TV On The Radio @ The MetroTheatre, Sydney (15/11/2011)

Wed 16th Nov, 2011 in Gig Reviews

For a while, it looked like Harvest – the new festival on the block that brought out every indie kid’s favourite bands – wouldn’t be doing any sideshows, much to the disappointment of the dedicated, who demand more than a short festival set. But then a few trickled through, and while the small number of shows disappointed many, TV On The Radio fans were in luck – they got a headline show at the Metro.

And to make matters sweeter, Sydney indie sweethearts Dappled Cities managed to make the jump from the festival to the Metro as well, with their support duties announced just days before the show.

It’s hard not to grin ear-to-ear when Dappled Cities play. They don’t do it much these days, which might’ve added to the solid crowd that had assembled by the time they opened with old favourite Fire Fire Fire. Their bright, nimble, but sonically dense style sounds huge on the Metro stage, and they whipped through their set with a level of confidence that most supports can’t muster. The well-loved staples continued with Peach and The Price, but they were interspersed with new material that suggests a pretty great upcoming record. None more so than the closing track, one that’s been played for a while now and could just be the best song they’ve written.

If TV On The Radio were on the back foot tonight, it’d be forgivable – the sad passing of bassist Gerard Smith, and resulting lineup shuffle, happened only half a year ago. So when they come out swinging with Young Liars it’s a particularly triumphant moment. Far from the quiet confidence of the recorded version, it’s a wall of guitar noise, one that would feel like an onslaught if it wasn’t so welcome.

And while things didn’t stay that noisy, they never really let up. The earlier parts of the set heavily favoured newer material (dangerous territory for a band with such a loved catalog), but it was kept exciting by a band that clearly loved being onstage. Singer Tunde Adebimpe sounded fantastic, particularly since he spent the entire show bouncing around the stage. And guitarists Kyp Malone and Dave Sitek, flanking him at each side, dominated their sides of the stage. Of course, it’d be nothing without great songs – an early airing of Province was a highlight, as was the brooding DLZ.

There was a lot of energy out in the crowd, too. A packed crowd that greeted every song with a huge response certainly must’ve helped maintain the energy on stage, and only got bigger as the main set powered home with a string of favourites – a frenetic reworking of Staring At The Sun, Repetition and Wolf Like Me – forever the crowd favourite.

It really didn’t feel like over an hour had passed when they left the stage. Luckily, they came back with an encore that let them explore their more straightforward tendencies – after an exuberant Golden Age, they closed with a punk one-two punch of Fugazi’s Waiting Room and old favourite Satellite – a rawer side of them that never made it to the Harvest stage. Thank goodness for sideshows.