Wintertime in Boston is no fun, so it’s always nice to have an awesome show to warm you up. Ted Leo and Kristeen Young descended on the glamorous Roxy this past Saturday to try to make the nearly sold out crowd forget just how freakin’ cold it was outside.
Kristeen Young took the stage decked out in a ballerina-esque outfit covered with plastic soda can holders (you know, the kind you’re supposed to cut up so fish don’t get caught in them) and extreme makeup. Over the next 40 minutes, she divided the audience with her mix of cabaret-inspired music that takes cues from Bjork, Joanna Newsom, and the Dresden Dolls. Her high pitched and high ranging vocals certainly matched her unique dance moves that had her making full use of the stage, but her self-deprecating comments were kind of a mood killer. “I LOVE YOU!” someone yelled from the audience, in which Young responded with, “If you knew me, you wouldn’t.” Bummer. The audience was certainly unsure of what to think of Kristeen Young’s act, but it seemed like that’s exactly what she wanted. Bjork comparisons be damned!
Jersey’s son (no, not The Boss) Ted Leo may have disappointed with his latest album Living With The Living, but his live show is always a consistently freakin’ awesome good time. Ted’s catchy hooks, power-pop guitars, and unrelenting energy culminate in an exhilirating performance that makes you want to simply sing until your lungs give out. Although the crowd mostly stood in place and nodded along to the beat, Mr. Leo and his Pharmacists bounced all over the stage while blazing through newer tracks like “Bottle of Buckie” and “Bomb. Repeat. Bomb,” and older jams like “Timorous Me,” “Little Dawn,” and “Bridges, Squares.” In between dealing with hecklers, one girl who was celebrating her 14th birthday, and overzealous fans asking for his used handkerchief, Ted Leo exuded cool simply from just being on stage. The man from Jersey never lets his audience down and walking outside into the blistering Boston winter after the show ended didn’t seem as bad as it once did.
View more photos from the show right here.
Kristeen Young
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
