Ted Leo + Pharmacists

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Ted Leo + Pharmacists
October 14 at The Pavillion
To those who only saw Ted Leo + Pharmacists’ Marquee set at last week’s Pop Explosion: You saw good, but you missed out on great. The Pavilion show, their second of the festival, was a sweat- and spit- drenched mix of scathing social commentary and a tight-like-Speedos setlist, reminiscent of early 1980s Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. (Speaking of tight, that bassist Dave Lerner’s pants did not split each time he moved is a miracle of modern garment wizardry.) What made this show special was the connection between the band and the all-ages crowd. Leo managed to get them whipped up into a frenzy, but a friendly and fun frenzy rather than an all-out push fight. The best part of the set was the closing number, in which North of America joined them on stage with a second drum set and tambourines, followed by the first few rows of the audience. It’s not every night a show ends with kids hanging by their knees from the rafters of the venue. Wicked.