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It’s been a good year for Ekko Astral. The DC punks signed to Topshelf, became our Band To Watch, and released their rowdy debut pink balloons, which earned a spot on our list of The 50 Best Albums Of 2024 So Far. On Thursday, they joined Ted Leo And The Pharmacists onstage in their hometown for an Adam And The Ants cover.
Ekko Astral are currently on tour with Ted Leo And The Pharmacists, who are celebrating 20 years of Shake The Sheets. At the 9:30 Club, Ted Leo brought out Ekko Astral to perform Adam And The Ants’ “Dog Eat Dog.” They also did this on Wednesday in Asbury Park.
Also in DC, Ted Leo And The Pharmacist covered “Since U Been Gone” for the first time in 14 years by audience “demand,” though no videos are available yet. Before “viral” was really a thing, Leo’s acoustic 2005 Kelly Clarkson cover was a big deal on music blogs like stereogum.com in an era when indie and pop rarely met.
On June 13 in New Orleans, Ekko Astral also joined IDLES onstage for “Rottweiler” from their 2018 LP Joy As An Act Of Resistance at the Fillmore. “thank you to the magnificent idles for inviting our spunky little d.c. punk band on stage in the south,” Ekko Astral wrote about it on Instagram. “we’re so grateful and honored to have shared such beautiful rooms and incredible music with your extraordinary fans. compassion, community, empathy and resilience: the world of idles embodies a better future. we’re humbled to have played our part within it.”
Watch footage of both performances below.