So I had a 4-hour drive to Santa Ana which caused us to miss most of the opening band's set, U.S.E. (United State of Electronica). Now, once you get past their silly band name, they put on a great show. The three songs i managed to catch were extremely danceable and the two female backup singers made sure the crowd was moving. I don't know how their brand of catchy, poppy, dancy, mildly-rocking-but-definitely-groovy synth pop will translate on CD, but this is a great band to catch live, if you aren't afraid to dance.

The Joggers came on next, and the crowd left. This was the first time I listened to the Joggers, and they played some good pop-rock that fit in nicely at a Ted Leo show, but the crowd wasn't digging it. Only a few people stood up front and they didn't look too excited. I felt bad for the Joggers, but what are you gonna do? I drank and showed them support.

Finally, Ted Leo and the Rx's. They played mostly a mix of songs from Hearts of Oak and Shake The Sheets. I'm not too good with song titles, but they played pretty much all of the crowd faves like "Me and Mia," "Little Dawn," and "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?" among others. Ted put on an excelent show, but again, the crowd wasn't very responsive for some reason. The few times that he talked to the crowd, I think my friends and I were the only ones he got a response from. When his guitar string broke, he didn't miss a beat, and all the songs were performed flawlessly. When it was time for an encore, he generously performed three songs. Afterwords, he stayed and talked with fans and signed autographs until everyone left. What more can one say? Ted Leo is the mother effing Man, and the Pharmacists deserve man status as well.