Desdemona Day 2: Captian of Industry

Captain of Industry is a local band from the Dayton, OH area. I have several friends who are really into this band, but I’d never had a chance to see them live. I own both their albums and really enjoy their music, so seeing them at Desdemona was a definite plus for me.

COI was the opening band for the Saturday afternoon session. When we first arrived at the main stage there were not more than 20 people milling about waiting. I was really suprised at the lack of an audience since it was only a few minutes before 4 PM, when they were scheduled to start playing. I took my position at the very front against the guard railing and within minutes the band walked out on stage and got started.

I was quite pleased with COI’s set. They played several of my favorites off their albums and they seemed to be a very tight act. They really put out a lot of energy, which helped the audience get into the groove for the second day of Desdemona. COI guitarist Kevin Oldfield, donned in a green Pixies tee and hat, slid up and down the neck with the intricate riffs that make COI’s albums so distinct. Perhaps most entertaining was his subtle yet groovy Moonwalk-esque dance routine going on for most of the set. Nathan Peters’ (lead vox/keyboard) vocals were a spot-on match from the album versions and he did a nice job of building the emotion of the set up.

By the time I was really getting into the band their set was over and they were off the stage. I looked around and saw that the twenty-something fans that they had started with had grown to well over a hundred. It was a perfect intro to Day 2 of Desdemona and it really whet my appetite for the musical barrage that would continue into the night. I was really pleased with COI’s performance and can’t wait to see them again in the coming months. I spoke with Nathan later that night and he said they were planning another large local music festival in the Dayton area sometime soon, so hopefully we’ll see some details about that.