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wLa Musica Rock |
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Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, with Fiery Furnaces and 33 Slade, at the Southpaw, Brooklyn March 29, 2003
So Matt and I went to the Ted Leo show on Saturday night in Brooklyn.
All
in all, it was good stuff. Some ups, some major downs, but all together
a
pleasant experience. Besides the length of the trek to Brooklyn, Matt
and
I missed the stop and went express deeper into Brooklyn than either of
us
have ever been. It was scary, yet exhilarating at the same time. We
had
some dinner at a local establishment. According to Matt the crab cake
appetizer was quite nice. We then made our way off to Southpaw. A
small
establishment on 5th Ave in the hipper-everyday neighborhood of Park
Slope.
Must say I liked the venue very much. Small yet not cramped, well
decorated but not full of a bunch of phony crap. The old records on
the
wall was a nice touch. But the downside? The sound absolutely blew!
It
was some of the worst sound engineering I have ever experienced. The
vocals were up and down, the mikes were popping all over the place, the
bass would give incredible feedback that made you think your heart was
going to explode. And really it was entirely too loud for such a small
venue.
The first band: (one of three openers) sucked so hard they made me want
to
outlaw music. But if I did so, it would not affect this band because
whatever torture they were subjecting the audience to, it had nothing
to do
with music. They didn't know how to play and decided to try and make
up
for that fact by feeding back as much as possible for some sort of
sonic
nightmare that just drained half of the energy I had for the show.
Next opener: So-so. I think if you were into their type of music,
which
was sort of a George Thorogood ? story telling blues kinda thing, you
might
have really enjoyed them. That is not my kind of music by any means,
so I
really didn't enjoy it. But mind you it had nothing to do with the
band,
just the style. They were all moderately talented at what they were
doing,
and they seemed to project a fun atmosphere around their music.
Last opener: Matt and I disagreed on this band vehemently, but every
one
is entitled to their opinion, especially an opinionated asshole like
Matt.
I really liked these guys cause they had this really cheesy image, and
cheesy style, and honestly cheesy music, but they were cool with that
and
they played really well. It didn't hurt that the singer and lead
guitarist
was a really trim hot blond that had an incredible voice and wasn't
afraid
to use it. Matt thought they were like Iron Maiden led by a woman
instead
of Bruce Dickinson. And that is a bad thing?!? The two other band
members
(bass and drums) were total tools both wearing white wife beaters when
they
came out. My first question was, "Is this Sublime? Are they going to
play
that Santaria song?" The drummer was a complete cock-rocker and was
donning a hat turned to the side to cover his huge curly orange afro.
It
was a sight worth seeing. Their music was somewhat eighties, very
intricate. Kinda like Rush meets Iron Maiden with a chic singing lead.
I
was in my glory. Matt hated it. C'e la vie.
So then Ted Leo came out. Right off the bat I hated him cause the
first
tune he played was just a really loud mess. After waiting through
three
opening acts I was really unhappy that he started off poorly. Luckily
he
turned around on the second tune and never looked back. He is a true
rockstar that pours 110% into his show. I knew most of the songs he
played, but even the stuff I didn't know was fun. The remainder of the
band was OK, but nothing that really stood out. The lady with the
violin
added a little bit of fun. Also, Ted broke a string and had to change
it
right in the middle of his song. For eight bucks they can't afford
roadies, so the band played on while he scrambled to change it.
Variety is
the spice of life. Anyway I highly recommend seeing Ted or buying his
latest album. It might lead you into meeting 19 year old girls that book
two
nights in the Waldorf just for the hell of it. But that is another
story
entirely.
- Frank
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