I had two questions on my mind as I approached Festival Hall for the first night of TV Girl’s LIVE! in the SW Hemisphere tour.
Would their retro aesthetic translate to a real-world stage? And would Brad Petering and co be able to bridge the age gap between band and fan?
The band has been one of TikTok’s largest success stories for a few years now. Combining 60s and 70s samples with muted hip-hop production and lulling ponders on relationships, TV Girl have gone from indie darlings to one of Spotify’s top 500 most streamed artists in the blink of an eye. Their sound and aesthetic have translated hugely with Gen Alpha; a perfect complement to the vintage fit check, the get-ready-with-me vlog. Their phenomena can’t be overstated: a huge demand in tickets saw the band’s first ever show in Australia, an outing indebted to their newfound online attention, upgraded from the Forum to 5,500 capacity venue Festival Hall.
In the dingy underpasses that held the lines, the demographics of their following were clear: bending around corners were stacks of teenagers donning old-school fits and colors, frenetically buzzing with excitement amongst the rain.
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Local band Surfing opened with a slick set with chillwave vibes, aided by tasteful slices of electric guitar. Their sound harkened to the 80s: hazy and psychedelic yet clear and clean all at once, complemented by esoteric vocals and a look featuring decade-matching sunglasses.
Excitement brewed as the main act loomed – the band’s dominant icon, referred to as Dream Girl, was hoisted up in balloon form behind the stage. Pretty, petite and slightly apprehensive, her arrival was a statement.
She’d watch on as TV Girl launched into action to ferocious cheers, opening with French Exit’s Pantyhose. They adapted well to a real-world space: the music benefitted hugely from the addition of a tight drummer (Jason Wyman) and touring bassist (Zoe Zeeman). Extra instrumentation gave to a lively summery vibe, an easygoing mix of natural versus plunderphonic.
The set bordered between live band and DJ performance as songs medleyed into each other with only rhythmic drums gluing them together. Hate Yourself bled into Louise, which bled into Cigarettes Out The Window – each song’s introduction saw emphatic noise from the audience. In Petering’s words, they were playing “some fan favorites for the people in the back” as well as “some songs people don’t like very much at all”. Indeed, they’d get to big hits (Lovers Rock, Birds Don’t Sing, Not Allowed) and lesser-known cuts (Grapes Upon The Vine, The Night In Question, 99.5) alike.
Brad Petering handled the stage in true rockstar fashion. The man was a sly entertainer, and there were many memorable moments during the night. Petering riffed on the band’s time spent trying the local cuisine (fried platypus and koala burgers), pulled out a trumpet for about 5 seconds of Loving Machine which was never to be seen again, and in true Aussie fashion, met the crowd’s demand for a shoey (he tried – and failed – to recruit keyboardist Wyatt Harmon for the task). At points it neared stand-up: “I can’t offer any words of comfort,” Petering said while talking about the state of the world, “but I do have cold hard cash.” He then proceeded to throw $40 worth of change into the crowd.
Focusing only on the cynical humor would do a disservice to the other ways in which TV Girl connected. Colorful sampling during Taking What’s Not Yours, a Phil Collins-esque drum fill in The Blonde and front-and-center triangle in Safeword saw the band keeping things fresh throughout. The show’s moments felt well planned, consistently engaging and changing for an audience founded through TikTok.
If there was any remaining doubt of the band’s ability to connect to their newest fans, the encore saw to it. After the Dream Girl’s revival (she was taken down after the last song of the main set), a Shirelles sample rung out into their biggest retroactive hit: Lovers Rock. The song’s energy was matched like none of its predecessors – a simplistic, romantic celebration of young love returned with fervent, word-for-word enthusiasm from the people spoken of.
Mixtape cut It Evaporates closed the show out, Petering releasing his vape smoke right on the final drum hit of the night, and the stage cleared. By then, I felt that I’d learned what made the band so connectable. TV Girl were coolly cynical but unafraid of dream and desire – experienced performers with impressive showmanship, a sharp wit and an emotional tendency for the romantic that transcends age.
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