At any given moment, it's more likely that Ted Leo and his Pharmacists are on the road than not. And with the recent release of "Living With The Living", Ted will be hunting for cheap hotels and good vegan food all over the place, with North American shows in April and May, then a ton of European dates over the summer. Rinse, rest up, and repeat.
Boston's been lucky enough to get no less than four (maybe five?) Ted visits within the past year as he readied material for the album, and two of them couldn't have been more different from each other: a Sunday afternoon all-ages show at the small-ish Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge (an announced solo set that turned into a full-band surprise), and just a few months later, an opening slot for Death Cab For Cutie at the resplendent Boston Opera House. While seeing Ted and his band play is never less than worth it, it's not tough to guess which set was more fun.
When I shared that Middle East set back in August, I deferred to Ted's wishes that I hold off on posting the not-yet-recorded new songs. Regardless of how blown away I was by the first ever live performance of "The Lost Brigade", the songs were still in their formative stages, and I was happy to oblige. But with the album's arrival, the spreading of various live versions around the 'net, and the many requests from 'Nac readers, I thought it'd be alright to let them see the light of day. So along with the TL/Rx Opera House set below, you'll also find the missing songs from that amazing August performance. Enjoy...
More Cowbell has a great write-up of Ted's appearance with DCFC when hit the DAR Constitution Hall in DC a few days after the Boston stop.
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists return to Boston on Friday, May 4th for a show at Avalon. Tickets are still available here. Opening up are tourmates Love of Diagrams.
As ever, you can listen to all 'Nac-hosted tracks on the Hype Machine.
postscript... If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (contact info in the 'nac faq). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Mp3s are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.
