TV on the Radio at Ricochet Lounge

If you were to list some of the many surprises you saw during Art Basel Miami, free Big Macs would not have been close on that list. Luckily, that was not the only treat the new, trendy Ricochet Bar and Lounge in the Design District offered, as they created a musical lineup that offers all the pleasures of munching down on a hefty hamburger minus all the fat (no cheese for me, please).

By “minus all the fat,” I mean there was a select few on their invite-only list that were able to see their Spotify “Art Loves Music” show for Art Basel, and when your headliners are Nas and TV on the Radio, the fans clamoring outside are not asking for McDonald’s hand-me-downs. For the few that did get in, they were part of an intimate and energetic performance that was one of the highlights of Art Basel.

The setting of an “intimate performance” could fall in that storyteller category, where the band is subject to tone down their material for this select crowd of, possibly, the affluent nature. However, the difference here from it being some thin set list in an ostentatious environment is that Ricochet Bar and Lounge offers the sophistication of South Beach clubs, but houses a show fitting of something at The Stage; think Churchill’s but scaled up and cleaned out, with neon lights and ample amounts of alcohol.

This was evident when TV on the Radio took the stage and slowly came into form. Their basic setup from their last show at The Fillmore in October was assembled in a small cluster on stage, but that never stopped them from playing like they were on a main stage at Coachella. The music was amped up to the point of fuzzy sonics, but their verve was never compromised. The audience did not mind, though, as the crowd’s enthusiasm made up for any lost notes through the muffled speakers.

TV on the Radio are veterans now and have toured throughout the world, so, naturally, they would come through some sort of maturation process in their years together. Their show at Ricochet Bar and Lounge displayed a band who had all the experience and talents of a well-groomed outfit, but the zeal of junior high school classmates playing at a talent show.

Seeing singer Tunde Adebimpe throw himself into the crowd — and Kyp Malone and Jaleel Bunton bouncing off each other — hyped the audience even more, inviting them to participate in the show. Neither the band nor those among the crowd had any reservations on having unfiltered fun, which made it a fully satisfying experience that no Big Mac could match — well, maybe a Value Meal.