Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at Fine Line (13 Sep 2024)
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Ted Leo Setlist
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That old belief of bad luck on Friday the 13th is true, at least for local band Tender Comrade, who at the last minute had to pull out of the show. The band had a heartfelt apology about their cancellation:
Ted is a wonderful person. As a personal favor put us on the show and I’d like to thank him for always being the coolest guy since I met him back in 1999 across the street from the Fine Line at the old Foxfire Cafe when our band Hidden Chord played with Ted and his brother Danny’s band The Holy Childhood. Since then he’s helped me out in so many ways but mostly by continuing to make and perform amazing music for my eyes and ears. Mahmood is also the Dude!
…I’m truly sad about this cancellation. It literally brought me to tears this weekend when I found out we had to cancel. We don’t play many shows, as we are all adults with families, jobs, other pursuits, but this band and playing music are very import to me and I’m sure to Travis and Elliot, so any missed show can be heartbreaking to me.
Tender Comrade’s EP Four will be out soon. Their next gig is at Cloudland on October 10, 2024.
Chicago’s Ganser opened the show, a little later due to Tender Comrade’s cancellation.
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Ganser at First Ave (16 Mar 2024)
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We previously saw the band open for McLusky in March 2024 and described them as: “The group has a very nice art-punk sound, and their performance was fun and full of high energy.”
Ganser, featuring drummer Brian, bassist/singer Alicia, singer/synth Sophia, and guitarist Charlie, was in top form. As their last appearance, we said they had a lot of energy and was really fun. This time, playing tracks from Nothing You Do Matters, you can tell they’re just having a good time. Sometime having to apologize to that they were only kidding. They played a “new one, but don’t tell anyone.”
The ended their set with “Animal Hospital”, with Sophia jumping into the dancefloor and singing directly to the fans in front.
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Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at 7th Street Entry (22 Aug 2001)
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Although I’ve seen Ted Leo with Aimee Mann as The Both in May 2014, I’ve only seen Ted Leo and the Pharmacists once in Aug 2001, it was well before Shake the Sheets so I never heard those songs live.
And as promised for the 2024 shows, the band featuring Led Leo on vocals and guitar, James Canty on guitar, Chris Wilson on drums, Marty Key on bass, and Ralph Darden on guitar, played the entire Shake the Sheets album, including some never-before live renditions of songs on the album. Fans were happily singing along to all the songs.
The whole album runs about 45 minutes, if we’re being generous, so to make up the rest of the show, the rest of the band took a break while Ted Leo stayed on stage to play a couple of songs by himself.
Leo introduced “Rock the Machine” as “Nobody needs my version of [the Lisa O’Neil song], but I need to sing it.”
Since he had a little time before the rest of the band came back on stage, he tells us about how his grandfather abandoned his family in Brooklyn and secretly raised another family in Queens. He said that’s so strange, it’s like if someone from Minneapolis had another family in St Paul.
The rest of the set felt like a long encore, playing such songs as “The Sons of Cain” and “Under the Hedge”.
If you love Shake the Sheets, you really need to go to one of these shows. Not only are you experiencing the record live, but you’re also connecting with fans who shares your love of music.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at Fine Line (13 Sep 2024)