Last Weekend. Part II.

Alright, I know it's been a little over a week, but cut me some slack. I have finals coming up, etc. Plus, it's not like anyone reads this. Soooo... here's the Ted section of the really cool weekend.

After lazing away most of the morning, Ross and I awoke, and went to catch some breakfast with Kevin. We met up with Deke (of "Deke and Alice and Leslie") on the way. We went to this place called Dojo. It was spectacular. They played nothing but ridiculous songs while we were there, i.e. Boston, Kansas, Twisted Sister, etc. They had banana pancakes, but I was foiled again in my quest for oatmeal.

I don't recall doing much all day, besides trying to go thrifting in NYC, which, let me tell you, is a terrible idea unless you have lots of cash. We did, let me remind you, only have until 5:30 until the show started, and we were soon on our way.

When we got there there was the obligatory Will-Call ticket line at Webster Hall, and luckily, our friends Matt and Pat had showed up in time for us to get in with everyone else, as they were also paid for in the same transaction. We got really good spots, especially considering that we had been in the slower moving will-call line. On the way up, Ted had apparently passed me on the steps, but I walk with blinders on, so I saw no one.

This show only had two openers, both fairly disappointing, but left less between me and the Ted (he had played with 5 openers at CBGB's). First was the Black Hollies. You could tell right off the bat that they were really talented, all four members of the band. However, they did nothing more than play retro-sounding songs. Guitar solo's were wailing, and the drummer was superb. I really wish they played more than just the throwback kind of rock; they would have such potential. It was so bad I really couldn't tell if the lead singer was faking a British accent when he spoke or if he was really from England. From what it seems, it's fake; their MySpace claim's the band at least hails from Jersey City. If it is indeed fake, which facts would lead one to believe, that's just pretentious and stupid.

After the Black Hollies left the stage, on came band number two: the Exit. Unfortunately they weren't really my kind of music. They didn't seem that bad, but I wasn't impressed in the least. The guitarist ended up being the main player, and was hamming it up to the photographers all set. I dunno, they just seemed a little nondescript. Not saying that they sound like every other band out there. They really didn't. It's just there was nothing special or redeeming about them in general.

Ted finally came up next, and was his calm, subdued self. I was surprised by the fact that the only new song he played was "Sons of Cain." I had half suspected this show to bring to light some newly written stuff, but nothing new since I saw him at South Street Seaport in August. This, of course, was both a curse and a blessing, but I mean, what Ted song don't I like (other than "Flydocius Invasion"... maybe). He and the Pharmacists again went through another near perfect set. I mean, Dave, the bassist, was sort of moving around this time, but made sure to stay away from his mic of course. Chris was also sporting his beard, which had grown to epic proportions. You could see where the moustache part was really trying to get away from the beard part. It was pretty cool. The crowd got a little rowdy up on the balcony. Some beer was thrown. Otherwise the crowd was pretty good. One highlight was when a girl screamed "Since U Been Gone," and her friend wisely shut her up with a bit too loud "SHHHH... You'll make him angry!" I chimed in with "I'm Looking Through You", to which Ted said they wouldn't get around to... probably ever. Eh, it was worth a shot. After he covered all the bases, and yes... I mean all the bases, he came back solo for the encore, played " The Gold Finch And The Red Oak Tree", a cover or two ("Dirty Old Town" I think) and a Chisel song. The Pharmacists came back in to join him for "Loyal to My Sorrowful Country" and "Stove by a Whale", and then quickly departed for one last Ted Leo solo cover.

After the show, Ross and I went to the Knitting Factory in an effort to squeeze in the Five Maserati's show, but were too late. I got my Islands tickets, and we went uptown to Harlem. The "An Albatross" party was pretty good, albeit subdued because of angry neighbors. Then, after listening to seeming spontaneous musical outbursts from Willy Gantrim, Feral Foster, and Zachary Robert, and seeing lots of drunk people, we were off to golden slumbers, and would have to venture home the next day in the first real snow of the season.

Pictures

Ted Leo
The Black Hollies
The Exit
The Five Maseratis

PS - So the Decemberists are on Capital now. Daaammnn...