Ted Leo played a living room show in Brighton on 11/26
Following through on his promise to tour houses, basements and DIY spaces cross-country following his month opening for Aimee Mann, Ted Leo performed for a small group of ecstatic fans in a tiny living room in Brighton Monday night.
“Who wouldn’t rather be here than wherever the fuck [Green Day] is right now?” Leo asked a crowd packed tightly between furniture and a breakfast bar. A resounding cheer made it evident that we were all precisely where we wanted to be
Leo is surely one of indie rock’s more under-appreciated elder statesmen. With Chisel in the 90s and the Pharmacists in the 00s and beyond, he’s been responsible for a steady stream of catchy, literate and politically charged music that doesn’t get half the recognition it should. Leo’s unerring dedication to a DIY ethos indicates that an avoidance of the spotlight might be intentional, though. Despite a devoted fan base and the credibility to appear at major festivals worldwide and tour with Pearl Jam, Leo sticks mostly to small shows and always to independent record labels. He’s also one of few artists out there with a combination of that kind of notability and a level of engagement with the music community that makes a show like this possible.
An hour or so before an audience member would set Leo up for that Green Day quip, local pop-punks Bent Shapes opened the show with an energetic and upbeat set. The trio’s bouncy songs and straight-ahead guitar/bass/drums formula emphasized their earnest pop songcraft. Bent Shapes were clearly adored by various friends and fans in the room, and it wasn’t hard to see why.
Between songs during Leo’s set, he called community-run music and arts spaces like this one ‘some of the most important places in the world.’ His performance was ample proof of just how true that statement is. Armed with only his trusty Gibson electric and a pedal or two, Leo enthralled with a stack of classic tracks along with a few well-chosen covers and promising new songs. “Me and Mia,” “Colleen,” “Bleeding Powers,” “Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?” and others have been staples in Leo’s setlists for quite a while now, but in this tiny room with an audience eager to sing every word, playing the hits hardly felt rote. Leo even seemed a bit shocked at the level of crowd participation when hand-clap percussion filled in for the drums during “Timorous Me” in perfect time. We were apparently the first audience in the song’s 13-year touring history to pull it off so flawlessly.
Leo’s never been one to pass through an entire set without a surprise or two. Living with the Living deep cut “The Toro and the Toreador” got a rare but much-welcome airing. Covers ranged from tour-mate Aimee Mann to fellow Jersey heroes Bruce Springsteen (“Dancing in the Dark”) and The Misfits (“Hybrid Moments”), the latter of which may have been the evening’s loudest (and most evil) singalong. Several excellent new songs were sprinkled in too, bearing the good news that a Brutalist Bricks follow-up shouldn’t be too far off in the distance.
Making it out to the middle of Brighton in the dark and the cold on Monday night was something of a trek, but a unique and unforgettable night with an artist I admire on both a personal and professional level made it wholly worthwhile. I’ve seen a fair few Ted Leo sets in the past few years, but none felt quite the same as this. Nothing really compares to the joyful community vibe of the living room.
