Battle of the Bands Review
Written November 24, 2002

On an unusually frigid and bitter Saturday night, those looking for cheap entertainment needed to search no further than Wilf’s, where enthusiastic cheering and quality live music that echoed throughout the Campus Centre revealed that a furious Battle of the Bands was taking place. Hosted and promoted by Radio Laurier, the second annual Battle of the Bands was intended to promote local talent and raise money for Shinerama through a three dollar cover charge. This event was far from a charity case though, as the winning act was slated to take home half of the door’s earnings and play a fifteen minute encore after the competition.

Although running quite a bit later than the show’s slated 8:00 pm starting time, the Battle of the Bands was kicked off by pop-punk act Unfair Advantage. With a sound that reminded me of Rufio or New Found Glory, Unfair Advantage performed with a fair deal of gusto and stage presence despite their excessively high bass levels and somewhat uninspiring lyrics. Their song “Wash Away” struck me as being full of potential and the band finished their set to a smattering of audience applause and general approval, a good opener for the evening.

As the night progressed and the audience, me included, became more intoxicated, a wide variety of talent was displayed for the competition judges to critique. Although every act was worthy of consideration, several bands pulled away from the pack with their performances.

AT Power Supply, a Stratford ska band, performed my favourite set of the night with a solid performance of high energy music that got feet tapping and heads nodding involuntarily throughout the pub. Although very well polished, AT Power Supply looked like they were having a great time on stage and it reflected itself in the crowd’s positive reactions. Of particular interest was the trombone player who was a constant source of amusement, attempting to coerce the Laurier crowd into skank dancing in front of the stage and playing her instrument on top of tables.

Soulution followed up on this great act later in the night with their wicked-good fusion of funk and rhyme which easily got the most audience appreciation to that point. Soulution kept stage banter to a minimum, allowing their intricate weaving of instrumentality and lyricism to do the talking. Soulution’s performance was rife with solos from every member of the band, each individual temporarily taking the spotlight and later passing it along selflessly. Universal audience praise followed Soulution off the stage, and their diversity paid off as they eventually took home second prize.

Laurier’s own Shem mixed up some electronica, which I’m told was a pretty good combination of hip hop and trance. My knowledge of the genre is limited but it sounded interesting and Shem seemed well at ease behind the turntables, joking with the crowd humourously. Masters and Moderns, a self-described emo band from the K-W area, were much like a blend between Saves the Day and Taking Back Sunday and were catchy enough to attract my interest. Other bands included punk act Brave Dancing Sushi and The Warm.

Ultimately taking home first place in the contest was Damien Robataille, a name you may have seen plastered around the school or on flyers promoting his new CD, which is also available in the Bookstore. A pseudo-rock act with an interesting bilingual twist, Damien and his band carried a Weezer-esque appeal to match the music that wowed the crowd and won over the judges. By the time the judges inevitably awarded first place to Damien Robataille, who barely nosed out Soulution for the victory, I was long gone, partially wasted and content in knowing that my night had been well spent at the Battle of the Bands.

Hahaha look at me trying to be all journalistic (until the end). I guess good journalists don't get trashed and miss the winning band though huh? At least I'm honest.