Fans of power pop at its finest should not miss the Ted Leo and his fellow Pharmacists show next week. Leo is in town to promote his latest album The Tyranny of Distance, a remarkable collection of songs released by Berkeley’s Lookout! Records.
His lengthy resume begins with memberships in the late-’80s New York hardcore bands Citizen’s Arrest and Animal Crackers. In 1990, Leo moved to Washington, D.C., where he founded the more melodic Chisel, a band that released two well-received albums before splitting in 1997. A stint as the touring guitarist for the Spinanes and a go-round with the short-lived band the Sin Eaters led to his solo career.
Now he’s with his newest band, the Pharmacists. After hearing Tyranny it is clear?Ted Leo and the Pharmacists disseminate a drug worthy of ending in ‘-ine.’ The temptation to use hyperbolic nonsense words to describe their new record and live show is almost overwhelming, but these urges must be suppressed?at least a little. The hooks aren’t just catchy, they are a contagious disease, an itch we love to scratch, an addiction too poppily pleasurable not to indulge. Their recordings sound a lot like Chisel, sometimes it’s just Leo and his guitar, sometimes there is other instrumentation, but they are all hooky sing-alongs.
This past October, Leo opened for Quasi at the Black Cat. I can only hope he chooses to give us the same sort of set this time. He took the stage alone with his Epiphone semi-hollow body, played a few solo songs and bounced around like a kid without his Ritalin. His fourth song was “Timorous Me,” from the new record. It starts off with just him and a guitar, singing about a Johnny that left behind an apple tree, and a fan that offers gushing praise. I like to think he’s talking about fellow rocker Mary Timony of Helium.
As the third verse starts on the record, some handclaps join the fray, and then the entire band. The same thing happened live?it was quite a dramatic effect as the lonely Black Cat stage was permeated by three people (drummer, bassist and second guitar) a few measures before they’re supposed to join the song. The Pharmacists appeared in the form of guitarist James Canty (Nation of Ulysses, Make Up), bassist Pete Kerlin, and drummer Chris Wilson. From that point on, the rock (in all its cliched-yet-true glory) was non-stop. The only expected difference this time will be Ted’s band will be headlining on the backstage and the opener will be his brother Dan’s band, The Holy Childhood.
Last time Leo came to town, he blew the audience away with his energy and sheer rocktitude, and I bet he’ll do it again, this time intimately on the backstage. The new record is one of my favorite albums of the year, and it’s going to blow people’s minds when they hear it. It’s amazing how good all the songs sound live, considering the touring Pharmacists are different than the ones playing on the album.
Ted Leo and his Pharmacists along with openers The Holy Childhood will provide an interesting study day’s diversion on Dec. 11 at the Black Cat.
The Black Cat is located at 1811 14th St., N.W.
