When Brooklyn based TV on the Radio took the stage at Astra Friday night one could sense that they already knew they would be playing for a sold-out crowd of fervent admirers. The audience’s restlessness and excitement was apparent as jeering and jostling for position took hold of the crowd. At long last the band appeared on stage and with no more than a quick wave to the crowd, headed for their instruments with a sense of purpose.  This was a band ready to get down to business.

TV on the Radio’s set began with Young Liars, a song off their first major release in 2003.  With an obvious doo wop and electronic under current, it seemed like an appropriate way for the band to get settled.  What followed were a few tracks from their recent record Nine Types of Light including Will Do which is perhaps most representative of the record’s sound.

Nine Types of Light is seemingly their most concise and polished record to date and while this should undoubtedly translate into more commercial success, the album comes off as somewhat over produced at times. This was only reaffirmed live as the more subtle electronic aspects were often lost to Tunde Adebimpe’s thundering vocals and Kyp Malone’s angular guitar style. When these important synth lines did appear, they felt far too distant and accompanied by an odd droning buzz which detracted from TVOTR’s patented ability to segue into that quick groove.

Despite the limitations (or growing pains) posed by playing their newer material live, the crowd remained unphased and really no one seemed to care at all. This was truly an unusual show by Berlin standards as the audience was determined to be swept up in the music (little of what was seen could be characterised as dancing) and just move in a myriad of ways.

There was an eclectic mix of young and old, many of which were drawn to TVOTR’s post-punk or avant-garde stylings while others fell more into the soul or free jazz affinity. Regardless of what brought them there or what they wanted to hear, the crowd simply erupted for the band’s tenth song, Staring at the Sun. From 2004’s Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, this encapsulates what TVOTR can do best live. Utilizing Adebimpe’s primal vocal sound coupled with Kyp Malone and David Sitek’s duelling distorted guitars, this was a song that made a lot of people’s Friday night complete. Ostensibly, this was only outdone by Wolf Like Me off of 2006’s Return to Cookie Mountain which again showcased, incredible vocals by both Adebimpe and Malone whose falsetto voice defies logic with a beard that masculine. The fist pumping delivery of the lyrics complemented by frantic guitar work harkened back to their Bad Brains influences.

For a band with so much versatility, it was a treat just watching them play loud and fast for a change. They soon returned to this versatility during their encore when they covered Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters. This left the Friday crowd in an especially jovial mood and capped off an excellent performance by a band that remains as boisterous as ever.

Words: Alex Boehm

Reach out and touch somebody…

•