Friday Nite on the Indie Scene

Booby and I went to see Ted Leo & the Pharmacists at the Starlight Ballroom (now mysteriously renamed Polaris) in NoLibs on Friday. It was a good show, perhaps a little rushed, but man! I felt so old. Ted Leo has a policy of only playing all ages shows, so if you want a beer (or in my case, a Smirnoff Ice, because they had no cider), you have to go into this little cordoned-off bar area, which is not unlike the "restaurant" area of a skating rink, right down to the plastic tables 'n' chairs. I think I saw one guy there older than we are.

Anyway, we walked right by Ted while we were pushing our way through the bar area. He's attractive, in a weird, intense kind of way. Booby was part of the Concerts for Kerry project that coalesced during the last election, and we got to see him play then; I was maybe 5 feet from the stage, and there wasn't a huge crush of people. This time it was hundreds of badly-dressed boys with beards, pumping their fists in the air at meaningful lyrics, and we were nowhere near the stage. That's OK, I think I'm a little long in the tooth for mosh pits these days.

The only thing that's turned me off of Ted Leo is the irrepressible (as usual) urges I feel when reading his blog. Boyfriend needs an editor. Clearly, spell check isn't working for his who's/whose issues, "quotations around every phrase" problems and multiple exclamation points!!!!!!!! Ted, you're a smart guy - I read your lyrics, and they're smart and interesting - please sit down for some quality time with the Strunk & White, or else hire an editor. Maybe you and Morgan Spurlock can split the cost.