet worked out the logistics of the instrumentation, there was an obviously intriguing skeleton. As their spring tour came and went, and by the time they graced the Hollywood Bowl with their energetic presence, the song was a tightly ticking clock that sprang from the stage. It was perfect, yet markedly different from the Return to Cookie Mountain version that everyone in the world is/should be addicted to. I caught them the following night as well, at Soma in San Diego, and noticed the intricate and creative steps they took to make it into a feasible live anthem. Another track that rocked my fucking world was "Let The Devil In," also off Return to Cookie Mountain. Instead of making it into the hollering amalgam of voices that it is on the album, Tunde Adebimpe (lead singer) brought a bullhorn to his lips and bellowed the chorus into the mic. How they come up with these things is beyond me, but the point is, they figured it out.

Neither of the shows that I attended included "I Was A Lover," which I heard was played in a stripped-down incarnation at both the Glass House and during the Pitchfork-reviewed show. Though they left out the Dave Sitek touch (as Pitchfork called it, the "sad-elephant horn sample"), it apparently was in the fledgling stages of working for them. I remember seeing them long ago, when they braved "Young Liars" (title track of the 2003 EP), it was shaky to say the least. However, when they played it at Soma this month, the house felt like it was going to explode with appreciation. They just need time to polish their  ambitious live performances, and that is not something that only rehearsal can perfect. Honestly, I can't wait until I hear what they figure out for "Tonight." TVOTR is a collection of true artists and innovators, and anyone who says otherwise is a dumbass. Or they have been caught up in the seduction of cynical culture. I recommend enjoying yourself, and catching Tunde, Kip, Dave and co. as soon as they get back in town. You can hop around in the front row with me.

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-Christina Gubala