The best band you've probably never heard of

I almost missed seeing and hearing some of the most phenomenal guitar playing ever, live or otherwise. A friend and I wandered into Kilroy's Sports Bar with absolutely no intention of encountering anything that would enlighten our musical tastes when, while playing pool in the back-downstairs section, these insane guitar riffs somehow began filtering downstairs and found their way to our ears. After a minute or two, I caught myself grooving to them. I dropped everything, namely the pool game that I was wasn't doing too well in, and ran upstairs. \nI was greeted by the band C4 in the middle of one of the hardest rock sets ever. Lead singer Dan Lenegar, seemed to be throwing everything he had into his performance in front of a crowd that, while not at capacity, was nonetheless riveted. \nAfter a couple of songs, Lenegar (the vocalist), bassist Dan Buckley (otherwise known as D-Buck) and drummer John Mrozek left the stage, leaving alone guitarist Michael Angelo. Angelo pulled out this double guitar, which looks like a Siamese contraption joined at the base, and proceeded to play BOTH sides simultaneously! I look around the crowd to make sure that I was not the only person with my mouth agape, and I was reassured because I don't think anyone in the crowd was prepared for one man to sound better than two guitarists. There should have been a disclaimer beforehand that said: "Caution! The band is not responsible for your clinical depression in your attempts to mimic and fail. Thank you."\nAfter a brief set break, they were back up on stage and at it again with the voracity of a band that had just started the night out. The whole time they were going into one heavy rock song after another. With a vocalist that can actually carry a tune instead of the usual screaming, I began to wonder, 'What major record label slept on these guys?" Honestly, with that kind of guitar playing, a vocalist who can actually sing instead of eliciting monotone screams and yelling and an overall great team of musicians, it is still a wonder to me. \nThe Chicago-based Angelo, with his own signature series of Tradition Guitars, a great band in C4 and his M.A.C.E. Music venture, is keeping busy. To check out more of Michael Angelo and C4 visit his Web site at: www.angelo.com for everything from C4 information to what to expect from Angelo and C4 in the future. Also look out for them this fall when they plan a repeat performance in Bloomington.