“In all fairness, it’s better than another “crystal” or “wolf” band…”

- Ted Leo (via @TedLeo)

Ted Leo tweeted this over the weekend, and I’ve been laughing about it since.

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I’ve been sitting on two amazing covers that Ted performed back in October at the Matador/ True Panther 2009 CMJ party at the Suffolk…it’s not too often you get to see a Melvins cover and a Stiff Little Fingers cover in the same set (not to mention the Misfits’ “Hybrid Moments.”)

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While I’m on the topic of Mr. Ted Leo I have to say that his new album Brutalist Bricks, released on Matador back in March, has pretty much been one of the only things I want to listen to lately.  It was a little bit of a slow grower, but everytime I hear this album it grows on me more and more.  There is no question that Ted makes great albums, but I really feel that this one is something special.  If you haven’t already checked out the single, “Even Heroes Have to Die,” you should probably  dothat now:

[mp3] Ted Leo- “Even Heroes have to Die”

• Buy Brutalist Bricks here.

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• More on Ted Leo can be found here.
• FOLLOW @TEDLEO ON TWITTER!
• More videos from the Matador showcase including “Even Heroes Have to Die,” “The Mighty Sparrow,” and “Hybrid Moments” after the jump.

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It’s not often you hear two three bands cover the same song with in a week of each other, but with Halloween quickly approaching I guess it’s not a surprise that the Misfits are out in various forms.

I’m actually really happy to be hearing covers of the Misfits, because although I hadn’t thought about it until recently the Misfits are one of those punk bands, especially down south, that gets embraced by frat boys.  Where you might be walking past a Frat house, and hear it blasting loudly out of the windows.  Nothing wrong with this, but not the punk rock mentality I had when I was rocking it in eighth grade…and after all the Misfits weren’t all that great after Walk Among Us.

The first cover was a little more out of left field, and came from the pop group A Sunny Day in Glasgow, who are headed by Ben Daniels.  I haven’t put on a Misfits’ album in years, but this cover seems to be popping up on my iPod quite a bit these days.   It’s an interesting more upbeat take on the goth punk classic, and in my opinion done really well.

[mp3] A Sunny Day In Glasgow- “Hybrid Moments”

During all of the CMJ craziness I was fortunate enough to make it into the Matador/True Panther showcase at the Suffolk last Friday night.  The Suffolk was a weird space with a lobby area that felt like a warehouse,  a tiny little bar, a theatre that had random bleacher seats on the side, and a smoking area that wasn’t much bigger than my living room which had formerly been covered in sand.  The space was pretty empty, but the owner of the space (not Matador) was freaking out, and said it was at capacity.  People got let in slowly, but friends of mine waited in line for well over an hour.

It was all worth it for Cold Cave (more to come on them later), and Ted Leo. This was my first time seeing Ted Leo, and while I have known about his music for a long time this year is the first time that I have really gotten into it.  I knew that Ted Leo had been associated with the punk scene, and put out numerous albums on the new defunct Lookout! Records, but when listening to his unique voice and great guitar on your stereo you don’t necessarily realize that his shows are very much punk rock.

Ted Leo played an amazing set, and the second to last song was…you guessed it:

Ted Leo- “Hybrid Moments” live at the Matador/True Panther Party at The Suffolk

Please excuse the shakiness…I got a little bit moshed, and as you can see by the end of the video security wasn’t so happy about the moshing/stage diving…I guess they deserved it for being so up tight about letting people in.  Ted Leo really knows how to bring it.

And while I’m at it…the original:

This puts me in the mood for pumpkin carving… tonight.

UPDATE:

Ryan over at Catbird Seat just posted another version of “Hybrid Moments” in the comments.  This time it is the Minus Story.

[mp3] Minus Story- “Hybrid Moments”

this version appears on the Minus Story’s Heaven and Hell.  Buy it here. This is the most mellow of the four versions, and makes me think that I should probably be checking out more music by the Minus Story…a great introduction! Thanks again Ryan.

Links:

• Buy releases by A Sunny Day In Glasgow here.
• Buy releases by Ted Leo here.
• Buy the Misfits’ Static Age here.
• Buy releases by Minus Story here.