Tonight's Top Stop: Tom Verlaine at 9:30 Club

Map It:  U Street-Cardozo 

IN THE 1970s, Tom Verlaine and his band, Television, literally built the stage at a little club called CBGBs that subsequently launched the "new wave" movement -- a musical trend which has, of course, enjoyed quite a resurgence in recent years. Influenced by artists including David Bowie and the Velvet Underground, Television generally sounded a lot like their peers, the much better-known Talking Heads, largely due to the similar singing of Verlaine and the Heads' David Byrne. Verlaine's guitar-work assures Television's unique place in the rock canon, though. Verlaine, who had a strong background in classical music and jazz, erased the blues from his guitar-playing, but unlike contemporaries such as the Ramones, soloed relentlessly -- thus updating the guitar solo for new wave. Television's influence can be heard today in bands including the Strokes, Dinosaur Jr., the Rapture and Interpol.

Verlaine, who also played on the first two Patti Smith records and, much later, produced Jeff Buckley, has just unleashed his first two records in 14 years. "Songs and Other Things," generally sounds a lot like the Talking Heads -- with better guitar-playing. Television will hit the 9:30 Club tonight, with Megan Reilly opening.
» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; 8:30 p.m., $25; 703-218-6500. (U St.-Cardozo)
» MORE OF TODAY'S TOP STOPS can be found here.

This post was written by Express' Tim Follos