Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Webster Hall - New York, NY - May 5th, 2007
Posted by Ari Berenstein on 05.07.2007
Call mom if you’re going to break curfew, but do break curfew to see TL and the R/X.
Inside Webster Hall, we were all having so much fun that even Ted Leo forgot what time it was.
“No, seriously, what time is it?” he asked, his voice plaintiff and cracking from an hour and fifteen minutes of singing.
A fan in the crowd yelled out the time.
“9:48? Shit! This place has a ten o clock curfew!”
It was that old cliché in action-time flies when you’re rocking out to Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, who closed out their six week tour across America (with opening act Love of Diagrams) in New York City. It was twelve minutes to a perpetual midnight and the tour van was about to be turned back into a pumpkin. Leo and his group double timed it through the rest of their set, churning out chord after raucous chord.
Leo and his group may be the most unassuming bank of punk rockers ever to take the stage. The DIY code was in effect as he and his band mates, guitarist James Canty, mountain man bearded percussionist Chris Wilson and bassist Dave Lerner (with Sideshow Bob hair) plugged in and prepped the stage, then got right into their show. Dressed in a rolled up button down and khaki’s with a small red arm band on his right arm, Leo didn’t look the part, but once he began to play, you could see the aesthetic. Once he began to play, he moved and jumped and sweated out his music. All that mattered was his voice and his arms strumming the guitar.
The moment the first chords of “The Sons of Cain” were strummed and the drums kicked in, an intense cacophony of sound filled the room. From there on in, the show was all about four men playing the best type of American punk rock music—good American punk rock music. Leo’s sound is as diverse as it can get. The hour and a half plus set mixed in straight ahead punk songs that are unequivocally and unashamedly political along with catchy rock licks with boppy hooks that are unrelenting in their joyfulness.
The set concentrated on spotlighting newer songs from their latest LP Living With the Living. Nine songs in all were featured: “The Sons of Cain”, “Army Bound”, “Colleen” (an affirming tale about a troubled girl), “Annunciation Day / Christmas Day”, “Bomb, Repeat, Bomb” (an incredibly powerful political song about warfare), “La Costa Brava”, “Who Do You Love?”, “Bottle of Buckie” (both of which just scream as needing to be released as singles) and smooth ballad “The Unwanted Things”. Leo also played some deep material in the form of two songs off of Mo Living, a special edition 5 song EP released along with the new album. A live performance of “Old Souls Know” well represented the hard drum beat and deep bass groove on the track. Meanwhile, a cover of Chumbawumba’s “Rappaport’s Testament” closed the main set with the band and the crowd screaming in unison “I never gave up, I never gave up, I crawled in the mud, but I never gave up.”
Yes, that Chumbawumba. Leo’s never been afraid to cover different and out there tracks. If you listened carefully you could also hear a thrilling inclusion of Daft Punk’s “One More Time” during the breakdown of Leo’s best song on the night, the stunning “Little Dawn”. The song stretched out for several minutes as the crowd reveled in an unrelenting mini jam session. As far as Leo’s underground cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U’ve Been Gone”? Leo politely declined the request with a smile and a very tongue in cheek, “you really don’t want me to play that song…”
Leo and The Pharmacists also played a bevy of past favorites to the delight of the fans in attendance. It was the tracks from their last album, Shake the Streets that received the most reaction from pogo-ing teenagers and twenty something boys and girls all throughout the front of the pit. “Me and Mia” was greeted with a knowing wave of shouts and applause. “Counting Down The Hours” was a powerhouse with a fantastic screeching solo. Other tracks played from that album included “The Angel’s Share” and “Walking to Do”—played with urgency due to oncoming time restraints and yet still managing to maintain all of its upbeat warmth.
Other songs that were played included “Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?” and “The High Party” (from Hearts of Oak) and “Dial Up” (from Tyranny of Distance).
Notable absences of material from the show included “Bleeding Powers”, “Hearts of Oak” and “I’m A Ghost”, but the overlooking can be understood in the wake of the attempt to highlight newer material and the ever present clock ticking away seconds until curfew.
The Northern Jersey native also took time to wax poetic on the less than finer details of the Tri State area, including Staten Island. “I have the right,” he joked, given the amount of abuse his home state had received. “I’m going to stop before I dig myself a deep hole I can’t get out of.” Then to salvage the room from turning ugly (as if), Leo commented that one of his aunts lived in on Staten Island. “Right mom?” he asked, looking up to the balcony of Webster Hall, where his parents were in attendance.
As it turns out, Leo broke curfew anyway, with the fans demanding “one more song!” The band stepped back on stage one more time to perform their whirling-dervish cover of Stiff Little Fingers’ “Suspect Device”. It was 10:05 p.m. He wasn’t grounded by the staff at Webster Hall, or by his mother.
The 411: This show kicked my ass, butt good. I don’t think I’ve jumped that high or that far in the air…well, ever. My knees got quite the work out, and my ears are still ringing. Two year ago, Ted Leo quickly jumped up on my list as one of my favorite musicians. Seeing him in concert reaffirmed his placement. The musicianship was excellent from all members and the intensity of the performance make TL and the R/X a must see.
