It's almost incredible to me, a fan of them retrospectively, that they were so underrated at their height. (Perhaps the accumulation of junk since that time has much to do with now seeing the diamond in the rough) Verlaine and Lloyds' fingers were quicker than a two year olds reaching for something forbidden, it was mesmerizing at times to just take in their plinkings and chord changes. As a novice at the guitar, their fingerings seemed textbook perfect, not a note misplaced or strumming off tempo, they could play with their eyes closed (heck, at one point, Verlaine applied an electric drill to his Axe).

The crowd was mostly middle-aged men, no surprise I imagine. Not many females, the ones there mostly appeared to be wives/GF's of the middle aged men. There were a few pre/teenage boys there who flanked the front of the stage and stared with awe at Verlaine and Lloyd. Much like I would have had I opted for staying on the floor, instead I took my often used perch on the balcony stage right, looking directly over Lloyd.

Fred Smith is not the dynamo that is Clint Connolly on bass. I had the great opportunity to see Mission of Burma reunited a few weeks back and I had originally thought to write up the two shows as one review. Despite whatever common grounds the two bands share, their differences made for two very different concert going experiences. Smith is, however, a solid rhythm player. He held the bottom steadfastly during the guitarists jamming and soaring solos (with their sporadic breaks in playing and quick tempo changes it is harder than you'd imagine). While the lines may not have been as interesting, they provided the essential glue to keep everything together.

The set list was heavy on Marquee Moonand also included a spattering of 3 new songs (which were not introduced with names, unfortunately). The new songs were true to Television form and quite good. I really hope to see them released at some point soon. Verlaine's voice still has that almost fragile tenor at times that just drips with raw emotion. Raw? Perhaps not raw because it is too... pretty... to be raw.. Bittersweet perhaps? Pain dusted with a bit of sugar?

Sure there was posturing and grimacing (mostly by Lloyd) and it did seem a bit like they were acting a bit too much, but the music did not lie, it was Prime Rock. I suppose I am not as jaded on the theatrics as so many bands of more recent years encourage the crowd to do little more than what I call the "indie head-bob". The set list was pretty predictable based on the 92 reunion and the shows in NY and Philly but there were a few gems. Prove it was phenomenal, Marquee Moon was sugar on my tongue.