Call your friends 'cause we've forgotten what it's like to eat what's rotten

I’ve been a TL&Rx fan since sophomore year, but never considered myself to be a super fan or even all that knowledgeable about their history or following. So I was a little surprised to find Ted Leo as a 40-something man with graying hair and punk rock stylings instead of the younger, Brit pop-hipster image I imagined. Of course, this misconception was based purely on his youthful tenor voice sans vibrato or grit of any sort. And call me crazy, but I didn’t really realize until I saw them in person that Ted Leo & the Pharmacists are part of the punk scene.

Haha. I guess I’m not very good at deciphering genre.

The concert was enjoyable, yes. I can’t help but compare it to the Frank Turner concert (folk punk vs. pop punk?) that was at the same venue (Emo’s) back in January.  Frank Turner’s concert was definitely a more emotionally moving experience and perhaps more enjoyable but need not take away from last night’s experience.

The band did a great job of playing a mix of old favorites and new would-be singles from their latest album. Luckily. Leo addressed the “Me & Mia” request early on in the set to prevent the rowdy punk drunk love of the song to get in the way of enjoying whichever new tunes the band performed.

Ted Leo was a charismatic and likeable emcee, smoothly transitioning between songs with a certain rapport with the audience that made you feel as though you were just with a couple of friends in a shitty bar watching some buddies jam.

Most worth noting is Ted Leo’s refreshing vocals. He has a very distinct voice that played out just as well live as on the record. It’s always a nerve wrecking experience that moment before you see a band live for the first time and you wonder if its going to sound anything at all like you imagined or iTunes made them sound at 2 in the morning in your dorm room.

I may have had the best seat in the house planted on top of that a/c unit. I saw over the heads of the whole crowd, lazily got to rest my bones, and didn’t have to mingle with the sweat and liquored bodies of the 4:1 ratio of men to women in the crowd. Overall? A good night.