FREE DOWNLOAD – Ted Leo And The Pharmacists Covers And Troubadour Show Review

I don’t know how many of you are fans of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, but their new record The Brutalist Bricks (out now on Matador) has been on repeat in my iPod ever since it came out earlier this month.

Ted is touring in support of the album now and I had the pleasure of catching him at the Troubadour last night.

Click MORE for a breakdown of the show and details on the Brutalist Bricks.

The Troubadour is probably the best place in L.A. to see live music, and the cramped sweaty little bar was the perfect venue to cram in and see a Ted Leo show. My friends and I missed the opening band (sorry Sally Crewe and The Sudden Move) but I walked in just in time to grab a beer as the band was setting up. The great thing about Saturday night shows is that every time you think you’re running late you end up being right on time.

Ted Leo was amazing as always, the consummate showman.

The set list was heavy on new material, naturally, with about half of the new album getting played. But each of the band’s other four albums were represented by at least a song or two, and I got to hear almost all of my favorites.

But if I may digress for a moment, can we stop yelling out songs during shows at this point? It’s getting really annoying. (There was even a person at this show who thought yelling out “Freebird” was still funny). Ted humored the hecklers in the crowd for a little bit but eventually had to yell back “Shut the f*ck up, we’re just gonna play what we want to play!” Although he made sure to add afterward that he meant it “in the most loving way possible.” But really, stop yelling out obscure b-sides that no one else wants to hear, or big hits that you know are gonna get played anyway. And while we’re ranting, get off your iPhones. This is a rock and roll show. You don’t need an app for that.

After the show my legs felt like jelly from all the dancing I did. It was almost nonstop uptempo. The songs came quick and were fast and loud, going along with the visceral stripped down vibe of the new record. It was punctuated by only a few quiet moments, like when Ted came out to do a solo section that included a brilliant cover of the Waterboys‘ “Fisherman Blues” and a sloppy but endearing version of “Freeway” by Aimee Mann. After that the full band came back out and they tore through a couple early Tyranny of Distance songs before finally ending with a cover of “Angelf*ck” by the Misfits which basically now allows me to die happy. I think Ted must be on a Glenn Danzig kick since he recently posted a Samhain cover on his Soundcloud page.

All in all it was an awesome night and further adds to my opinion that there’s no such thing as a bad Ted Leo show. He’s almost always touring so if you missed him this time around, keep checking for when he comes back to town! If you haven’t picked up The Brutalist Bricks yet, you can order it here. And if this is the first time you are hearing of Ted’s music then go out now and buy everything he’s ever done.

Or, if you’re not quite ready to make the commitment, check out the video for his new single “The Mighty Sparrow:”

And as promised, here are the direct links to your free music download: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists covers some of your favorite bands!

Tears for Fears – “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”

Samhain – “Archangel”

Concrete Blonde – “Joey”

You can also check out his official website here.