The North Magnetic, Damelo & The Americas

The last time I set foot in The Senator was in September of 1998. I sat in the back and munched on popcorn while a story unfolded before my eyes at 24 frames per second. The movie was Dead Man On Campus and the star was that guy who played Zack Morris on Saved By The Bell. Things have changed quite a bit since then. Nowadays, as opposed to paying eight bucks for two hours of mindless Hollywood drivel, you can pay five bucks (or less) for an evening of live music by some of the area's most energetic talent.
The Swords Project was to be the highlight of this particular evening's energetic talent, but they were unable to make it due to a family emergency. Luckily, The Americas were on hand to fill their place. The dynamic duo began the evening with a handful of songs characterized by quick tonal changes. A typical song might begin on a contemplative note, with a simple strumming of the guitar, and then hoodwink you into something that resembles nü metal. At times, they seemed to be testing the audience's patience. Once, the drummer actually put down his sticks and proceeded to make a weird gurgling noise into the mic. It felt very avante garde. I don't think the crowd, which consisted of no more than 30 people, knew what to make of it.
Next up was Damelo. They seemed comfortable on stage and even joked around a bit with the crowd. Their style falls somewhere between hardcore rock, punk and emo. The audience remained pretty tame throughout Damelo's performance, which is surprising given the nature of the band and the type of music they make. Some people bobbed their heads and others swayed from side to side, but there certainly weren't any mosh pits going on. Despite this lack of reciprocation from the crowd Damelo rocked hard. They had some good songs and I'm looking forward to seeing them again.
The last act was a quintet by the name of The North Magnetic. They put forth a sort of hypnotic rock sound. Actually, the songs felt more polished than any of their predecessors. Indeed, they played considerably well as a group. I was a tad bit surprised when they tried to hawk T-shirts to the unassuming crowd right before walking off stage. I dare say they might have made more friends by simply giving the shirts away.
By the end of the night I couldn't feel my toes because it was so cold. This got me thinking about what it must have been like for the ten guys who got up on stage over the course of the night and entertained us. I know from experience how difficult a task it can be to make your fingers play a certain chord when they are just about frozen stiff. That said, everything went well and I'll be looking forward to seeing how each of the three bands progress in the future.
- Ryan Mungia
- Photo by Alyssa Starkey

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