C/D - going to see Television live in 2003

Saw them 10 yrs. ago, NYC, when they released their third album.

Pretty good--Tom Verlaine sort of related to Richard Lloyd as would an older, sober brother to his somewhat wayward younger brother...it seemed a bit canned to me actually. They did a fucked-up really short version of "Marquee." The sound was not so good either, as I remember.

The new stuff came across best.

saw em at ATP in LA last year. they were tight and good and all, but hardly mindblowing. they only played two songs from marquee moon, "prove it" and the title track which they stretched out as it should be. i would say if you like em, go to the show; you probably won't be disappointed but you also probably won't be totally blown away.

I would like to *HAVE* seen them, but I don't think I'd get excited about seeing them now. I see Verlaine at my local coffee shop (the News Bar on University Place)...and he's a cranky old man (not that I'm not, mind you, but he really is the Mayor of FrownTown).

Saw 'em in Chicago at the beginning of this '0? reunion, and it was pretty good. They played a lot of stuff off Marquee Moon (altho' they beefed the title track 'cause Lloyd broke a string), one song off Adventure, one or two covers, and some stuff from the '92 reunion LP (which I like). I'm gonna go see them this March in NYC at Irving Plaza.

Go see them, definately. Even if they're not exactly what they used to be back in 76' or whatever, it's still worth it to be able to see a band that you once really liked. Although I guess if you think yr going to be really disappointed, and it'll ruin yr previous good opinion of them, maybe it's not such a good idea. I don't know, I would go because I'd see it as my only oppurtunity ever to see (possibly my favourite) one of the 70's era CBGBs bands, pretty much all of which broke up way before I was born. Also, I really liked the reunion album (No Glamour For Willi was a good enough song to make it all worthwhile) and I'd like to hear some material off that as well.
Did you ever see Television the first time around (sorry if you were 3 years old then or something, I have no idea what yr age is) and were they any good then? Anyway, if you do go see them, I'd like to know what it was like.

(There goes my resolution to try not to make every one of my posts on this board about Television or Tom Verlaine. Oh well.)

utter dud, seen them twice and they were pretty disappointing both times. they are basically comparable to a bad pub rock covers band playing great songs. any spikiness in the music is utterly gone. there's no tension in the songs. utterly limp. if you get the chance to see mission of burma however, that's a whole other story...

Saw them a couple of years ago and thought they were alright. Not in the same form as 'The Blow Up', but then I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't interested to see quite how much stuff Richard Lloyd played that I thought was Verlaine on the records.

Saw them last year at Irving Plaza, 2nd show. While it was worth the trip from Boston I wouldn't say it was an overwhelming live experience. "Marquee Moon," "1880 or so" and especially "Prove It" were the highlights for me. A badly botched cover of "Psychotic Reaction" was the lowlight. While I've always attempted to delude myself into thinking that they aren't a jam band, seeing them live really brought home that they are a jam band ... albeit a tight one. Still, far too often they would drift into long dawdling solos that did little to enrich the experience but much to extend the set time. I'm glad I went but wouldn't do it again.

Saw them at ATP UK a cpl of years ago. Tom V seemed in a fairly gd mood, tho' him and Lloyd avoided eye contact and stood as far apart from each other as poss, even while their gtrs were still doing that wonderful post-Dead interwining/rambling/noodling/attacking - they hadn't lost their 'chops', or their fondness for 'sheets of sound', the rhythm section were tight, Verlaine was in pretty gd voice, they didn't badly fuck w/ any of their 'classic' songs, and the version of 'Little Johnny Jewel' they did was the best I've ever heard. I'm sure they had their 'off' nights back in the seventies too, but they were not totally lame or a waste of a time which is abt the best you can hope for w/ these reunion type gigs (unless its Mission of Burma, who were super-super-great at ATP the following year)

they're doing a reunion show in Toronto. should i go? i was never the biggest fan but i have a feeling they'd be pretty good live. more opinions pls.

I saw them in 93 on the first reunion tour and they were incredible, one of the best bands I've ever seen.

Then I saw them in 2003 and they were so bad my friends and I left halfway through. I don't know what happened in the decade between shows, but it looked like they'd rather be playing shuffleboard. Old, cranky and dull