TV on the Radio @ The GaelicTheatre, Sydney (25/07/06)

Wed 26th Jul, 2006 in Gig Reviews

TV on the Radio is from New York City, which is a long way from Surry Hills. It’s a 36 hour flight away, the opposite side of the world. Sydney likes to think it’s the Australian equivalent of the Big Apple, but seriously, we’re just a drop in the ocean.

Although it’s an epicentre for big business, including the entertainment industry, New York is seldom known as a breeding ground for indie rock. The last Big Thing to come out of there was The Strokes, and before that it was …. The Spin Doctors, I think. TV on the Radio’s album Return to Cookie Mountain has been on Triple J’s play list for a few weeks, so some hype’s been brewing.

After playing Splendour in the Grass the TV on the Radio men played a show at Sydney’s Gaelic Theatre. The sold out performance began with a quite chilled out vibe. Everyone really wanted to be there, but it was quite subdued.

Wolf and Cub opened, and they foreshadowed the main act with their instrument-swapping, psychedelic rock. The two drum kits are the feature of their show, consisting of six toms, four cymbals, two bongos, two tambourines and a cowbell. Adam and JC swap their seats through the set, perfectly complementing each other, the bass and Joel’s guitar and vocals. These boys don’t plays ‘songs’ so much as they play music outside the traditional box of chorus-verse-chorus. They’re really worth checking out if you get a chance.

After little delay, the American five piece took to the stage. They have an amazing presence. They’re the sort of people who can make a flanno look sophisticated, it’s stylish, but the sort of stylish you only get on the streets of Manhattan, to be artificially recreated by magazine stylists everywhere.

The number of instruments on the stage was boggling. There was the standard drum kit, but also three guitars, probably a bass guitar in there, about three keyboards, a drum machine and two microphones. As an added touch the only white dude in the band hung wind chimes from the tuning pegs on his guitar. Honestly, that’s never been done before.

Similar to Wolf and Cub, TV on the Radio don’t play pop songs with clearly defined structures. They create sounds that blend and build, and suddenly explode with power, forcing you to another level. The stage show is contagious, they have so much energy! Kip, the lead singer, burst onto the stage and then gesticulated his way throughout the entire set. At times he was whistling, other times singing sweetly. For a few tunes he brought a megaphone out and did the ultra cool singing into the microphone through the megaphone, and then let off its siren. We called them back on the stage for an encore and they played three extra songs. They gave their all, and were drenched in sweat from the second song but pushed through the pain.

This is a truly innovative act. Of course they have been influenced by many groups, yet they have a sound that’s completely different to anything on the radio at the moment. The crowd were able to follow them through the builds in their tunes, and were completely amazed by the show in front of them.