LLOYD LANGUISHES

His guitar playing sounding like a man in the throes of some indefinable psychic torture, New Yorker Richard Lloyd’s anguish was largely lost on Friday’s Club Lingerie crowd. Backed by yer basic three-man rock band, Lloyd devoted his hourlong set almost exclusively to songs from his most-recent, largely excellent “Field of Fire” LP. Like his old Television partner Tom Verlaine, Lloyd isn’t much of a vocalist, but he is one of the most emotional, non-blues-rooted fret grinders on the edge of the world. Despite some superb solos, the evening’s mood frequently collapsed into pathos, not only a result of the crowd’s general apathy, but also from Lloyd’s apparent on-stage discomfort, which seemed to whisper/scream: “There might be 10 people here tonight that think I’m a legend, but I know I’m a wreck!”