Live: The Double, Celebration in NYC

On paper, having an indie A-lister who performs songs about politics and sex open up for a female-fronted psychedelic goth/punk band and a sprawling mutant pop group just looks strange. But in that way that the best shows are often the ones with head scratching line-ups, the folks who packed into the Bowery Ballroom to check Kyp Malone, Celebration and the Double were treated to a night of music from artists who sounded nothing like each other -- or most anyone else playing out these days.

TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone took to the stage at 9:30 with his electric guitar in hand and rewarded the punctual crowd with a series of entertainingly candid meditations on messy topics like love, war and, um, dirty sex. After kicking off his set with TVOTR's Bush-blasting "Dry Drunk Emperor," Malone growled, sang, and picked his way through a handful of solo tunes that made repeated use of the C-word (the one that ends with "ck") and the term "castration anxiety."