Control Top at TV Eye (photo by Kate Hoos)
Right before shit royally hit the fan in March of 2020, I saw Control Top and Weeping Icon play at Union Pool (with Privacy Issues. See my coverage for BrooklynVegan) who were just kicking off a tour together. The mood in the air was ominous and indeed, so were the times; within a week of that show both bands had returned home, the tour cut short because live music was done (for what we didn’t know at the time was for almost 18 months) and lockdown had begun.
Flash forward two and a half years and we—the bands and the fans—finally got the do-over we deserved and were all waiting for, in the form of Control Top playing their first full band show in NYC since March 2020 and being joined by Weeping Icon. I’d seen both bands since that fateful night— some of the first shows I saw as things began to creep back in 2021 were Ali of Control Top playing a sunrise solo show on the Williamsburg Bridge (see pics) and Weeping Icon also at TV Eye (see pics), but it was an absolute delight seeing them together again. Sonically they occupy two different ends of the punk/post punk spectrum, but they work perfectly together.
This was also my first time seeing Weeping Icon since the addition of Heather Elle (also of Flossing) on noise and samples. The WI sound has always been very textured and nuanced, particularly on their records, so it was great to see them with this added layer live.
Control Top was as fiery as ever, blasting through a set of songs largely taken from their excellent 2019 album, Covert Contracts, and excitingly, adding in a few new songs. While nothing has been announced as of yet, here’s hoping this means a follow up album is in the works for 2023.
Also on the bill was Philly based metal band, Sonja, who kicked things off with a hard and heavy set, with this show serving as the release show of their brand new album, Loud Arriver.
It was an amazing full circle moment to finally see Control Top as a trio again and to see them re-unite with Weeping Icon. More shows like this in my life please!
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
SONJA
WEEPING ICON
CONTROL TOP
