For most of the London Suede's first U.S. concert in over two years, keyboardist Neil Codling stood as a testament to indifference without even leaving his stool. The newest addition to the Britpop veterans, Codling looked downright bored going through the motions of songs from "Coming Up" -- an album of archetypal pop brilliance -- even turning his back on the disproportional sea of black before him during old favorites like "Heroine" and "Animal Nitrate."

\\The other members of Suede were not so languid. Sporting a new near-buzz cut and looking fairly frail and sickly, singer Brett Anderson bounded onstage flamboyantly as the opener, "She," vibrantly came to life. Obviously much happier now that new guitarist Richard Oakes has put Suede's frustration at losing guitarist and main songwriter Bernard Butler behind them, Anderson danced with a hip-shaking swagger that might stir even the King (or Michael Stipe) into an ambiguous sexual frenzy. The previously untested Oakes shined as Butler's replacement and Suede, even with Codling's idle musicianship, is now a true machine.

\\But it was drummer Simon Gilbert's skin-pounding that rose above the chemical-inspired rush of Suede's repertoire, keeping the band from coming together perfectly. (Upping the ante on Oakes' guitar and Mat Osman's bass would have sent the night reeling into intoxicating proportions.) But the crowd loved Anderson's narcissistic posturing during "New Generation" and "The Wild Ones," as he stood on the lip of the stage and shrugged, as if to say, 'Well, here it is, what else can I say?,' even if it almost got the best of him after "By The Sea," when he tripped on his descent.

\\One of Anderson's strengths is developing a rapport with his audience. Throughout the night, he leaned down into the crowd, revving up the audience with piercing eye contacts and sensual glances. During "Saturday Night," the band's tribute to hitting the town, Anderson took a photo of the audience for one of his faithful fans in the front row. The gesture paid off. As the night wore on, the entire crowd spastically bounced up and down -- a reception virtually unheard of for British bands playing the States but fairly common in the U.K. At the end of "The Beautiful Ones," Anderson bowed out in climatic form, sending two maracas sailing across the venue to an explosive shatter above the sound board.

\\Despite the soundmens' wariness, Suede returned for "Filmstar," the strongest track from "Coming Up" and the pinnacle of Oakes' guitar genius. The crowd kept bouncing, Anderson kept swinging the micr