The Rock 'n' Roll Club hosted an incendiary coffeehouse Friday night at Cholmondeley's featuring the likes of Officer May, Eyes like Knives, the Secret Channel and Richmond, Va. natives, Zetamale. The event was modestly attended, with the majority of the audience consisting of the usual cuddly sweater-clad indie kids. The Boston-based trio, Officer May, was the first group to perform. The band hastily took the stage and immediately began to rock with unrestrained, vicious intent. The group's break-neck brand of screamo-funk was exhilarating. The lead singer/guitarist shrieked his self-consciously awkward lyrics - primarily well-crafted tales of undermining authority and fizzling relationships - with accompanying fetal gestures.

As much fun to watch was Officer's tall lanky bassist who laid waste to Chum's inadequate stage. With only an LP of material, the group was surprisingly mature and well composed. Officer May's sound is very similar that of San Diego, CA based label Gold Standard Laboratories and their host of bands including the Locust, Mars Volta and Gogogo Airheart.

The following offering, local band Eyes Like Knives, fell well short of their potentially riveting sound. Their somewhat angular music could be compared to a less intellectual Sonic Youth or a less threatening Trail of Dead. Unfortunately, the band's talent could not live up to their ambition and their performance was as amateur as they come, broken strings and sound difficulties included. Among the highlights of the set were a groovy "My Bloody Valentine" cover and one of the more expansive songs in the bands oeuvre, "Waylo."

Next up was the Boston-based band, the Secret Channel. Their sound was of the fuzz-filled garage rock that has recently overcome the nation, but with a sense of groove that most of these bands lack. Indeed, the Secret Channel was able to come across as rollicking and earnest, without sounding imitative or giddy.

Songs included "The Loudest Sound" and "On the Outside," a selection from their newest album, which was released at this very show. Although they weren't there to revolutionize rock 'n' roll, they were having a heck of a time and so was the audience.

Last on the list was headliner Zetamale. Featuring members from Engine Down, Submerge and Bats & Mice, these kids didn't take the stage until nearly midnight. This delay was partly due to some technical difficulty, but, regardless, they were only allowed to play for about half an hour before calling it quits. Despite their humble willingness to play a free show at a tiny venue like Chum's - for which I'll give them credit - the band was altogether terrible.

These gentlemen are about as pretentious and faux-sensitive as they come. What they lacked in songwriting skills they tried to make up for by filling the stage with gadgetry, like a bass rig that looked like a refrigerator. Lines like "Open your eyes girl / you'll see the light" should be included in an anthology "Emo Lyrics: So Bad it Hurts." The band themselves looked like stunt doubles for another horrible band, The Strokes, although with cleaner haircuts.

Audience reaction to the diverse setlist was on the whole cold. The feeling on the part of this reviewer is that the crowd attending was not so much one of generally interested enthusiasts as a collection of ragtag misfits who haphazardly found themselves at Chum's on Friday.

Was the concert worth your Friday night? Yes. Will more of these types of concerts be hosted on campus? Only with the support of those active and adventurous enough to become involved on campus with the type of music they enjoy. A final note of recognition goes way of Rock 'n' Roll club coordinator, Alissa Nelson '03, who made the effort to book the concert and organize all other elements, including letting Zetamale sleep at her own house.