Battle of the Bands 2011 Heat Three

As if the already fierce competition could not intensify further, heat three of Battle of the Bands 2011 was in everyone’s estimations the surprise “heat of death”. A staggering display of fresh talent was witnessed last Thursday, creating a very tough decision for the judges to call.
The evening’s entertainment commenced with a tight energetic performance from Bandsoc residents _Don’t Feed The Robot_. The band, and lead singer in particular, took command of the whole stage with their diverse indie pop-rock sound. They delivered a tightly controlled performance, interspersed with melodic guitar solos and funky breakdowns. With an almost flawless musical offering from a clearly experienced band, it came as a surprise to many that they did not rank amongst the top two bands of the night.

The second band _Wall Street Crash_ soon took to the stage and easily won the prize for the most entertaining band. The trio were clearly a group formed on the basis of their classic rock interests as they delivered timeless covers of ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door’ and, in a fantastically comical fashion, the theme song from School of Rock. These guys kept the crowd consistently entertained with powerful guitar riffs and a (questionable) reggae version of ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door’. Although they obviously lack originality, a bassist, and a fully clothes lead-singer, they are easily forgiven as they created a sea of smiling faces amongst the crowd.

Band of the night and heat winners, _Scored for Style Points_, took control of the venue and crowd from the offset. Their dramatic intro (the theme tune to the Harry Potter movies) immediately grabbed the audience’s attention and paved the way for a rigidly tight performance of sweet pop-punk melodies. Their song-writing skill shone through as their slick, infectious hooks and well-timed breakdowns won over an already avid crowd. One could criticise them for their lack of innovation, however, with this genre everything is in the spirit of fun and not to be taken seriously, which meant the crowd were able to let loose and enjoy the energy-infused set from a great band.

_A Devious Mind_, given a tough act to follow, held their own splendidly and presented themselves to all be competent musicians. The vocalist in particular was the driving force of this hard rock quartet, but she was supported well by crunching metal riffs and pounding rhythms from the rest of the band. Whilst this band was overall highly impressive, they lacked a definitive stage presence and finely crafted songs. However, they effectively proved to the crowd they have the potential for greater things.

Penultimate act, _Heroes Go South_, having unfortunately been drawn in such a tough heat were somewhat swept away by the overwhelming display of talent. They made efforts to put forth their pop-punk upbeat melodies, however with _SFSP_ already nailing this genre, _HGS_, paled in comparison. Recognition must go, however, to their dedication to the performance and denial to simply just be beaten. They put up a good fight with their punk edge music and actually stood out at one point with a perfectly harmonised acapella breakdown giving them much musical credibility.

Finally, the night ended on a somewhat odd note. Resident prog band _Clockwork Heart_ experienced an array of technical issues forcing a long awkward silence. However, once things finally kicked into gear, they were well worth waiting for. Being, perhaps, the most musically aware band to grace the bandsoc stage in a while, _CH_ produced an atmospheric, enchanting and haunting set that ranged all musical genres from lounge jazz to funky psychedelic music. They had fantastic interplay between the lead guitar and electronic keyboard, with a well-grounded rhythm section giving consistent support. Whilst one could criticise them for their somewhat static performance on stage, their sharp, powerful set won them second place in a very tough heat.