I’ll be very straight with you- I had no idea what to expect out of the Not For Radio performance at The Fox this night. I knew very little about this project, other than this was only their third show EVER, and it was the third of three sold-out weekday nights at The Fox. I really enjoy the lead singer Maria Zardoya’s other band, The Marias, but the opportunity to attend this show came up so unexpectedly last minute that I barely had a chance to listen to the record.
I will also note that this December has been a rough one, personally. And the day of the show included one of the most emotionally draining therapy sessions I’ve ever had. I actually wasn’t even sure it was a good idea for me to attend this show, let alone try to honor it correctly with my camera and words, as my headspace was all a mess. But I also knew I needed some “alone” time to clear my head, and a bus ride across town in the dark is good for that. So I grabbed my camera and headed to the theater.
A few observations- I was handed a gorgeous program as I entered. I walked into the theater to find the stage hidden by a curtain, and I was CLEARLY underdressed for the occasion. The entire room was dressed in their fanciest black attire. I got ready. The stage opened up to the gentle tones of a saxophone. It was the most gentle and delicate sounds I’ve ever heard from such a booming rock venue. At this point, Zardoya came out wearing a massive white dress that looked like it would hinder all movement, but surprisingly did not.
The show was split into three clearly defined acts, all meant to tell the same story as the classic ballet Swan Lake. The staging, the costumes, the pacing- it wasn’t simply a subtle nod. In fact, I didn’t read the program before the show started and figured it out by the second act. Of course, the dark, sexy melancholy of Melt lent itself nicely to the story. And the band, comprised of four multi-instrumentalists that jumped from guitars to keyboards to horns to strings, was an impressive troupe. For the third live show ever, they were intensely locked in and managed to create the kind of drama and intensity that you’d normally find with a full orchestra.
One of the biggest surprises of the night was an unexpected cover of Radiohead’s “Nude,” that brought us to the pivotal moment where the swan dies, only to be resurrected in the third act, which added some lovely light with the most upbeat songs from Melt, as well as a stunning, Not For Radio flavored version of The Maria’s 2024 hit “No One Noticed,” follow by encouraging the seated crowd to get up a dance for the unreleased song “Ache” and closed with the gorgeous “Back To You.”
Not For Radio’s stage debut was a live performance experience like nothing I’ve ever seen. It was a brilliant production from beginning to end, and Maria Zardoya has cemented her position as one of the most captivating artists of the current generation.
