Devoted rock fans flock to anything from grimy dive bars to basketball arenas and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with sweaty strangers just to experience a moment of musical transcendence. If the music is focused and well-executed, then the show should be deemed a success. Well, sort of. The band must also connect with the audience. In the case of the Walkmen, they clearly possess the musical chops to execute an astounding musical performance. Unfortunately, their stage presence was as robotic as the music of Kraftwerk, hindering the heights of what could have been achieved.

One day after the release of third album A Hundred Miles Off, the Walkmen began its two-month trek of North America, which followed a two-show appearance in London. The U.K. dates established that the Walkmen could have fun live, case in point being their buoyant cover of Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock.” Philadelphia did not get “Rock Around The Clock,” but instead a tight set from a band hitting its musical stride while emotionally detaching itself from the half-filled Theatre of Living Arts.

Following the peerless opening set by Philadelphia’s Mazarin, the Walkmen strutted onstage around 11 p.m. and warmed up with a loose version of “All Hands And The Cook” before gaining momentum with the U2-ish guitars of “Danny’s At The Wedding” (both tracks from A Hundred Miles Off). Not the kind of band to improvise and jam during shows, the Walkmen instead focus on replicating the album version of songs. Early on, it was also apparent there was a disconnect between the band and audience and, to make matters worse, the equipment failed the quintet. First, an amplifier behind drummer Matt Barrick almost flattened him when it nearly vibrated off the amplifier stacked below it. This prompted a TLA tech to run onstage; he appeared again five minutes later to fix the bass-drum microphone that was not turned on, causing lead singer Hamilton Leithauser to scowl while sarcastically clapping his hands.

The apex of the show was reached via many of the tracks from the new album. “Lost In Boston” and “Don’t Bring Me Down” showcased the Walkmen’s signature rapid-fire drumming, and “Louisiana” featured a jovial moment when Leithauser coaxed two trumpet-wielding women from stage left to join lead guitarist Paul Maroon—also playing trumpet—for the Caribbean-flavored single. The running highlight for the show was Barrick, whose uniformly excellent percussion is the band’s linchpin.

Of the Walkmen’s two borderline-mainstream successes, “We’ve Been Had” was not played and “The Rat” surfaced mid-set. As if giving in to the crowd’s request, Leithauser begrudgingly uttered “OK” before shredding through the fan favorite. During the song, Leithauser came alive, swinging the entire microphone stand like a pendulum while desperately screaming—with veins bulging from his neck—“Can’t you hear me pounding on the door?” Despite not being the most energetic frontman onstage, Leithauser continually stretched his vocals well beyond the Dylanesque warble featured on record.

As their one and only encore—leaving the crowd with a bitter taste—Leithauser and Co. offered up the bouncy guitar lines and graceful simplicity of “Another One Goes By,” a Mazarin song that the Walkmen cover on A Hundred Miles Off. Prior to the encore, Leithauser admitted they were not planning on playing the tune but the audience could decide which version was superior. Was this playful competition among musical peers? A nod to their friends in Mazarin? A slap in the face of the crowd for its poor reception? We’ll probably never know, but it seemed Mazarin won the battle between versions and upstaged the entire Walkmen set.

—Ryan Staskel