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Last night, the Fray appeared on the Tonight Show for the second time in six months — and just a week after the band was featured on the Late Show with David Letterman. The Fray played "How to Save a Life" -- the title track from its debut -- with workman-like precision.

In fact, the hometown boys all looked surprisingly at ease and confident, despite the fact that they appeared to be playing on rented gear, with Isaac Slade on a Steinway rather than his customary Yamaha, and Dave Welsh's Musicman amp conspicuously missing. Also MIA was Slade's usual animation: Not only did he refrain from grabbing the mike mid-song, but he didn't embrace Jay Leno in a bear hug, as he had on the Fray's previous Tonight Show appearance. The rest of the band seemed equally poised. Perhaps these local heroes have finally adjusted to their televised notoriety. -- Dave Herrera