Richard Lloyd at the Bowery Electric

Richard Lloyd was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was raised in New York City. Inspired by watching the Beatles perform on television's The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, Lloyd began playing the drums and later learned to play guitar from a friend who was a protégé of Jimi Hendrix. In 1969, Lloyd's parents moved to Montclair, New Jersey, and he moved with them, but then relocated for two years to Boston, Massachusetts, where he played his first public performance, sitting in with John Lee Hooker. In 1971, Lloyd hung around the music scene in Los Angeles, California, but returned to New York City in 1973 to join what was becoming the first wave of punk rock. He heard Tom Miller (who became Tom Verlaine) playing guitar at an audition night, and in 1974 the two formed Television, a band that helped launch the soon to be legendary rock club CBGB's. Finding success elusive in the United States, Television disbanded in 1978, and Verlaine and Lloyd launched solo careers. Now based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Lloyd released his eighth solo album, The Countdown, on November 2, 2018, the same day that his 2017 memoir, Everything Is Combustible: Television, CBGB’s and Five Decades of Rock and Roll, was released as a paperback.

Richard Lloyd has played the Bowery Electric several times in the past, but this was an album release show for The Countdown, so the set list was radically different from previous performances. Lloyd, singing and playing lead guitar, backed by guitarist Bob Hatter, bassist Dave Roe, and drummer Steve Ebe, performed all 10 tracks from the new album, slicing the set in half with Television's "Marquee Moon." Forty years beyond the demise of Television, Lloyd's set was designed to spotlight the present rather than dwell in the past. As he has done in recent years, Lloyd handled most of the lead guitar work himself, foregoing Television's trademark guitar pairings, instead showcasing his technical guitar proficiency amidst a fusion of garage rock and power pop hooks. Lloyd's intricate yet fluid guitar licks demonstrated how he remains a student of his instrument, constantly learning clever ways to match tones and timbers. Overall, Lloyd's new music was a not-too-distant cousin of the music of Television, sometimes raucous or chaotic, sometimes more psychedelic or atonal, but always powered by strong guitar lines. Lloyd's vocals faltered, but the experimental prowess of his extended jams made for an impressive performance.

Visit Richard Lloyd at www.richardlloyd.com.

Setlist:

1. Wind in the Rain
2. Smoke
3. So Sad
4. Run
5. Whisper
6. Marquee Moon (Television song)
7. I Can Tell
8. Just My Heart
9. Something Remains
10. Down the Drain
11. Countdown