Television were generally regarded as the precise and arty guys of the original New York punk scene -- enough so that some have (rather pointlessly) questioned just what they had to do with the punk rock aesthetic -- but while the clean lines and gleaming surfaces of Marquee Moon and Adventure might have inspired such thought, the band's live show told a different story. While they lacked the bash-it-out ferocity of the Ramones or the Dead Boys, on-stage Television played a lot harder and looser than they did in the studio. Live at the Old Waldorf -- a professional recording of a 1978 San Francisco date on the band's last tour before their 1992 reunion -- is a great live document and the superior sound quality allows one to better appreciate the subtle textures lurking beneath Verlaine and Lloyd's Stratocaster firepower. 42 years after this set was played, Live at the Old Waldorf still sounds fresher and more exciting than most anything you're likely to see at a rock club on a given evening.