As well as belonging to that elite club of super-producers who have polished songs for the likes of Madonna, Britney and Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams is also the poster-boy of hip-hop.

But while the girls screamed for Williams at this launch of the iTunes Live London Festival, they surely aren't that excited about his comeback album, Seeing Sounds, an unsatisfactory hotchpotch with moments of brilliance.

Fortunately for the competition winners at this show, N*E*R*D have flipped expectations: while the trio may have lost their touch in their natural habitat, the studio, they proved to be a powerhouse of a live band, aided by several musicians including two drummers.

The punkish Anti Matter set the tone for a confrontational display from Williams, a surprisingly intimidating presence for a man wearing a SpongeBob SquarePants T-shirt.

They were playfully inventive, too, and another new song, Kill Joy, resembled a pimped-up Seventies TV theme with its squiggly keyboards and guitar solo. Williams could also be tenderly soulful, although fellow rapper Shae Haley had a default setting: thoroughly miffed.

N*E*R*D played every tune as if it was their biggest hit and Williams demanded our appreciation. In fact, he was a bit too intense, especially during a slightly ludicrous speech about music "making mankind better".

The genuine hits almost lived up to Williams's hyperbole, with Lapdance causing the crowd to erupt. The band's burly bouncer obligingly lifted fans out of the audience to dance on stage.

By the end, Williams had his top off and was surrounded by a dozen women during She Wants to Move, while the band kept things interesting by slipping into the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army.

It was an explosive start to a month of iTunes gigs. Even hip-hop hater Noel Gallagher might have enjoyed it.