Psychic TV spews classic throb rock

Election night with Psychic TV at the Knitting Factory meant a few moments inspired by “Annie,” as sung by Genesis Breyer P-Orridge: “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I’ll feel so much sadder / when someone gets back in.... “

For the most part, the band’s performance in Hollywood was an escape from questions of politics and war swirling across the country. Genesis had other concerns, as a longtime performance artist and provocateur, obsessed less with external forces than the internal and infernal.

Genesis was leading a new lineup of the band, called PTV3, six young musicians who brought energy and excitement to the leader’s strange and powerful material. Although Psychic TV got started in 1982, it was rooted partly in the first wave of ‘70s punk rock, when the sound was experimental, dangerous and unpredictable. It wasn’t at the level of Wire or the Clash, but PTV3 made music at the Knitting Factory that was loud and aggressive, or simple and disarming amid all the sharp edges.

The result was neither inaccessible nor stale, but a kind of classic sound, as scattered televised images and static flashed endlessly on the big screen behind them.

Genesis, who first emerged as part of the ‘70s radical performance ensemble Throbbing Gristle, was a calm and content presence, singing his meditations on religion and Brian Jones, and sounding about ready for another decade or two of dangerous noise.