An indie rock veteran who used to rest his head in the District, Ted Leo came back home last night for the first of two shows at the Black Cat. We were there, we listened, we danced, and frankly, if you want an objective review of his musical process, a thoughtful description of his showmanship style, or a detached account of his set list, well ... you’ve come to the wrong place. We were just rocked too damn hard last night by Mr. Leo & Co. to see straight today.

We arrived at the Black Cat, shivering from the wickedly cold December night, just in time to catch the last third of Mary Timony’s set, who was the first opener. Though we’ve never heard her play before, we had read pieces which compared her to Liz Phair’s daintier sister or a more fragile P.J. Harvey, and her work with Helium is well respected. Unfortunately, when she finally left the stage, we turned to our friend and both of us involuntarily made a face. Color us unimpressed. Her performance seemed toneless, dispassionate and, well, flat-out boring. We had come to be rocked, dammit! And Timony, though admittedly not known for her incredible rocking abilities, didn’t deliver.

Thankfully, local favorites Washington Social Club, fresh back from a stint as Carson Daly’s in-house band, quickly changed the vibe of the show back to one of unstoppably awesome power pop. We’re terribly late to the game when it comes to WSC, having only seen them for the first time live a month or so ago, but we’ve come to realize what most people in the D.C. area have understood for quite a while: Washington Social Club writes undeniably catchy songs; they put on one hell of a live show; and, as their website says, if you can’t dance to WSC, you can’t dance. The middle of their performance sank slightly under the weight of some older generic-sounding material, but whenever they played songs from their latest album, "Catching Glances," the rousing vocals and clean, sprightly pop filled the Black Cat with a glee that had even the most stoic indie kids bobbing their heads and grinning.

After a lengthy break in between sets, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists didn’t come out till almost 11:30 -- late for a school night, and we, in our ripe old age, had already emitted a few yawns and complained of back pain from standing too long. But as soon as Leo appeared on stage, wearing an easy grin and immediately launching into a barrage of songs from perennial favorite album "Hearts of Oak," we, along with the rest of the crowd, straightened up, smiled and started singing along.

The set list was a good mix of songs from all of Leo’s albums, and though we aren’t as in love with the tunes from his latest, "Shake the Sheets," (don’t kill us!), they came across well live, treated by Leo’s raw, relentless guitar-playing and passionate vocals. The one problem we have with his live show is the lack of backing vocals, which often play a prominent part on the albums. The bass player, Dave Lerner, had a microphone in front of him, but he seemed partly asleep for most of the performance and never even approached the microphone. We were half-ready to leap on stage, knock him aside, and start singing backup ourselves, but somehow managed restraint.

Overall, except for some heckling from a few over-eager fans, the show managed to have both a mellow and a rousing, inspiring atmosphere. Leo’s songs, while melodic and uplifting, are undeniably politically charged and strident; yet he never preached to the crowd about his political views during the show -- he simply engaged in some friendly banter, told a story or two, and affably gulped down a shot of whiskey bought for him by a fan. But Leo isn’t afraid to tackle the tough questions and address delicate issues in his music; in a recent interview with Spin, he said, "What drew me to the Clash and [other political punk bands] was that even if you weren’t talking about something specifically political, there was always some existential crisis. I don’t see that anymore. It’s really just marketing. What do kids like? Well, they like girls. I guess I sound like a crotchety old man, but it’s important to raise the bar."

And he does raise the bar with in his live show and his albums, managing to engage listeners with significant lyrics and a frenetically catchy live performance. You’d be a fool to miss it -- luckily, with a second show by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists tonight at the Black Cat, you don’t have to. So get out there and listen.