Controller. Controller.

When I go to a show, I like to witness the entire line-up because, if booked properly (and I've been privy to ones that weren't and it's not pretty), the opening bands usually give you an indication of where the headliners are coming from. In most cases, if you like the headliners, you'll like the others. So, when I ventured out of my house on Thursday night around 10:30, I was expecting to arrive in good time to grab a beer, spy the best viewing area (which is considerably hard at Call the Office, there being gigantic posts everywhere and me being short…er.) But alas, it was not to be. In fact, the first band, of THREE, had just finished their set. What was this nonsense? Well, it wasn't nonsense. It was No Dynamics, which, according to friends, “put on a good set.” Now, don't I feel terrible, since I'm the one having to write the review on a band I didn't get to see…But who is to blame?

So ANYWAYS, the three-piece Magneta Lane was the second band, of THREE, to play. (And hot-boxing my car almost caused me to miss them too.) Magneta Lane is a breath of fresh air after inhaling way, way too much mainstream music. They're doing their own punk, dance, toe-tapping thang filled with a pulsating rhythm section and gritty guitar. The vocals are often reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. Unfortunately, it was Lexi Valentine's vocals that caused the band to duck out early claiming that she was sick. Not only was she ill, but the lack of dynamics between the threesome made it rather apparent that the band was not keen to play a long set to a bunch of university jocks wearing Campus Crew hats, backwards.

And so, controller.controller. took the stage around 11:30 and they played. The crowd, which seemed to be there not for the music but for the chance to say to their ‘cool' friends that they saw a ‘cool' band, bobbed their heads. Yet despite most of the lame-o crowd, controller.controller did not disappoint. Singer Nirmala Basnayake was full of energy and was a delight to watch writhe around onstage while one of the guitarists stepped into the crowd on more than one occasion. (And when he went back onstage, he like, totally touched my shoulder…. he was a lot shorter than I had thought.)

There is no questioning that this band is good. Their songs are full of catchy guitar riffs and disco beats; jangly guitar rock at it's finest. Unfortunately, they ended their set way too early due to the fact that it “was exam week.”

Good music on the whole AND I got to go home early and study for my psych. exam.
Next Article