Luck o’ the Lupine

TV On the Radio. Saturday, March 17, at VooDoo Lounge

Review by Megan Metzger

This year, I decided to forgo getting up at the buttcrack o’ dawn to partake in St. Pat’s Day revelry and pretended like it was any other day, mostly because I was saving myself for that night’s festivites: TV on the Radio at the VooDoo Lounge in Harrah’s Casino.

I’d never been to the VooDoo. I’ve just seen it on television during late-night runs of Harrah’s American Idol-like karaoke throwdown, Lucky Break. The venue’s a great size, with a floor surrounded on either side by a long bar and little tables. Flat-screen TVs hover above each bar, advertising crab legs and Toby Keith’s I Heart This Bar and Grill. Overlooking the floor is a balcony with plush chairs and couches, so one could watch the rock in comfort.

We arrived early and bellied up to the bar, where the male ‘tenders were engaging in a little cocktail bottle tossin’.

“Oh yeah, they do flair bartending here,” my friend Dave said.

Awesome.

I ordered a Red Bull and vodka, which unbeknownst to me, was not how that drink is ordered.

“How ’bout I make you a vodka and Red Bull?” the bartender snapped as he flung a bottle of Jack Daniels in air. He didn’t catch it.

Whatever, butterfingers.

We settled on a spot to catch the opener, California hip-hoppers Subtle.

Also known as one-half of 13 & God, a collaboration with German electric indie-rockers the Notwist, Subtle used drums, electric cello, keys, an MPC, and a guy alternating between sax and cornet to create eclectic, cerebral hip-hop. Subtle’s MC Doseone, who looked like a member of the Revolution, entertained with a whip-smart flow, corny jokes and a love of props that rivaled Carrot Top. He even gave a shout out to Tech N9ne.

Subtle was an acquired taste, and I dug the fuck out of them.

After their 45 minutes were up, the floor started to fill in anticipation of the headliners. The hipsters you’d expect to see were in full force, as were many green-clad kids drinking Bud Lights and showing off their giant shamrock baubles. It was a surprising and sweet mix.

TV on the Radio began their 90 minute set with “The Wrong Way,” the opening track off 2004’s Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes.

Lead singer Tunde Adepimbe writhed and swayed as he sang TVotR’s usually politically charged and dystopic lyrics, accompanied on vocals by guitarist Kyp Malone, who resembles an austere but absent-minded professor with his mammoth beard and tweed blazer.

The band continued to comb through Desperate Youth, as well as last year’s Return to Cookie Mountain, including “Wolf Like Me,” which has been receiving airplay on 96.5 the Buzz, which could explain why so many people came to the show.

TVotR’s delivery was passionate and precise and held the crowd’s attention captive right up until the closing number, “Staring at the Sun,” Desperate Youth‘s standout track.

The show lasted about an hour-and-a-half, and it was refreshing to see such an uncompromising, original band play at a venue like the VooDoo. With the club opening its doors to local acts like the Roman Numerals and the Republic Tigers, and upcoming concerts from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Kings of Leon and Jet, the VooDoo could fast become the best mid-sized venue in Kansas City.

We could do without the flair bartending, though.