Sweat, hair and delusion

On Thursday I set out, not without trepidation I must admit, to attend Heat 1 of Bandsoc’s annual Battle of the Bands, expecting the mediocrity and overrunning of schedule that seem to be synonymous with any BOTB I’ve ever been to, but I have to say that Bandsoc did a great job in organizing the night and keeping everything running, remarkably, ahead of schedule.

As this was my first BOTB at Warwick, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, although its slightly dubious reputation did leave me with a certain degree of prejudice to overcome. However, with a decent turnout and a good vibe, it was brilliant to see some live music in the Union again and to hear some interesting bands, and the diverse mix of people there showed that there is thankfully a general interest in seeing live acts in the Union.

The first band, Jimmy K and the Collectibles got us off to a somewhat nervous start, with an incredibly overloud bass drowning out much of the first song, but their 90’s pop rock sound was solid and cohesive, with some nice blues influences coming through. The band clearly seemed to enjoy it too, with the guitarist, who had a disturbingly close likeness to Noel Gallagher jumping into the crowd, who seemed to be enjoying what they heard.

After that came Vayu Vata, a distinctly prog metal three piece, who were a tight band and clearly talented musicians, however they would perhaps benefit from recruiting a singer to allow the guitarist to concentrate on his lead work, which was excellent, however his singing voice just wasn’t quite as strong.

Next came my favourite band of the night, One Of Three. This jangly Brit-poppy two piece sounded great considering it was their first gig, with clear influences from the likes of Stone Roses and Oasis, with a superb drummer and talented singer-guitarist. Their melancholic sound was summed up when the front man quipped, “this is for anyone who finds themselves lost in introspective conflict while the world just floats by.” Brilliant. They were followed by my second favourites, Robert and the Naylors, who kicked off with a massive feedback intro to their first song, which, apart from being absolutely earsplitting, also completely fooled me, as when I was expecting a buzzy electronic riff to kick in, instead they brought out some muddy, distorted chords. While the music itself wasn’t amazing, with a certain repetitivity to their songs, their singer more than made up for it, with his Art Brut-esque spoken style and hilarious lyrics entertaining the whole crowd. The band were obviously loving being on Tempo’s mini stage, and had stacks of fun getting the crowd to shout along to “what about ninjas?!”

When the penultimate band, Shred of Dignity came on stage, they left me at a loss as to what to make of them. They had all the hallmarks of a band to be taken with a gargantuan pinch of salt, but sections of the crowd seemed to be getting heavily into them. Their brand of Warhammer metal, with their “sad song about elves” and Lord of the Rings cloaks did seem more than a little contrived, but their stunningly fast lead guitarist and general air of enjoyment made them an extremely entertaining spectacle. The crowd certainly seemed to enjoy them, and who knows, they may be coming to a Guitar Hero near you in the future.

The final band, Rambutan, were by far the most polished outfit of the evening, playing proggy tunes which wouldn’t have been out of place in the 70’s, as if they’d actually been playing them since the 70’s. The lead guitarist’s shockingly nonchalant attitude to how fast his fingers were moving was impressive to watch, and the band as a unit were extremely tight, with their time and key changes handled easily.

It was no surprise then that Rambutan were declared winners, with the brilliantly entertaining Robert and the Naylors in second. Despite the fact that I wanted to see One Of Three get through, hopefully they’ll be able to put some more songs together and maybe find that bassist they were looking for, as they’re definitely my tip for the future from this round. Hopefully next week’s heat will provide us with some more new talent to get excited about, and we’ll see whether the defending champions can hold onto their crown.