by Anna Scialli

The karaoke portion of the night included most of the songs listed here, plus a number of TL/RX tunes like "Ballad of the Sin Eater," "Me and Mia," "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?," "A Bottle Of Buckie", "Shake The Sheets", "Timorous Me", and "Counting Down The Hours". I got to do Fugazi's "Merchandise" with Brendan Canty from Fugazi sitting in on drums, which was, as you can probably imagine, both totally crazy and extremely awesome. I hope I did okay! This entire show was a thrill. Ted and his band are as talented as they are friendly, charming, and entertaining. Which is saying a lot. [Fluxblog]

On Tuesday night, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists celebrated the release of their first album on Matador Records, the Brutalist Bricks. However, this CD release party had a twist: The first portion Ted & co. played straight through their album but the second portion was reserved for live band karaoke. Like at Studio B in 2008, fans signed up before the show to sing songs while the band accompanied; ranging from "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by AC/DC to some of Ted Leo's classics such as "Timorous Me." The party seemed to be a Brooklyn twist on a twelve year old's birthday party: the Knitting Factory was decorated with gigantic bee pinatas, a reference to the cover of the new album, and vegan pizza from Vinnie's was offered to all who showed up early.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists energetically and quickly ripped through track after track of the album. The songs were unfamiliar to a large portion of the audience but the crowd seemed pleased with the performance. After a short break, Live Karoake began. Many, many songs were covered and let's just say some were better than others. All and all, it was a unique show that was a lot of fun to watch. I wasn't about to go belt out a song on stage but kudos to all that did.

One night earlier Shorty Award winner Ted and band appeared on Fallon. Video from that TV appearance, one of him accepting his Shorty Award, and more pictures and the setlist from Knitting Factory below...

Continue reading "Ted Leo played Fallon & Knitting Factory (where he played his new album & karaoke) - pics & setlist & video"