For the records

Saturday, March 27, 2004

Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?

concert review: Ted Leo/The Pharmacists, w/ Electrelane, The Black Maria @ The Horseshoe Tavern (Toronto, Ontario),25/03/2004

For $10, this show was, for the most part, money well spent. After grabbing a bite to eat with my friend, we headed over to the 'Shoe to catch the tailend of The Black Maria's set. I'm glad I came late because I would not have been in the mood to listen to their screaming vocals, punk brand of music.

Next up were Electrelane who are an all-women band from England who were playing for the first time in Canada. Their music consists of an interesting interplay between keyboards, guitar, drums and dead-pan vocals. Points of reference might include Joy Division and Stereolab. I never heard their music before, although I did manage to read a couple of reviews on the 'net before I saw the band live, and I must say I was quite impressed. The only thing I regret is standing near a speaker without earplugs, especially during a couple of their extended musical freakouts; that was the first time I was actually scared of acquiring any permanent ear damage. Otherwise the girls' post-punk tunes were thoroughly enjoyable. And they played a punky cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" which was pretty cool. ...On an different note, the vocalist, from where I was standing[which was off to left side of the stage, about midway back within the standing area] reminded me of Neko Case. Actually, all the girls in the band were pretty cute. I wouldn't be surpised if the music mags were to exploit their image. Hey, I wouldn't mind seeing them on the cover of Magnet magazine.

And finally, the man of the hour, Ted Leo and his band The Pharmacists took the stage and proceeded for about the next hour and a half to entertain the crowd with his brand of unpretentious pop/rock/somewhat punk tunes. I had only heard various mp3's of his which were available on the 'net so I was basically a new fan, but I can confidently say that after seeing Ted Leo live, my level of fandom has reached new heights. My favourite song of the whole night was "Where have all the rude boys gone?" [mp3] [a clever rewrite of "Where have all the good times gone?"]. Some have criticized Ted for his falsetto but in my opinion its his falsetto during parts of the song which really make the song. Ted also reminded me of Billy Bragg, at least on the songs he played solo. For the encore, Ted Leo/The Pharmacists played 'Under the Hedge' [mp3] [a really catchy guitar-pop song] and a blistering cover of Stiff Little Fingers' 'Suspect Device'. After the show, I headed to the merch table and was able to purchase a couple of his CD's for $10 bucks a piece, including 'Hearts of Oak' and 'Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead' EP. Ted Leo is the man.