On A Dark, Wet Night In April

Not only is Ted Leo exciting as hell in general, he always seems to bring out an audience's better side. Every Ted Leo show I've been to (tonight at Club 770 in Madison was the third) has been full of people who know the lyrics better than I do, and enjoy it without shame or pickiness. By the second or third song, Leo's a sweat-and-saliva faucet, and by the show's end, he's down to two or three guitar strings. Most people there have probably already heard favorites like "Biomusicology," "Timorous Me," "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?" and "no, I won't play the Kelly Clarkson song" dozens of times, and they're still fresh and sharp. I'm hoping that songs tucked away on singles and EPs like the recent Mo' Living, including "Old Souls Know" and the closer, "Rappaort's Testament: I Never Gave Up," become fixtures as well.