Last night we ate goat cheese and some weird fruit - persimmon! - and drank two bottles of wine before going over to Rothko to see Ted Leo and Benzos perform in a benefit concert for a girl from spinART who is sick but recovering. It was a good cause, but when we got there everything was running late so the sets were cut short - short and sweet but still pretty short.
Benzos kicked off their set with the title track of their upcoming LP, "Morning Stanza" and played a gorgeous set, as always. Seriously, this album is going to blow everyone's mind with how great it is.
Ted Leo was up next, setting up his own equipment and played a great cover of "Factory Girl" by the Rolling Stones. Everything was going smoothly and the crowd seemed really into it, until an amp blew out or some other technical snafu occured. Poor Ted seemed kind of frustrated, but reminded himself and the crowd that we were there for a good cause, and came back by launching into perhaps my favorite Ted Leo song, "The High Party" which got everyone going. Unfortunately, as soon as he was done playing it, he was told he only had one more song left.
I was surprised by this because it seemed like everyone there would have stayed to hear him play TWENTY more, but he ended with a Waco Brothers cover of "Northwoods" which was great. Afterwards we were standing around the silent auction table and Leo came up and told the merch guy that he thought his set had sucked, but honestly the only problem for me was its shortness that didn't allow him to really showcase how amazing and talented he is.
Song: Ted Leo - Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone
Benzos - Sore Eyes