Ted Leo And The Pharmacists with Heks Orkest
Wednesday, December 8 at Strange Matter
I don’t think I have ever seen a bad Ted Leo performance. Sure, there was that one time when the drummer cut his hand and the set ended abruptly. Still, despite that minor accident, whenever I have had the chance to see Leo perform with the Pharmacists, it has always been a splendid experience. This past Wednesday was not an exception to the rule.
Ted Leo And The Pharmacists with Heks Orkest
Wednesday, December 8 at Strange Matter
I don’t think I have ever seen a bad Ted Leo performance. Sure, there was that one time when the drummer cut his hand and the set ended abruptly. Still, despite that minor accident, whenever I have had the chance to see Leo perform with the Pharmacists, it has always been a splendid experience. This past Wednesday was not an exception to the rule.
The evening began with the post-hardcore sensibilities of Heks Orkest. For the uninitiated, Heks Orkest is a Richmond super-group that features former members of such groups as Action Patrol, Denali, Engine Down, Avail, Sparta, Gothic Horror and so on. They are worth paying attention to considering the amount of creative talent contained. Their set was a fine reminder of this, as they showed their superior prowess in the genre. To much excitement from the crowd, the band played a selection of songs from their recently released seven-inch as well as quite a few that will hopefully be featured on an upcoming full-length. I was enamored with their entire performance; the energy of singer David Grant translated well against the wall of sound developed by the rest of the band. I have not had an opportunity to hear their recent EP, but if their set was any indication of what’s to come, we all have something special in store in the New Year.
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists were up next. As the venue filled up, an air of excitement spread across the room. This was the first time I had seen Leo perform with his current backing band. I had grown quite accustomed to the three-piece outfit that performed the band’s catalog throughout their Shake The Sheets era. I won’t lie–it was pretty incredible to witness the songs from Tyranny of Distance, Hearts of Oak, and Shake The Sheets recreated by that lineup. It would always leave me yearning for my next opportunity to see them live.
This new incarnation of the group is intriguing in the way they approach the older material, along with the current cuts from The Brutalist Bricks. The sound is a bit dirtier, but it lends itself well to reinvigorating the spirit of tunes that are close to ten years old at this point. I have never known Ted Leo and the Pharmacists to ignore any of their back catalog, which is another of the wonderful aspects of seeing them live. I feel like it puts them leaps and bounds ahead of many groups that have had a similar lifespan. In keeping with this idea, their set contained such older gems as “Timorous Me,” “The Ballad of the Sin Eater,” and “Me and Mia.”
If I had any complaints regarding the evening, they would be directed to a few instances where the sound became muddled. During Heks Orkest’s set, Grant’s vocals were difficult to understand. Although his energetic prowess on stage made up for it, it left me frustrated with the inability to make out his lyrics, considering that they were such a strong suit for the band in previous performances. During Ted Leo’s set, I felt like the issues were figured out more easily. The 929 West Grace Street location has always been a difficult room to gauge, as far as live sound is concerned. I just wonder what it might take in order to improve on these issues so that Strange Matter can stay the wonderful newly reopened venue that it has been up to this point.
As I left Strange Matter and considered Ted Leo and the Pharmacists’ set, I felt as if I had acquired a better understanding of their last two records. They were both difficult releases for me to completely get into. After hearing them live, their intended presentation was revealed to me and I grew to appreciate them. If that is what I take from this experience seeing the group, I would call this yet another successful Ted Leo and the Pharmacists performance.
Words by Shannon Cleary
Photos by Chris Lacroix
See the full set of Chris’s photos here!
