Adelaide band Wolf and Cub were an interesting surprise, playing a 45 minute, 7 song set of chest thumping 70s throwback prog rock. The fourth song was an epic twelve minutes long. They were technically brilliant, and the two drummers were amazing to watch as they played in tandem and drove the massive sound of the songs. It did feel a little tedious at times though, particularly towards the end of the set; musically they could be a bit more adventurous. Also, weirdly, the sparse vocals were a detraction and we could've done without them.
TV on the Radio played an energetic, absorbing hour and a half to a rapt, packed crowd. They started with Young Liars, a surprising choice, but it worked as a great introduction to frontman Tunde Adebimpe's awesome style (getting his groove on from the start, dancing up a storm until his shirt turned a light terracotta to a dark brown from sweat), and the falsetto vocal/harmony from Kyp Malone.
Unfortunately, the muddy sound that would plague the entire night was also evident from the start, which meant that at any given time, the distinctive vocals of either singer could be buried under a chaotic wall of guitar-heavy sound. That said, there were still moments of brilliant music from the 7 piece band on stage (two saxophonists rounded out the line-up and helped to add that brassy note that a lot of the newer songs have), with the crowd particularly worked up over the songs from Return to Cookie Mountain.
A lot of the songs were given more muscular arrangments live, which worked really well in the case of the older songs like Dreams and Staring at the Sun. They played a great set stretching back to early EP material, punctuated by a lot of songs from last year's Dear Science; though in my mind the highlight of the night was the back to back pairing of Golden Age, as funky as you could get, and the howling amazing Wolf Like Me. Apart from the disappointment of not hearing Family Tree nor Halfway Home, and even with the bad sound, there was a lot to enjoy from the band, and their tight, high energy, passionate performance that got the crowd moving and singing along.
Young Liars
The Wrong Way
Dreams
Crying
Golden Age
Wolf Like Me
Dirtywhirl
Stork and Owl
Shout It Out
Dancing Choose
Red Dress
DLZ
Satellite
Love Dog
Blues from Down Here
Let the Devil In
Staring at the Sun
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