For a rock star, Ted Leo is about as down-to-Earth as they come. Not long after Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves finished their forty-minute set on Saturday night, Leo and his fellow Pharmacists took to soundchecking their own instruments, setting the mood for an intimate yet energetic night at West Hollywood’s Troubadour. As the clock struck ten, the Pharmacists jumped right into the opening track from their new album, “The Mighty Sparrow,” marking the beginning of a whirlwind set of material in support of their latest release The Brutalist Bricks.

While Leo is a powerful force of rock-and-roll on his own, the other Pharmacists filled out the rest of the band’s sound, providing a solid backing to Leo’s relentless hooks. Throughout the night guitarist James Canty and Leo traded lead and rhythm guitar bits, hammering out tightly-wound solos that danced around the bass lines and drum fills. Leo and crew rocked the venue, easily playing with more energy and fervor than musicians half their age.

Regardless of how determined they were to rocket through their lengthy set, the Pharmacists were slowed by a need for frequent retuning which left them open to hecklers. And Leo wasn’t too shy to play along: he readily responded to most of the comments he received throughout the evening, ultimately pleading, “Since when did this become request night?” But he soon made amends, laughing, “the only reason I’m so combative is because I’m in a good mood. Trust me, we spent time coming up with a pretty good set list, so let’s try to get through it all.” Coming off their new album the band focused largely on their recent material, although crowd favorites “The High Party” and “Timorous Me” still wiggled their way into the set list, much to every TL&Rx fanboy’s delight.

After a timely hour-long set, the band left the stage, and Leo returned for a covers-laden solo encore. With just a microphone and an electric guitar, Leo once again established his place as a commanding singer-songwriter by proving the power of a singer’s voice paired with a jangly guitar. When Leo fumbled through a cover of Aimee Mann’s “Freeway,” it came off as more endearing than unprofessional – missed chords were shrugged off with a laugh, and the crowd was still glad to forgive such minor missteps.

The highlight of the night came when Leo played “Timorous Me,” starting solo before being reunited with the rest of his band to finish out the tune. After another track from fan-favorite album The Tyranny of Distance, the band closed out with a raucous rendition of the Misfits’ “Angelfuck,” ending the night with the same energy that they started it with.

A strong performance is what makes a show good, but what made Leo’s set great was his ability to interact with the crowd and create a dialogue rather than simply carrying out a routine. Leo has always been adamant about his respect for the punk scene in which he grew up, and this desire to connect people through music translated magnificently: whether belting out in his trademark falsetto, countering the hecklers in the audience, or powering through a blistering solo, it’s clear that Leo is an entertainer through and through.

Set List:

“The Mighty Sparrow”

“The Sons Of Cain”

“Mourning In America”

“The One Who Got Us Out”

“Me and Mia”

“Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?”

“Ativan Eyes”

“Even Heroes Have To Die”

“The Stick”

“The High Party”

“One Polaroid A Day”

“Counting Down The Hours”

“Little Dawn”

“Bottled In Cork”

”Colleen”

“A Bottle Of Buckie”

“Where Was My Brain?”

Encore:

“Fisherman’s Blues (Waterboys cover)” solo

“Freeway (Aimee Mann cover)” solo

“Timorous Me”

“Parallel Or Together?”

“Angelfuck (Misfits cover)”