Whenever I start feeling old, I try to listen to some Ted Leo + the Pharmacists.
“But if you tell me that I'm getting old, you better take a good look at yourself, sir,” sings the faux-hawked front man, Wednesday night at the First Unitarian Church—the closing verse of fiery rocker “Some Beginner’s Mind” (a fan request obliged on the spot.)
Leo turns 40 next year, but there’s certainly no lack of passion in the clean-cut rock star’s live show—in fact, you can measure the exact amount of passion he exudes, in the glistening sweat beads dripping down his face. For Leo, singing a song is never just singing a song—it’s investing a little piece of yourself in it, and nurturing it to fruition.
It’s been a long time since Leo’s played Philly (not counting his TV Casualties appearance—that was, as Steve put it, Ted “Danzig” Leo), and you can tell he’s happy to be back. “Thank you so much for coming out on a rainy Wednesday night!” he tells the audience about 5 times, regaling the crowd with tales of boogers, World AIDS Day, and an Italian pasta commercial featuring a gorilla (“I strongly recommend you look it up on YouTube,” he advises.)
Leo’s enthusiasm is clear in the music as well—the band’s massive set list spans 10 years—from 2001’s The Tyranny of Distance (which charmed my 10th grade self back in the day) to 2010’s The Brutalist Bricks, forthcoming this March from Matador.
Stylistically…there’s not too much of a change from old to new. I’m half-expecting the Brutalist tracks to take off in the same angst-y, political vein as many of the Living with the Living tracks (especially after Leo’s charged reaction to the 2008 Republican National Convention)…but instead find playful rock ditties. “The mighty sparrow” is melodic, tambourine-laced and poppy, while new single “Even heroes have to die” is pure power-pop punk. “Cork in the bottle” is a love song. Leo has a way of keeping you guessing.
The new material goes over well, but it’s the old favorites that really have the crowd grooving: songs like “Me and Mia”, “Where have all the rude boys gone?”, “Parallel or together?”, “Biomusicology," and “A bottle of Buckie”—Leo pressing his nose up against the mic for each one, marching in place, and letting loose that infamous nasal-y snarl.
This is the band’s first night of a mini tour, and it shows: they play 95 minutes (that’s 25 songs—including a live debut (“One polaroid a day”)) and maintain an endless flow of energy, passion and warmth. A shout-out goes to the guy in the checkered shirt and bowler hat standing in the stage left wings—I have no idea who you are, but man can you rock out!
Still, I’m not sure if maybe an hour and a half of the Pharmacists is a bit TOO much—as much as I adore Leo, there comes a point when all those twang-y melodies start to run together, and you can’t differentiate one song from the next. But I suppose I can’t blame Leo for his boundless energy—you can’t limit passion, and Leo is certainly brimming with it.
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Brooklyn up-and-comers the So So Glos open the show, with a thrashing set of buoyant garage punk, reminiscent of the Clash, surf rock, and the best of the ‘70s. A Brooklyn foursome whose DIY roots show through (the boys live in and help manage the Market Hotel), their live show is raucous, noisy and invigorating, as front man Alex Levine jumps in the air, yells into the mic, and runs around stage with the fury of a man possessed. The band’s 2008 debut, Tourism/Terrorism, has been tearing up my iTunes as of late—I’m thrilled to see it rocks just as hard live.
