Ted Leo has got the cure for what ails you: rock ‘n’ roll

By Nate Adams
Collegian Staff
April 4, 2007

In these treacherous times, we could all use a little more love in our lives. No one is more aware of this than Ted Leo and his Pharmacists. They brought a double dose of love to the Theater of the Living Arts last Wednesday night in the form of NYC punk outfit Love or Perish and Australian indie rockers Love of Diagrams.

The show was slated for a 9 p.m. start — pretty late for a school night and for curmudgeons like me. Thankfully, Love or Perish took the stage promptly, only to be met with widespread indifference from the crowd. The group outfit looked nervous on stage, and midway through their set the lead singer confessed that this was their first time playing in front of such a large crowd (keep in mind that the TLA was only about half full at this point. These guys might have been green). Their ’70s speed punk sound was good, better than most mainstream punk acts in fact, but it was not the right fit for the crowd as no one was really getting into it. After a quick half-hour set of throaty vocals and some over the top, blistering guitar work, Love or Perish exited stage left. The audience was pretty glad to see them go, but I give them credit; they were having fun on stage, and really, that should be the point.

After waiting in line for 10 minutes to buy a Coke, I went back to the floor just as Love of Diagrams was taking the stage. I was prepared to hate this band based solely on the fact that I was told that I would be put on their guest list so I could get in for free, but when I got to the box office, my name was not there. It was a let down, plus it made me look foolish in front of all the snooty indie rockers (the concert was 15 dollars, so it wasn’t that big a deal. But still, I’d never been on a guest list before, and I was looking forward to it).

Thankfully, Love of Diagrams was able to beat back my rage with the power of their rock. Their sound, which I would call indie pop rock, is punctuated by some seriously thundering drums with some top notch guitar noodleing over top of it — think Sleater-Kinney with more pop thrown in and less flashy guitar work.

One interesting thing about Love of Diagrams: ladies are in charge. The bassist/vocalist and drummer are both members of the fairer sex, and I don’t know if it is because they make up the rhythm section or because they share that crazy woman mind bond that confuses the hell out of men, but they were always on the same page. It made for a tight, professional and very enjoyable set, if not overly energetic.

If Love of Diagrams lacked energy, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists more than made up for it. Leo was in rare form. This was the first stop on his very long spring tour, and he looked like he was ready for the road ahead. Besides his usual crowd banter in between songs, Leo was dancing, swaying, screaming and just looking happy to be on stage with his band. The group opened with “Dial Up,” off of their 2001 release The Tyranny of Distance, which is a fast-paced little number, and never slowed down.

The set list was a veritable “best of,” mixing in fan favorites with new cuts off of their most recent record, Living With the Living. The new tracks sounded great alongside the old ones; songs like “Bottle of Buckie” and “Sons of Cain” fit like Lego pieces with classics like “Timorous Me” and “Little Dawn.” It is also worth mentioning that The Pharmacists, who usually are a two-piece rhythm section, added a second guitar player, which gave the songs more weight and allowed Leo to be the guitar hero he wants to be.

With a little love, a little energy and a new guitarist, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists were able to not only rock the house and leave everyone happy, but they put forth the best live effort I’ve seen from any band in a while. In times like these, that has to be worth something.

adamsn1@lasalle.edu