TV On The Radio and The Weepies

The last couple months have been good for concerts here in the Northwest.

In mid-July I got to see TV On The Radio in Portland, and then a month later I saw The Weepies in San Francisco. Both times I was with Courtney; she didn't know TV On The Radio very well and I'd never heard of the Weepies besides a mildly interesting song Pandora played for me.

As you probably know, TV On The Radio is my favorite active band, so I was predisposed to like the show. Still, I want to talk a little about what made "An Acoustic Night With The Weepies" such a fulfilling concert experience by comparison.

The TVOTR concert, as seen on a blanket laid out on the grass at McMenamins Edgefield, was an incredible concert. It was the first time I've seen them since their disappointing and low-energy "Dear Science" tour two and a half years ago. The energy was there this time, and the band wisely chose to play a variety of music from their long history, only playing half of the new "Nine Types Of Light" yet playing the early EP "Young Liars" in its entirety. In fact, they ended the encore portion with the song "Satellite," a song that holds special meaning in my heart. There was dancing all over the lawn - yes, even on my part - and lots of singing along with the lyrics indescribable to those who didn't know them already, such as Courtney. She enjoyed it anyway because of all the excitement on stage and in the crowd.

Fast forward a month to San Francisco's Filmore, a venue that gives out apples to concert-goers for reasons no one seems to know for sure. This time it was Courtney's turn to know the lyrics and mine to listen with a new ear. It turned out that the band was a husband-wife duo playing folksy love songs with traditional country two-part harmony. The show was not particularly high energy, but I was drawn in by the clever lyrics (that I could actually hear!) and the relaxed tightness between the performers from the ease at which they picked out each other's harmonies to the beady-eyed young-lovers way they looked at each other as the last chord for each song rang out or as they introduced the coming songs.

Having never heard The Weepies before was no detriment for understanding their musical concept. The acoustic music was clear, soft, and silky, like listening to the CD on speakers I could never afford. The sound was subtle and sweet, while at the TVOTR show the speakers' size only bred volume. Yes, I could hear the beat and feel it vibrating in your chest with each bass note, but I couldn't fill in many musical qualities; in a live setting, TVOTR is just a rock show, an excellent rock show, but lacking the band's brilliant originality, counting on the audience to fill it in with imagination or prior knowledge. The Weepies, on the other hand, showed their character honestly through the sound they made. At their show I listened to music. At TVOTR's show I had fun.

The opposite is true on the two bands' records. TVOTR's recordings are incredibly deep and subtle, soundscapes in the truest sense of the word. I could listen to a TVOTR record hundreds of times and hearing something new each time. It's on the records when the band's creativity really comes out. The Weepies' new record, "Be My Thrill," is... well, there's no way to say what I want without sounding mean. It's an average pop record with nothing special at all about it - even the lyrics sound less honest than they did in concert. Many of the songs are performed faster and all of them have a full band with unnecessary layers of sound added without contributing to the spirit of the music.

I feel like concert halls are in the habit of turning up their speakers more and more each day, each show, so all the listener can hear is a pounding bass and kick drum and the high ringing of feedback from the lead vocalist's microphone. This is an exaggeration of course, but it is true that in the rock genre musical quality is being sacrificed for the experience at concerts. The sound of a band live isn't nearly as important as its presentation. This is part of the reason I don't like going to concerts very often; they take a toll on my ears and I've never been much for dancing. That's one reason why The Weepies' show worked so well for me. It was truly about the music.

Before I sign off, I just want to let you know that I'm now in Portland, Oregon, trying to start a new life here. Looking for houses, jobs, preparing for the GREs, and all the other wonderful and overwhelming things that come with moving to a new place. Hopefully I'll have some interesting updates to come. Or eve better yet, hopefully I'll find myself busy enough to find interesting things to post yet not have enough time to do so. Cheers!