I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: August 24, 2019] Control Top

I have wanted to see Ted Leo for a while.  In fact I almost saw him July 1 at Boot & Saddle, but that was a hectic week for me.  The opening band for that show was Tact, a Philadelphia band.  I was sure that after missing that show I’d have to wait a while for him to come around again.

But then he announced a brief tour that stopped in his once home state of New Jersey.  And I got to go to White Eagle Hall.  I love the venue.  It has great sound and it’s pretty close.  But man the lighting is terrible for taking pictures.

The opening band for this little tour was Control Top, another Philadelphia band.  Philly has been producing some great bands of late and Control Top is definitely one of them.

I was surprised by this billing because they couldn’t be any different.  It’s true that Leo has roots in the punk scene but Control Top is pure screaming punk through and through. like on “Black Hole”

I listened to their album before the show and was pleased by their roaring sound and the intense vocals of Ali Carter.

But I was totally unprepared for the guitar theatrics of Al Creedon.  He didn’t do anything fancy but the noises that he wrung from that guitar were just unbelievable.  Even moreso was that he could come out of squalling noises like in “Type A” and jump right into a pretty or unexpectedly light riff. 

With Carter’s bass keeping the songs steady, Creedon’s guitars were free to explore all over the place.

Back on drums was Alex Lichtenauer.  He was a lot of fun to watch because he was just smashing the hell out of everything–but in a perfectly controlled manner–a good trick, that.

And they were tight as a drum–doing breakneck pace and hairpin turn with ease, like in “Traffic.”  And yet the songs were also catchy with great riffs, like “Type A.”

Their sound was huge.  They played about nine songs, including a cover (no idea what the cover was).  I don’t know which songs they played because I didn’t have the record yet.  I assume they were all from their debut album Covert Contacts (released on the excellent label Get Better, which Lichtenauer runs).  I have since figured out that this song is “Unapologetic.”

About half way through the set, Carter put her bass down and hopped off the stage.  She sang amid the crowd, getting right up in people’s faces as she screamed her lyrics.  She ran from one side to the other (getting her mic cord wrapped around my leg) and then eventually lying on the floor screaming the end of the song.  All the while the band raged on unfazed.  Carter climbed back up onstage and then proceeded to collapse on the stage. It was pretty intense.

The end of the set proved just as intense as the first–no tender ballads here.  There were moments as Carter sang lyrics like in “Straitjackets” where she would be looking down at her bass and then look up over the mic with a dark accusatory glare as she sang

I can’t see the sky
But I know that it’s there
And I can’t breathe tonight
We’re all living in fear
Solitude is the only freedom we have
Because society has us in straight jackets

But her demeanor when talking to us was rather sweet.  And indeed, when I went back to look at the merch after the show, Ali was there selling their stuff (only S and XL left, they’re a band of opposites).  She was super friendly and pleasant.  I bought their CD and it’s really good all the way through.

Thanks Ted, for introducing me to Control Top.  And thanks Philly for producing so many good bands.

The Tact album is quite good too, by the way.