October 22, 2004
Going to Baltimore to see a "Pharmacist." Heh heh.
I spent way too little time shaking the sheets last night, since I went to Baltimore with KG to see Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, fresh on the heels of their new album, Shake the Sheets. My eyes are droopy, my coffee mug is not nearly large enough to hold the amount of coffee I need and my ears are ringing, but it was worth it.
First of all, it is worth noting that seeing a show at Baltimore's Ottobar is very different from going to the 9:30 or the Black Cat. Aside from the fact that most Ottobarians get their clothes from thrift stores in Hampden instead of Banana Republic and thus look like actual hipsters, it's worth noting that some people get really drunk at the Ottobar. Downing six $2.75 Yuenglings is much more appealing than drinking as many little cups of Miller Lite at the 9:30 for $4 a pop, especially when your average Baltimorean pays about 30-40 percent less in rent than most Washingtonians.
That being said, KG and I spent the set of opening act Engine Down (soulless Richmond pretty-boys, barely worth mentioning) behind an extremely drunk woman, who stopped her wild and uncoordinated dancing only to chug from her beer, which was probably all foam. Worried that one of us would catch a flailing elbow to the jaw, we watched her trot out her squatting-stripper moves for nobody in particular. Even worse, this plain-looking girl wasn't even dancing to dancable music, just Engine Down's alt-rock pap.
Finally, TL/Rx came on, albiet well past my bedtime. Although KG said the show was somewhat sloppy (perhaps due to the fact that it was the first gig on the tour), I thought they held together well. The crowd, drunk as many were, seemed to know most of the words to the songs on Hearts of Oak and weren't afraid to share.
At the very least, Ted & Co. cleansed my palate after the Libertines' crummy performance on Tuesday.
Is Ted Leo the savior of Rock & Roll, as many people have claimed? Maybe, although I've heard it before about other acts that failed to live up to their billing. But either way, I'm seeing him again the next time he plays D.C.
Posted by rj3 at October 22, 2004 10:43 AM
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December 1 & 2 @ Black Cat, baby!
Posted by: MG at October 22, 2004 5:43 PM