Photo Credit: Richard Giraldi

When Brooklyn art-rockers TV On The Radio hit Lollapalooza’s Budweiser stage in the north end of Chicago’s Grant Park as the sun descended behind the city’s skyline and the lake breeze picked up to put to rest a long day of heat. But as the crowd cooled, TOTR set the festival ablaze with a scorching set of irresistibly funky and vibrant art rock tunes.

TV On The Radio became critical darlings after their 2008 release Dear Science which featured smart and timely lyrics mixed with funk-heavy rock tendencies full of studio enhanced electronic flourishes. For the longest time, TV On The Radio, while successful on record, were sometimes shaky when it came to pulling off their newer songs live without the bells and whistles. They added a horn section, but even during a guest spot on Saturday Night Live earlier this year, sound problems still plagued the band’s live performances.

Well either the band hired a new sound guy or Lollapalooza’s sound system is military-grade, but the band sounded incredible. Every little nuance – from jingle bells to shakers to mini-tambourines – came through loud and clear. Although the Dear Science tracks don’t directly translate to the live setting, they work by leaning heavier on distorted guitar and big, pounding drums. The band was also full of energy as singer Tunde Adebimpe flailed around the stage as guitarist/vocalist Kyp Malone held steady as a cool and collected counter part.

The hour-long set consisted of mostly newer material save for a few tracks from releases Return To Cookie Mountain and their 2004 debut Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. Dear Science track “Golden Age” quickly became a crowd favorite with its bass-heavy intro over Kyp Malone’s whispery falsetto as it exploded into a horn-lead melodic chorus. A ferocious version of the 2006 hit “Wolf Like Me,” which put TOTR on the map, brought the crowd to their knees as Tunde Adebimpe’s honest delivery was coupled with a driving beat and noisy guitar squeals. “Crying” featured guitarist David Andrew Sitek’s clever soul guitar antics over dreamy vocal lines and a collage of synthesizers.

The band seemed excited and gracious to be at the event by enticing the crowd several times by yelling “Chicago!” several times over the loud speakers. It was probably the first performance of the weekend where dancing came natural and didn’t seemed forced by the crowd in attendance. TV On The Radio shined and became the band to beat at a festival that has so far had plenty of good but not many truly great performances.