This is the second time that I've seen Ted Leo on this tour. The first time was a few months back and I, unfortunately (and quite out of character for me), got a little too liberal with the giggle juice before the concert. Subsequently, my recollections of the show are a bit hazy.
So, I drove out to Denton with nary a raised blood alcohol point and settled in for my second-chance viewing of one of my favorite artists out there. Man, am I glad I got the opportunity.
The DIY-iness of the Ted Leo ethic is striking. Walking into the venue, the infamous Ted Leo tour van (bio-dieseled out) was parked right out front with the band just chilling out. They drive the van (actually, Ted does the bulk of the driving) across country to their gigs. The fact that one of the more important rockers of our time still plays college gigs tells you a lot of what you need to know about him.
The other thing is that, on stage, he's pure energy. It's non-stop. It's the punk rocker in Ted that, though sometimes not immediately evident in his music, is immediately evident when you see him live.
The set list started with very similarly to the rest of the tour up to this point (Sons of Cain, Dial Up, Me and Mia, Army Bound), but that's where the similarities ended. Present where tour rarities like I'm a Ghost (maybe my favorite part of the night).And he was absolutely engaged with the crowd, taking earnest attempts as the crowd shouted obscure cover requests (from The Buzzcuts, to Daft Punk's Digital Love, which Ted misheard as Addicted to Love causing him to wonder out loud, "Why would anyone request a Robert Palmer Cover?").
It was that back and forth with the crowd of about 50 which really made this a special night. He talked about everything from Paul Stanley's between song banter ("Much better than KISS's actual songs", he said) to when he talked with me about shoe-tying techniques (which, eventually, led to a member of his band calling him "Bunny Ears").
While starting the slow roll into Counting Down the Hours a fan yelled, "Yes! This is my favorite song!" Ted stopped saying, "Really? Of ours or in general?" When the fan replied, "Of yours and in general," he responded, "Well, that's awfully nice of you to say but, I mean, there's a lot of really good tunes out there. There's, like, a whole E.L.O boxset out there before you even get close to Shake The Sheets." It was that kind of playfulness that typified the night.
I'm a big fan of Ted Leo. I think he's a unique voice of dissent and an equally important musician. He's never really disappointed me and, because of the humble nature of his career, it's hard to imagine he ever will. He doesn't have to continually reinvent himself because his music is as unique as it is simple. I'm really glad I got a second chance to see him again.
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