This article was originally published in the November 2, 2007 issue of the Lewis Flyer.

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Generally, cold weather and high wind speeds is a real mood killer for an outdoor concert. How did The Pulse, Lewis University’s student programming board, cope? By moving the concert inside. Duh. Chicago-based act Company of Thieves was scheduled to perform at Lewis’ outdoor pavilion, but inclement weather pushed the concert indoors to the Field House. Accompanying Company of Thieves was a single opening act, Lewis University’s own Get Well Brian.

Get Well Brian had only been in existence for two weeks before taking the stage. While this was noticeable in the impromptu lyric sheets written in a spiral notebook held up by the real Brian, the band exhibited a surprising level of confidence in their performance. Freshman vocalist Caitlyn Stoeckley, no stranger to performing on stage, provided a strong lead to guitarist Stephen Santowski’s rhythm guitar. The potential was there, and it is only a matter of time until they surface again on the scopes of the Lewis music scene.

Company of Thieves provided the unbridled enthusiasm and energy that seemed more accustomed to a national act headlining at the Allstate Arena than a local band performing at a local university’s recreation center. It was not uncommon to see a member of the band twisted and contorted while sprawling themselves across the stage in a pose that would leave a Cirque du Soleil performer in envy. Frontwoman and lead vocalist Genevieve Schatz’s ability to dance about the stage without so much as a quiver or crack in her voice serves as a further tribute to Company of Thieves’ already-honed performance ability.

Listed as ‘rock / indie / other’ on their MySpace page, Company of Thieves certainly deliver elements of all three with a strong emphasis on the ‘other’. The band’s post-rock roots were noticeable in the guitar technique, but was far from being the distinguishing factor. What drove the band’s sound was their blend of guitar effects and riffs, a strong jazz-influenced bass line rife with presence, and independent albeit soothing vocal melody.

Stage presence is far from the only factor governing the success of a band’s performance. Company of Thieves’ lyrics were delivered with a strong sense of emotion and importance as Schatz’s voice explodes across the gym. Her seemingly effortless method of singing, swaying, and tambourine-playing was almost hypnotic, serving as yet another underlying sign of the raw potential in Company of Thieves. The band’s lyrics, written by Schatz and guitarist Marc Walloch, are not overly complicated or complex. As Schatz said while introducing a song, “I wrote this about a really crazy dream I had one night.”

This concert was The Pulse’s first. Although it did not go off without a hitch (I was told stories of a literally last-minute trip to Ikea to buy stage lighting), The Pulse managed to bring a little flavor and excitement to campus that Friday night. Certainly a preview of good things to come.