They ended the main set with a lovely cover of Stiff Little Fingers' Suspect Device. For the encore they played Parallel or Together, which was very nice because it's one of my favourite songs of theirs, but I had forgotten to be waiting for them to play it beacuse I was being inundated with so much great music (I will admit almost all of their songs are favourites of mine). Then they ended the night by playing, by request, a very nicely done cover of Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark.

So by the time they left the stage for good and the house music started once again, it was already 1:30. Some quick math revealed that the band had been up there for something like an hour and forty five minutes! Definitely beyond what you normally expect from a club show, and even if you don't consider the very enjoyable opening band, definitely more than you deserve for seven dollars. And in the aftermath, I've had seven or eight Ted Leo/Rx songs happily wedged in my head constantly trading places and vying for attention, which is usually a good sign.

The final verdict: Near perfection. Hands down the best concert I have ever seen for less than $10. I can't logically expect to see a better show this year, except perhaps when Ted Leo comes back, as he promised he would. And when Ted Leo returns to London, Hamilton, Toronto, or wherever, you owe it to yourself to go see him. I intend to remind you.