PKG's Battle of the Bands

Five bands. One cavernous stage. One winner. The 2010 UPC Battle of the Bands did not disappoint, showcasing everything from hard rock to hip hop fusion over the three and a half hours of live music. More than 200 people looked on as Pompadour, a four member group with a great female drummer, took home the crown in front of a largely tepid crowd, who remained motionless even through funky grooves played out over a great system. Judges included Jacob Wolf of Nailgun Media, Zack Peters of Red Light Management, Andrew Cedermark of C-Ville Feedback, Michael Bishop, a U.Va. professor and former member of GWAR, and Brad Savage of local radio station 106.1 The Corner.

First to go on were St. Gods, who kept the crowd entertained with their engaging stage banter. At one point, they encouraged the crowd to shout insults at them, not satisfied with the whoops and cheers they had been getting. The vocals, as the judges noted, were particularly good, as the singer was a dead ringer for Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs. I particularly enjoyed their third song, as it told a story of plans gone astray, like getting on a train to New York and ending up in Spain, evoking the kind of disoriented longing that you feel in a dream.

After a fifteen minute break, Las Fusionistas took the stage. They provided a striking contrast to St. Gods, with layered jazzy beats replacing straightforward rock and roll. Featuring eight members, including a saxophonist and keyboardist, the Stevie Ray Vaughn-esque guitars floated over tight, twangy bass grooves as the lead singer rapped, complemented nicely by airy female vocals. The judges particularly enjoyed their second song, “Mr. No Good,” which lamented a philandering boyfriend who defended himself from sung accusations. It was catchy, tight, and together. On their last song, they channeled Kanye and Jay-Z, livening up things with a decent cover and a distinct Motown vibe.

Pompadour came out to a decent reaction for their energetic first song. Repeatedly describing their heavy Celtic Woman influence, this group, which featured two men along with the female lead vocals and drumming, sounded more like Foo Fighters than Dolores O’Riorden. One vocalist had a strong, self-assured voice, and rocking guitar backed it up nicely, but I really can’t say enough about the drums. On the second song, an extended Jefferson Airplane-like riff was excellent, featuring toms, toms, and more toms and really holding it together. On their third, you could hear Weezer if you tried, along with The Rolling Stones. The judges raved about the “striking, fantastic tone” and original minimalism provided by simple, straightforward, and tight three-piece band textures. At this point, it seemed to be between Fusionistas and Pompadour.

The crowd loved Astronomers, but Iwas less than impressed. That may be a bit too harsh, as they were groovy at times, but these mundane Muse-wannabes ultimately just weren’t as musically interesting as the other acts. It was the boring jam band bit, only a jam band from outer space. The judges thought it was “good stuff,” but I got the impression this was more out of kindness than genuine regard, with one judge seemingly holding back a smile as he gave tongue-in-cheek praise. Of course, playing on stage is never easy, and this four-piece band looked comfortable and polished, although they sounded sadly repetitive as they borrowed from Radiohead. A highlight, however, was a call and response dynamic between the height of the singer’s guitar and the level of crowd noise, concluding with the guitar pointed straight to heaven like a lightning rod amidst massive cheers.

The final group was Superlift, a synth poppy band whose set included guitars reminiscent of Peter Frampton, liberal use of Auto-tune, and a cover of the John Mayer song “Heartbreak Warfare”. Interesting, to say the least. When they weren’t plugging their Facebook or vocodering, they were playing passable pop that was “danceable in the basement of a frat house,” according to one judge.

After some deliberation, the judges went with Pompadour, the deserving winner, and definitely a call I agreed with. In truth, Las Fusionistas were more musically talented, but Pompadour had that extra intangible something that rocked.