TV Girl Takes Over White Oak Music Hall - The Lawn!

Oct 2, 20238 min read

Updated: Oct 5, 2023

TV GIRL AT THE WHITE OAK MUSIC HALL LAWN

Over the time of quarantine back in 2019, TikTok began having a MAJOR impact on the distribution of independent music. It brought a lot of lesser-known artists into the limelight through trending sounds. Some artists have seen this as a curse more than a blessing but nevertheless, TikTok’s effect on the music industry continues to be seen today. Now, I don’t want to diminish an artist as a “TikTok fad” - especially since they've been making music longer than TikTok has existed - but I feel the need to mention this trend when it comes to the artist TV Girl as TikTok was the very thing that brought them to my attention through their self-proclaimed “TikTok hits”, “Not Allowed”, “Blue Hair” and their precious gem, “Lovers Rock”.

TV Girl is currently on a North American tour promoting their newest album " Grapes Upon the Vine" with support from Negative Gemini - also known as "Neggy Gemmy" - an electronic pop artist from LA. "Grapes Upon The Vine" is TV Girl's fourth studio album which was released on June 30, 2023, and contains 12 brand new songs with a soulful twist never heard before in TV Girl's discography. TV Girl originally announced the Grapes Upon The Vine promotion tour on May 16, 2023, they have been on the road since September 21, 2023, and will continue to be until December 17, 2023.

I had the opportunity to see and capture TV Girl live for the first time during their third stop in Houston, TX at the White Oak Music Hall, a live music complex north of downtown Houston that includes three different stages, their indoor stage, their upstairs stage, and their lawn stage. TV Girl had a sold-out show held on their lawn stage on Saturday, September 23, 2023. I arrived at the venue midway through Negative Gemini's set and was surprised to see the size of the stage and the crowd. Even while driving around to find parking, the line for the show was massive, full of excited and aesthetically dressed fans. While waiting in the photo pit later on in the day, I learned that many fans had been there since 1 p.m. in line in anticipation for TV Girl's performance.

Due to the massiveness of the crowd, parking was a little hectic but I made it inside the venue in time to witness Negative Gemini's performance. While walking to the venue I could hear the crowds commotion over her powerful musical presence, cheers erupted through the air being heard a mile away. Outside the music itself, the first thing I noticed was her bright pink hair, then her punk-tastic outfit and lastly the presence of a saxophone and trumpet player. I immediately took notice that she was an electronic musical artist, noticeable through the filtered melodic auto-tune vocals and hyper beats. Negative Gemini had fans cheering every second of the show, she jumped around as she sung her lyrics out loud with the crowd keeping the energy elevated. Strobe lights and colorful smoke followed her along throughout her performance, creating an entirely different atmosphere on the outdoor stage.

Negative Geminis' set lasted from around 6:30pm to 8:05pm in which they performed a variety of songs all ranging throughout their discography. Throughout her set the day had shifted into night leaving the stage in a new state ready for TV Girl.

Negative Gemini left the crowd energized and excited for TV Girl, so much so that they continued to cheer as the stage for their performance was being set up. The atmosphere had completely changed as the sun had gone down and the energy had been shifted into a calmer state, the lighting for TV Girl creating a relaxing yet exciting atmosphere. The stage set up brought a church like presence, with TV Girl's logo in a stained-glass glowing center piece window, low lights, smoke and two end piece stained-glass glowing windows. The palette throughout their performance remained consistent with red, purple, blue, and green tones. Staying on brand to TV Girl's aesthetic, the stage seemed like just another extension of their art, making oneself feel like they themselves could be a part of a TV Girl album cover.

Once the stage was all ready for TV Girl to come on, they made their grand entrance, Brad Petering and Zoe Zeeman being a little chaotic by walking on stage while drinking, erupting immediate cheers from the excited fans. Also joining the band, a duo of backup singers walked on stage and stood on top of an elevated platform in the background. Before walking up to the mic to start the show Brad Petering hit his vape, chugged some vodka, and then set the mood by starting the show with the song "I'll Be Faithful" from their newest album Grapes Upon The Vine.

And was soon followed by two of their older songs from their debut studio album "French Exit" which released on June 5, 2014. During these first three songs I had the honor of being up close in the photo pit, maybe a foot away from the members themselves. It felt beyond surreal and I was grateful for their stage aesthetic and how well the glow

was captured on camera. While performing the song "Pantyhose" Brad started conducting the crowd, like a choir director, as they sang along. During this song I realized that Brad had a banana in his shirt pocket and was slightly puzzled, it wasn't until later on when I joined the crowd of fans and saw one wearing a banana suit that it hit me that it must have been an inside joke between the band and their more intimate fanbase. (He never did eat it or remove it from his pocket throughout the entirety of the show, for those wondering.) Their performance of the song "Hate Yourself" was the most fun of the three intro songs, having the crowd waving their hands around and singing along. It had the line "I'm not saying that you love me I'm not saying any-thing" stuck in my head for a week.

