This was a makeup show for one that was originally scheduled to take place in January. Regardless, it seems like Ted Leo plays Philadelphia in one form or other at least several times a year. For example, the last time I saw him, it was also at Kung Fu Necktie but he was playing guitar for the reunited Citizens Arrest this past December. It’s not that I’m complaining, of course!
Regardless, his solo shows are always enjoyable for their mix of songs from his catalog with his band Ted Leo and The Pharmacists along with well-chosen covers and stage banter (along with audience participation as well) and this one was no exception. Ted simply stormed the stage opening with “Nothing Much to Say” (an outtake from 2007’s Living with the Living that was released on its accompanying bonus disc Mo’ Living) and concluding with an encore of “Bottled in Cork,” “Timorous Me” (going back to 2001’s The Tyranny of Distance) and a cover of Paul McCartney‘s “The Back Seat of My Car”. In between, the hour-long set consisted of songs from Hearts of Oak (“Where Have all the Rude Boys Gone?”, “The High Party”), 2004’s Shake the Sheets (“Bleeding Powers” and “Me and Mia”), the aforementioned Living with the Living (“A Bottle of Buckie” and “Colleen”) and last year’s The Brutalist Bricks (“One Polaroid a Day”). He also tackled Hüsker Dü‘s “Could You Be the One”? and Lungfish‘s “To Whom You Were Born”. Admittedly, I was also hoping to hear his covers of Eddie and the Hot Rods and Nick Lowe songs that he’d played in Boston a few nights earlier, but this is a very minor complaint.
You can view his setlist here.
Opener Noun is Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females‘ solo project. For this show, she was joined by stand-up drummer Miranda Taylor for a set that reminded me a lot of other guitar/drums duos like The Flat Duo Jets and yes, even The White Stripes. Having never heard Noun before, I was expecting something quieter and didn’t know if Paternoster would be joined by other musicians, but this was definitely quite a jolt and an appropriate opener for Ted Leo as well. I should’ve expected a more energetic set from someone whose main band is so gloriously raucous. The headliner gave them a nice and well-deserved shout-out later during his set and at one point, it looked like he was adding backing vocals while hiding below a speaker during Noun’s set.
