Canadian weather is all too often unpredictable; it can change at any time for any given reason without any warning. This was proven yet again last week at the Mobile concert, which, due to unexpected rainstorms, forced the concert indoors.

I arrived to the venue at what I thought was a little bit late, only to find out that the concert had been delayed for another hour-and-a-half to allow sound and lighting crews to move the equipment into Forwell Hall from the SUB courtyard. I'm glad moving that equipment was not my job to do it, but my regards to go to the sound and light crew whose hard work in moving the concert indoors allowed the show to continue. As the adage goes: Better late than never.

The first musician that took the stage was Ko Kapches, an artist from Toronto who played guitar and sang to pre-recorded beats and melodies. The songs, of which he only performed a few due to time constrictions, were actually almost reminiscent of Everlast, albeit with heavier, more danceable beats. Although he played well in sync with the music, it seemed as though his songs would benefit from a full backup band, especially as the third song's beat was out of tune with his guitar, making for a slightly ear-wrenching experience. Ko Kapches lyrical content was also questionable at some points, especially when it literally sounded like every third word in his last song was 'represent'. Ultimately, though, the crowd seemed responsive to his music, and despite the fact that he might be better billed on a hip-hop concert, he provided an entertaining start to the night.

After Ko Kapches set and a brief set-up, The Mission District from Montreal took the stage. They seemed much more suited to play with Mobile, and sounded indistinctly like a mix of any three or so generic Canadian rock groups. To memory, none of their songs particularly stuck out in my mind, and this is only a few hours after seeing them play. However, to their credit, they were extremely tight. The singer knew his cues and the band as a whole seemed to work well together. Partway through their set even a mosh-pit broke out, which surprised me because The Mission District are not nearly aggressive or angry enough to justify such an occurrence. Security broke it up soon thereafter anyway.

At this point, doors at the back of the stage were opened to cool the warm air encapsulated in Forwell Hall. After what seemed to be unnecessarily long (especially after the initial hour-and-a-half delay), Mobile took the stage and the lead singer explained the reason for the wait, which happened to be keyboard problems. They were forced to adapt their live show to compensate for this technical difficulty, but had they not mentioned this fact, it would have been virtually impossible to tell otherwise.

Mobile, like The Mission District, were very tight as a live band, apparent right from their opening song “Montreal Calling,” one of the radio hits from Mobile's newest album Tomorrow Starts Today. A few songs in, the band started to converse with the audience, but what little stage banter they did provide actually seemed to counter intuitively detract from the show itself. Nevertheless, their set did gain more interest as it continued, and they even treated the audience to a cover of The Police's “Message in a Bottle.”

Admittedly, I made the slight mistake of going to the concert with preconceived notions of the bands playing, but in truth, what I expected and what I saw were virtually identical. A band like Mobile appeals to a mainstream audience in a very clear way: their songs are catchy, highly structured and well rehearsed. The same goes for their live show. However, while their music might not be my first choice, the crowd of Fanshawe students and the bands alike seemed to be having fun on the floor and the stage, which, in my mind, certainly indicates the success of the show.