After these three songs it was my turn to be a part of the crowd, just as their fourth song "Louise" started, I found myself from being in front of the band to being a part of the 500+ people crowd, the lawn was completely crowded, some people more elevated than others as they stood on the sides of a small hill that upheld the VIP area where more fans were enjoying the show. The line for the band merch tables were visibly long, so many fans excited to get their first piece of TV Girl memorabilia. Many of them ran out of the line when the band started performing their popular song "Not Allowed", with a little remixed intro that pumped up the crowd even more. I witnessed a fan making a TikTok where she passionately sang to her phone and then showed the band, and repeat. The merch included white t-shirts with their logo printed on in black ink and vinyl records.

After the thrilling performance of "Not Allowed", TV Girl announced that they would be playing many TikTok hits and cuts for the fans. Brad joked with the crowd about them not liking the recent album Grapes Upon The Vine and claimed he was thinking about the "gothic", "horny", "autistic" fan base when writing it. He announced they would be performing three of the new songs in a row to punish the crowd. TV Girl's addition of the two gospel singers was most visible during these new songs, "The Night Time", "99.5", and "Fire". Which had the crowd swaying along and clapping their hands along to the music creating an entirely different atmosphere. My friend, a fellow photographer, claimed that these new songs were "Music so good it makes you wanna hit a white girl dance." As well as how Tv Girl "Is white people's Beyonce" as the Beyonce herself was performing in Houston that night, the sold out TV Girl show proved some people just love indie music more than they love Beyonce.

Brad kept the mood uplifting, even after having a heartfelt moment of giving the crowd advice that some people really don't want the best for you or have your best interest at heart despite you having theirs. He did end the speech saying that if you see someone who needs money to give them money in which many fans, myself included, exclaimed we needed money. There was also a moment a lot of us in the crowd couldn't decipher if it was genuine or a joke but Brad said the band had gone a long time trying to do things on their own without corporate sponsorships but times were tough, the lighting on the stage then shifted into green and red tones and he proceeded to very professionally and persuasively talk about MountainDew Red while sipping on some. The crowd I was in jokingly said "I don't know if this is real or not but now a MountainDew Red sounds pretty good." So hey Mounatin

Dew, if you weren't actually sponsoring TV Girl, you should! (He did end up throwing some spare MountainDew Red bottles into the crowd at the very end of the show so hey, maybe he was being serious.) There was also a brief moment where he shouted out his "friend on the keyboard", Wyatt Harmon.

At the near end of the show many fans had become restless about the bands top hit "Lovers Rock" not being performed yet, so much so that after almost every song fans started chanting "Lovers Rock" in hopes of the band taking their request. The band played "Heaven Is A Bedroom" and departed the stage, faking like the show had ended. Again, the chants of "Lovers Rock" and a mix of "Encore" and "One more song" filled the venue. After faking out the crowd, the band came back onstage and proclaimed they would be performing their most beloved song, fans quickly took out their phones ready to record and the band started playing their song "Big Black Void" of off their newest album. It wasn't until 30 seconds in that the crowd realized they were messing around, but they enjoyed the song nonetheless.

After their performance of Big Black Void, the time had finally arrived. As soon as the instrumental for Lovers Rock began the crowd went crazy. Throughout the entire song the crowd sang their hearts out alongside Brad, we danced around, I saw a couple sing into each other's faces, it was just overall a lovely moment. Brad jokingly teased the crowd once the song was over by asking "Now be honest, how many of you kissed during that song?" causing that same couple I saw singing to each other kiss each other on the cheek playfully and many other crowd members to kiss as well.

Overall, TV Girl is definitely a must see act live. From the songs, to the atmosphere and stage presence, to the crowd interactions, it all makes it worth it. Just be prepared to have multiple of their songs replaying in your head for days after the show just like me. It's kind of beautiful to see what TikTok did for them fanbase wise as even I had only heard of them because of the clock app and left a bigger fan than when I came in, falling in love with so many songs I had never heard before. They will be on tour until December 17, 2023, all across America. So find your nearest show, and if it's not sold out, go and enjoy everything TV Girl and their supporter Neggy Gemmy have to offer! And don't forget to stream the album that made this tour possible, "Grapes Upon The Vine."