Show Review

The first act we were able to witness at 8:25 sharp was Facing New York, a band I have seen a few times and am always impressed by. It's sad to see that not many people are catching onto their arty, rhythm-induced rock jams, and I absolutely love the way this band absolutely rocks out live. They played tracks from their debut full-length, the self-titled "Facing New York," and their guitarist once again was absolutely thrashing his guitar. Noisy, energetic, and truly on-par with their album, this band is easily one of the more underrated bands in the scene today.

I wish I could say I was more into The Valley Arena, but I'm pretty over their noisy, clashing guitars and vocals. They definitely know how to rock out and have a good time on stage and would certainly please any fan of their debut, "Take Comfort In Strangers," but after seeing this band some 5 times I must say I was pretty sleepy by the end of their set. If you're a fan of their album, you would likely enjoy watching them live, though, as their drummer and guitarist seemed to be able to recreate the chaos of their album well.

Likely my most anticipated "indie label" release of this year, Controlling The Famous recently finished their debut (about 4 days before this show) with Alex Newport. While it's not set to release until May, "Automatic City" promises to be killer--shouty, belligerent choruses and mathy, Pinback-esque guitars all with a superb sense of melody and lyrical content? Yes please.

The band opened with "Detox," the punchy, in-your-face song with powerful verses and choruses. Once again this band's prowess isn't in any one territory--melodic, perfect vocal harmonies, beyond stellar drumming, punchy, on-time bass lines, and driving, scattered guitars all couldn't sound better. Every time I see them, Controlling The Famous seem to blow my mind, and their new jams were out of this world. Insane rhythms, style, and stage presence always make for a good time with Controlling The Famous. Fans of their EP will be glad to know they play "Detox," "Same As It Was," and of course close with "Easy Life," and new track titles played this included the aptly titled "Highway Parking Lot," the swirling "Heart Attack" (yes, you can download a demo on EmotionalPunk.com), the energetic "Pyromaniac" and "If You Die" alike, and a new track which was still untitled at that point that completely blew my mind. Back-and-forth singing, wonderful melodies and catchy, full-fronted vocal attack combine with smart guitars and stage antics including singer Max Hellmann falling and squirming on the ground during "Easy Life" or guitarist John Collins doing his trademark bobbing guitar move. This band knows how to put on a good show and writes songs that are their own, and I can't be more excited for their debut to finally hit the shelves.

I should note that last Friday, I witnessed Controlling The Famous play for probably about the 5th time with Jack's Mannequin in front of some 500 University of San Diego students. While it was once again amazing to see Controlling The Famous, it just couldn't match up to their performance on that fateful day-before Valentine's Day at the Troubadour, and I strongly suggest that you catch this band on tour this year as they travel east from their home of Los Angeles.

review by Andrew Martin