Review: Broken Social Scene / TV on the Radio @ Williamsburg Waterfront

Broken Social Scene / TV on the Radio @ Williamsburg Waterfront
September 8, 2011

So often these days opening acts for these kinds of huge shows are up and coming bands, or bands who were lucky enough to get added to the bill, or just bands thrown up there for no apparent reason at all. But every now and then you get a dual headlining act such as at last night's show at the Williamsburg Waterfront that makes you wonder if a backstage coin flip decides who will headline. When I first heard about the show I had assumed Broken Social Scene would be the main attraction and I would have been totally fine with that. But something about TV on the Radio playing into the night, with the constant threat of rain in the air, was just the perfect outdoor show as the summer concert season rapidly winds down.

Photos/Review: Sonic Youth @ Williamsburg Waterfront

Sonic Youth @ Williamsburg Waterfront - August 12, 2011
Photos: Chris / Review: Chris & Colin Fitzgerald

The past few outdoor shows I've been to have been plagued by bad weather (both Levon Helm and They Might Be Giants got me soaked in the rain), so heading over to the Williamsburg Waterfront Friday night on one of the sunniest days of the summer was quite satisfying. Knowing that the night ahead of me would be seeing one of the best lineups of the season only made it better.

Opener Kurt Vile, who has become a Thurston Moore protege of sorts recently, battled the blaring sun in his eyes with his band The Violators, playing a short thirty minute set to a half empty venue. I've listened to Vile's Childish Prodigy and Smoke Ring For My Halo a few times over the past year, and though I always remembered really liking what I was hearing, nothing has really stuck in my head. Not that Vile is going for catchy, hum-in-your-head-all-day songs. His music truly catches you in the moment with his visceral landscapes of sound, the kind of songs you play on the road late at night and picture yourself getting into a fatal car accident. Really sort of dark, yet beautiful reverberant droning songs that make you contemplative in a way that's rarely achieved in indie music today. A great way to start the night.