YES.  Cardiff welcomes a proper bloody indie hero for the first time, and not without some prior effort from your estimable hosts at Lesson No. 1.  Politicised socially-aware rabble rouser, hardline vegan, twice-over punk hero (a three-album stint leading cult mod/punk heroes Chisel preceded the Pharmacists) and Anglophile adopter of hybrid musical styles (punk, folk, ska…), Leo’s fit a fair bit into a career spanning nearly twenty years.  Having recorded for an enviable series of fine labels – Gern Blandsten, Lookout!, Touch & Go – the Pharmacists released sixth full-length The Brutalist Bricks on Matador in March, and a fine return to peak form it is – perhaps his best since 2003’s bloody brilliant Hearts Of Oak.  In a place the size of Buffalo, with a whip-smart band featuring ex-Nation of Ulysses/Make-Up man James Canty on guitar, this is not to be missed.

There’s superbly-chosen support, too.  Bedford Falls basically petitioned to play this gig, and their heart-on-sleeve punk (think early Lemonheads, Buffalo Tom, Hüsker Dü) should be an excellent foil for the passion and tunes of Ted Leo.  Spencer McGarry Season, meanwhile, shared much of Leo’s powerpop dynamism on debut album Episode 1, and while the current set offers a very different approach the songwriting quality is undiminished if not stronger.  Seriously, n0t to be missed.

Lesson No.1/Loose/Bethan Elfyn presents

TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS
www.myspace.com/tedleo

SPENCER MCGARRY SEASON
www.myspace.com/spencermcgarry

BEDFORD FALLS
www.myspace.com/bedfordfalls

7.30pm

£7 adv/£8 on the door

TICKETS
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/72206