Watch TV On The Radio’s blistering ‘Staring At The Sun’ performance on ‘Fallon’
TV On The Radio performed their classic debut single ‘Staring At The Sun’ on US TV last night (November 21) – watch the video below.
The New York band delivered an energetic rendition of the 2004 song while appearing as the musical guests on yesterday’s edition of NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
- READ MORE: TV On The Radio – ‘Seeds’
It came in support of the new 20th anniversary reissue of the group’s 2004 first album ‘Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes’ – which boasts five bonus tracks, including an unreleased song called ‘Dry Drunk Emperor’.
After being introduced by host Fallon, TV On The Radio treated the studio audience and viewers at home to a powerful outing of ‘Staring At The Sun’. They were illuminated by blazing orange lights that flickered rapidly throughout – matching the intensity of the live performance.
One fan wrote in the comments section: “Amazing! I got chills watching this. Somehow they made the original song sound even better.” Another person said: “Since the first time I heard it up to now, ‘Staring At The Sun’ is still the same emotion-soaked fever dream that gets me crying and singing at the same time.”
Tune in here:
As Stereogum notes, last night’s Fallon appearance looks to be the first time that TV On The Radio had performed on television since they played ‘Mercy’ on Letterman in 2013.
Next week, TV On The Radio will play some reunion shows in New York before taking to the stage in Los Angeles and London in December. They’ll also perform at Primavera Sound in Barcelona next summer, and support Khruangbin at their huge outdoor gig at London’s Gunnersbury Park.
Back in September, the group played their first live concert together in over five years. TV On The Radio had teased their comeback on social media over the summer. Their fifth and most recent studio album, ‘Seeds’, was released in 2014.
Last month saw frontman Tunde Adebimpe share his debut solo single, ‘Magnetic’. It’ll appear on his forthcoming first album – which is due to arrive at some point next year via Sub Pop.
A press release about the new ‘Desperate Youth…’ reissue said the original record was “full of rich, bruising ideas about life, love and loss”.
It continued: “Lyrically but especially sonically, ‘Desperate Youth’ captured the dystopian hum of post-9/11 America (a war in Iraq, a proto-right-wing political regime, a surveillance state threatening personal agency at home), putting a voice to the general unease young people felt at the time.”
The post Watch TV On The Radio’s blistering ‘Staring At The Sun’ performance on ‘Fallon’ appeared first on NME.
Tom Skinner
NME