[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. (more…)
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