The punk rock troubadour himself, Ted Leo, made his long overdue return to Atlanta Wednesday night, bringing along his full band, The Pharmacists, for this outing at Masquerade Atlanta. Opening the show was Ian Sweet.
Ian Sweet
Ian Sweet are an indie pop trio from Brooklyn. It began as a solo project for Jilian Medford, but soon blossomed into a full fledged band. Their most current release, their debut full length Shapeshifter, was released on Hardly Art Records in 2016 to rave reviews from everyone from Stereogum to Spin. The crowd was a bit skittish at first and also sparse but quickly warmed up to their quirky stage presence. They played a tight 30 minute set and Jilian’s voice was uniquely beautiful.
Ted Leo
Next came Ted Leo & The Pharmacists. Ted Leo has been a presence in the punk/hardcore scenes of the east coast since the late 80s. Bouncing around to multiple projects in multiple states, each claiming their own acclaim. In the late 90s, he started to branch out into more solo oriented work. His sound changed along with it, channeling contemporaries such as Billy Bragg.
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
He is currently touring in support of The Hanged Man out on SuperEgo Records. And he pulled many songs from that release out for this set. He also played many Bush-Era songs out for this set, remarking that these songs have once again become relevant in the current political climate. The crowd was fully behind the set, playing most of the favorites. But what struck me was that a lot of the new material had large portions of the crowd singing along. Something like that can be used as a gauge to let you know that even though Ted Leo has been putting out music for over 30 years, people will still wait for that next record. Even if up to 5 years passes between them.
Written and shot by Peter Sigmund. Check out Peter’s photos from the show:
Upcoming Ted Leo & the Pharmacists Tour Dates:
OCT 30 Santa Fe, NM at Meow Wolf
OCT 31 Phoenix, AZ at Valley Bar
NOV 01 San Diego, CA at The Casbah
NOV 03 Los Angeles, CA at The Teragram Ballroom
NOV 04 San Francisco, CA at Bimbo’s 365 Club
NOV 06 Portland, OR at Revolution Hall
NOV 07 Vancouver, BC at The Cobalt
NOV 08 Seattle, WA at The Crocodile
NOV 11 Minneapolis, MN at Triple Rock Social Club
NOV 12 Chicago, IL at Thalia Hall
NOV 13 Columbus, OH at Skully’s Music Diner
NOV 14 Baltimore, MD at Ottobar
DEC 02 Providence, RI at The Columbus Theater
DEC 03 Portland, ME at Port City Music Hall
DEC 04 Burlington, VT at Arts Riot
DEC 05 Montreal, QC at La Sala Rosa
DEC 07 Ithaca, NY at The Haunt
DEC 08 Hamden, CT at The Ballroom at Outer Space
DEC 09 Brooklyn, NY at Music Hall of Williamsburg
DEC 10 Brooklyn, NY at Music Hall of Williamsburg
DEC 14 Phoenixville, PA at the Colonial Theatre * solo w/Aimee Mann*
DEC 16 Harrisburg, PA at the Whittaker Center *solo w/Aimee Mann*
DEC 17 Pittsburgh, PA at the Carnegie Lecture Hall of Oakland *solo w/Aimee Mann*
