Battle of the Bands 2011 Heat Two

Last Thursday saw Heat Two of 2011 Battle of the Bands tournament come to the Copper Rooms. In comparison to last year, Thursday’s heat was of an exceptionally high standard.

The first band to hit the stage were _Droplets in the Ocean_ who won over the crowd with a cover of Muse’s ‘Muscle Museum’. However, the easy crowd pleasing cover belied the fact that the band could well have done with more practice; as they were not nearly as tight as they could have been, or many of the other bands playing today.

Following on, BOTB veterans _Fly By Night_ gave the same kind of excellent performance that carried them through to the final of last year’s battle, getting a great reaction overall.

_Monastery of Sound_ gave a strong performance with rich vocals – reminiscent of bands like The Calling – and well-written, memorable songs. _The Phonetics_, too, were good to watch and played well together as a band, looking very collected on stage as they showcased their chilled indie.

The band that stood out most, though, were _To Plant a Seed_, whose genre-breaking sound fascinated the crowd and evidently caught the ear of the judges who put them, along with _Fly By Night_, through to the next round. Seed’s two guitarists later told me that music wasn’t the only influence behind their unique brand of experimental psychadelia.