By: Rinjo Njori

America's most overlooked hit maker Ted Leo headlined Webster Hall this past Saturday on what was his final US date before heading for an overseas tour. Ted Leo's music for a little over a decade has centered around the more accessible elements of late 70's inspired punk fused with elements of rock and hardcore. Leo looks the part as well. Saturday night he looked every bit the son of Joe Strummer and Paul Weller, only from New Jersey not Surrey, England. Sporting Doc Martens, white jeans, and a red "fore arm" band, Ted Leo resembled a less grizzled Joe Strummer dismissing his world music influences and remembering how great the Jam and the '77 era Clash are thirty years later. His backing band, The Pharmacists, consisted of Chris Wilson on drums (looking every bit like Mick Fleetwood), Chris Lerner on bass (looking every bit like Trouble's Eric Wagner/ Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale), and James Canty shadowed in second guitar (perhaps Living with the Living's producer Brendan Canty's brother).



The night opened with "Sons of Cain" from his latest album Living with the Living and ended with an abbreviated encore of Stiff Little Finger's "Suspect Device" which appeared on Sharkbite Sessions. In between he managed a cover of Chumbawumba's "Rappaport's Testament", delivered a groove heavy version of "Old Souls Know", and eliminated the vocal overdubs on his signature song "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone" which makes the live version both invigorating and maddening.

As expected a good portion of the show contained material off Living with the Living. Despite the dark lyrical content of "Colleen", the song live is a power pop gem. "La Costa Brava" sounds better live and hints at what kind of great rock songs Leo is capable of writing. "The Unwanted Things", a straight up dance hall/ dub reggae song, might appear out of place but it served as a buffer to the mostly up tempo set and worked especially well with the older material. The crowd had to endure my least favorite experimental tracks from Living, "Annunciation Day/ Born on Christmas" and "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb". The latter was actually weaker live despite Leo's last minute request to tweak the vocal monitor. "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb" is basically two songs melded together for no good reason. Judging the crowd's reaction clearly I am in the minority. This made me yearn for the all to short "Army Bound" and "Bottle of Buckie". "Me and Mia" and "Angels Share" were the only songs from Shake the Sheets. The former appearing surprisingly early in the set, but luckily Leo's material is strong enough to play all the "hits" first. Tyranny of Distance and Hearts of Oak suffered similar fates on the set list. Thankfully the only way this impacts the show is your desire to go home after the show and listen to more Ted Leo.

The great thing about Leo's music in general is that the riff and his vocals are enough to carry the song. Lerner, Wilson and Canty would often jump into the song well after they began. Not to diminish their role or their contribution, but the songs are that good. Where Wilson took the time to rest up, Lerner's downtime seemed like a guy who posturing. From my point of view Canty was in the shadows and only noticeable if you looked for him. This was surprising since Webster Hall has more than enough stage to accommodate a four piece band. Perhaps it was fear of a shock from Leo's wire from his guitar to his amp that kept him in the shadows or the lighting.

Leo spared the audience of any in between song banter for most of the set. Webster Hall, it was pointed out, has a 10 PM stop time on live shows. When he did engage the audience he was quick witted, self deprecating, and taking on the regional debate of Staten Island vs. New Jersey (which one don't you want to be from?). He wisely refused to perform his Kelly Clarkson cover, "Oh no, you don't want me to play that." Setting the record straight on why he doesn't drink beer - he said is not straight edge, but extremely careful with his "girlish figure." Then a quick role call on what was happening after the show: Daniel Higgs of Lungfish playing at the Mercury Lounge or Murphy's Law on Staten Island? After digging himself a self described "hole" it was back to the music.

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists live erases any of the faults that come off on their recorded material. For ninety minutes they delivered a great show and displayed the range of influences that could easily fuel a musical career for the next twenty years. The songs are sharper and more focused. Except for misqueue on "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?" the band didn't waste a riff or beat. Leo's vocal's were clear and lively. For those fans who followed him for the last decade or so, they couldn't be disappointed. He might not have busted out any Chisel covers, but I suspect we could wait another decade without that happening.

Labels: Ted Leo