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(TV) Philly show review



Seems like the "bluesy shuffle" described by Andy was "I'm gonna find you"..
....


BRION SHREFFLER, FOR THE INQUIRER
POSTED: Thursday, January 1, 2015, 3:01 AM
With a slow, melodic waltz, 1970s prog-rock, proto-punk pioneers Television o
pened their set at the TLA on Monday night. Tuning their instruments for a f
ew moments before the packed house - as they would prior to every song - the
y underscored the jam-session feel they somehow managed to instill within th
eir precise music.
The audience got a genre-expanding rock recital, a two-hour set presented as
 a testament to the heights guitarists Tom Verlaine and Jimmy Rip (he replac
ed Richard Lloyd in 2007) could reach as they played foil for each other, th
eir ever-changing synergy elevated and rounded out by Billy Ficca's drumming
, which combined a jazz aesthetic with emphatic punctuation. The great stren
gth of the set was the band's evident belief in the music, so persuasive tha
t it rendered irrelevant the few times change stood out in Verlaine's vocals
.

Soft, repeating notes from Verlaine on the opener - "Prove It," from his ban
d's seminal 1977 debut Marquee Moon - was backed by delicate stick work from
 Ficca, and the subtlest overlap from Rip before things shifted, as they alw
ays do with Television, to rising and descending guitars that do away with a
ny notion of lead and rhythm.

"I don't think we've been here in a zillion years," Verlaine coolly said aft
er the challenge implied by "Prove It".

On their third song in, "Elevation," another track from Marquee Moon, a tril
ling, two-note stutter,  by a drifting melody, gave way to thumping drums fo
llowed by crashing cymbals on the chorus. In atmospheric ebbs and flows, the
 guitar interplay drifted off before Rip grounded us firmly in the moment wi
th a hard-rock edge.

At times, the heavier chords and inflections were handled by Rip, as Verlain
e plied more reflective notes, running from distant wails to near points of l
ight. Verlaine's work in the guitar's highest registers could make you think
, if you closed your eyes, that he had switched to the violin, playing with t
he skill of an Andrew Bird.

"They have never been about going through the motions of a nostalgia trip," n
oted Chris Forsyth, a local experimental guitarist who studied with Lloyd. "
They are more like jazz musicians, finding new angles in the songs and creat
ing new music on stage."

With "Venus (De Milo)," a cinematic opening transitioned into a bit of 1950s
 shoe-gaze. In "Torn Curtain," Verlaine's voice, initially Leonard Cohenesqu
e, beautifully met the weight of the lyrics, getting his best vocal support o
f the night as his bandmates harmonized on the words years and tears.

The night reached its zenith late, as Television breathed new life into the m
editative classic "Marquee Moon," followed by their encore, a celebratory re
ndition of the early song "I'm Gonna Find You."


Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20150101_Television_
treats_TLA_audience_to_a_rock_recital.html#m3i89OUcMKjJsS8Y.99



Sent from my iPad

> On Dec 29, 2014, at 5:00 PM, Andy Fekete <andy.fekete@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Insanely great.  The set started with Prove It and ended with a bluesy shu
ffle I didn't recognize that Verlaine introduced as one of the first the ban
d ever did...
> 
> Great also meeting & sharing drinks afterward with Robin Dunn and wife. Ha
ve fun at Patti tonight!
> 
> Getting ready to leave  for Philly show now.  It's turning out to be a par
ticularly a nice extended weekend for music.
> -A
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Dec 29, 2014, at 4:27 PM, Jay Pontrelli <jpontrelli44@gmail.com> wrote
:
>> 
>> So, how was the show?
>> 
>> 
>> 
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