Ted Leo

Forgive the vital, brilliant punk band that would rather indulge in the urge to navel-gaze in the form of a weeks-long nostalgia trip than actually take the plunge and release a new album. Is that harsh?

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists Captivate Sold Out Crowd

Maybe it’s Jack Johnson’s fault, or our endless summer, or some sunny combination thereof, but our little beach town tends to attract quieter artists lazily drifting down the coast.

This wasn't a band going through the motions of a set, but rather a well-oiled machine that has been cranking out album after brilliant album and hundreds of stirring sets since the band as we know it was set in motion in 2001.

As you age power chords schizophrenic drumming and frantic screaming becomes… immature.

His latest leg of full-band shows, with punk-rock torch-bearers Titus Andronicus, kicked off at Baltimore’s Ottobar, to a smaller-than-expected but receptive and diverse crowd.

While there isnt anything wrong with the coffee house approach (Ben Folds and Jackson Browne have been perfecting the me-and-my-piano-against-the-world thing for years) it shouldnt hinder an artist from busting out their more rocking tunes.