TV On The Radio, Photographs by Ian Laidlaw
“We’re going to participate in an energy exchange.”
It’s just after 9pm on Monday in Melbourne, and Tunde Adebimpe is addressing an audience of thousands at the sold-out Forum. “We put some out there, you give it back.” You’d think he was some type of guru, but he’s actually the frontperson of one of the most innovative and idiosyncratic indie rock acts of the century thus far: TV On The Radio.
It’s an energy that Australian audiences have been missing for 10 and a half years, with the Brooklyn band last performing locally in mid-2015. As such, Adebimpe’s proposal is accepted with a rousing, enthusiastic response. As the band launches into “Young Liars,” which has opened practically every TVOTR show for decades, the time in absentia dissipates in swaying 6/8 time. Soon, we’re syncopating our claps for “Golden Age” and bouncing up and down for “Lazerray”.
For long-time fans, some significant changes are noticeable. Co-founding guitarist Dave Sitek is absent, focusing on his production work, and multi-instrumentalist Jaleel Bunton is playing guitar in his stead. Bunton joined in 2005 as the band’s drummer, moved to bass in 2011 following the tragic passing of Gerard Smith, and has now shifted to lead guitar. The fact he’s been able to transition seamlessly from spot to spot paints him as the band’s secret weapon. Taking his place on bass is newcomer Jesske Hume, who holds the fort from stage right in a manner that would make the no-nonsense Smith proud.
The shift in on-stage dynamics – an energy exchange in itself – works well when contrasted with the sole constants of Adebimpe and guitarist and occasional lead vocalist Kyp Malone. The former is a physical performer, all flailing limbs and shuffling feet, waving at the audience during “Happy Idiot” and pushing himself to the lip of the stage during “Shout Me Out”. Malone, while more soft-spoken and even-tempered, leaps with both feet when he’s in the zone – like on the band’s signature song “Wolf Like Me”, a modern indie classic that surprisingly appears mid-set as opposed to at the set’s conclusion.
Through each tonal shift, ranging from the pummelling “DLZ” (made famous through its use in Breaking Bad) to the floating, tender “Killer Crane”, TV On The Radio showcase the multifaceted and deftly textured musical legacy they’ve cultivated over the last 20-odd years. As fantastic as their studio records are, the songs come alive when performed in a room by a full ensemble – see encore closer “Staring At The Sun” for proof, the track’s minimalist electronica reaching boiling point and tipping over into a frenetic wig-out.
The beards are longer and greyer than they were 10 years ago, but if the exchange tonight is anything to go by, the energy remains palpable.
TV On The Radio performed at Forum Melbourne, on the lands of the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, on Monday 8 December.
Join our weekly newsletter
