Taking a day off from touring with Franz Ferdinand, East Coasters TV on the Radio decided to do a one-off show headlining The Troubadour in L.A. with locals A for Attack. The night was filled two kick ass sets, lots of sweat, a crowded house and not enough people dancing. Starting out the evening were relatively unknown openers, A for Attack. Tapped to play by TVOTR’s Dave Sitek (who used to be in a band with A for A’s Ryan McBride), the quartet came off as a band with a lot of promise…and energy. An electrorock outfit conjuring up references ranging from Primal Scream to early Verve, frontman Chris Phillips showcased a spasmodic stage presence both bizarre and intriguing. What was interesting about the band was their organic connection to their music and the lack of pose, they seemed genuinely happy to be there. McBride’s shoegazy guitar lines were a driving force and despite being a bit drowned out by the bass, A for Attack solidly warmed up the dance party for TV on the Radio. By now, any decent audiophile should be aware of TV on the Radio. After a few tours, winning the Shortlist Music Prize, their rock n’ roll soles are well worn in. As the quintet opened the set with a spirited version of “Young Liars,” it was good to see that despite success, they still play with all the fervor of starving artists. The setlist was a combination of new cuts and older favorites like “Dreams.” As the band launched into uber hit, “Staring at the Sun” singer Tunde Adebimpe said, “I guess this is the one where people jump up and down and dance.” Too bad people didn’t, because it was a phenomenal performance of that song. Aside from A for Attack’s Phillips, Viva K frontwoman Ween and…well, a particular journalist, the rest of the crowd seemed too caught up in...whatever…to get down and dance with TV on the Radio. However, despite the lack of dancing, the capacity crowd feverishly hollered for an encore when the band was done playing. And the boys returned to play a few more tracks…while wearing Mexican wrestling masks. One can only hope it was a sign that they planned to take down all Angelenos too cool to dance. To see review go to http://www.flukiest.com/c/music.cgi?f_review_id=11 review by: Tatiana Simonian