BEST OF THE BANDS 2009

Best of the Bands 09 – Review

by Sammy Holmes

Wow! The extremely highly anticipated annual event ‘Best of the Bands’ has flown by, once again, leaving me with a feeling of déjà vous. It was something many people were looking forward to and excited about and yet it seems to be over in the blink of an eye. But it hasn’t failed to deliver! It was everything I expected and more, it well and truly lived up to its expectations. On Friday 8th of May it all kicked off as the Grand Opera House was exploding with promising composers and performers from all over York. The stage was endlessly radiating raw talent as band after band strolled into the spotlight with only one intention; to make music! And by god, did they make music. So many different genres and lyrics were bouncing off the walls and ricocheting off the shimmering chandelier. The whole auditorium was screaming, cheering and clapping with the occasional standing ovation in the stalls.

The evening was brimming with overwhelming guitarists, remarkable drummers, high standard singers, top quality screamers and some truly awesome hair styles! It was an eventful and enjoyable night for all the audience and bands. But the night didn’t pass without its difficulties; there were drumsticks flying, bass strings snapping, guitar leads unplugging, and a few minor technical difficulties. All of which were no limitation for these budding rock stars.

Throughout all the bands there were some amazing male voices heard. Like Jim Green from the Kicks, George Bulmer from Teen Zu and James Rodgers from Airheads. They all impressed me with their ability to hold a tune successfully in a way that was pleasant to listen to. And despite the heavy domination of male performers overall, there were still a handful of females who braved the stage and showed the audience that they were just as talented musicians as the boys, if not more!

There were some ace outfits seen in a few bands but primarily seen in the Airheads who unluckily got burdened with being the first band on – always a tough thing to do. The five boys in this band each wore an opaque overall. This made the performance better to watch as they seemed more coordinated and professional. This made them stick in my mind because they were one of the few bands that had a costume or dress code.

This year it was clear to see that the bands were experimenting with unusual songs and out of the ordinary genres like the Airheads who played ‘YMCA’, Rinse Tyler and The Unit with ‘I’m Blue’, Hot Fudge who performed the Stevie Wonder number, ‘Higher Ground’ and Error State with the sugarbabes song, ‘How I feel about you now’. All of these bands took their individual take on these songs and made it their own creating a unique performance and therefore a new experience for the audience.

My favourite lyrics over the whole night were from the York Arts Academy band, The Galleries. The lyrics were ‘If only it was as easy as paint by numbers’. I thought these were really clever and I think the composer has lots of potential!

The award for Best Team Effort went to Hot Fudge who were the only band to introduce brass into their music. They stood out form the other bands due to this element of variation in the instruments. The award for best individual rightly went to Helgi Clayton-McClure who impressively played bass in two bands, Hot Fudge and The Standbys. Epidemic, being one of my individual favourites deservedly won the awards for best presentation and best studio attitude. Personally I would have loved to see them in the top three as well because of their tight performance; including synchronized head banging! Hot Fudge won their second award in the top three as they received 3rd top band. Second place along with Best cover went to The Kicks from York College, and 1st place was predicatively awarded to one of the oldest bands, Rinse Tyler and The Unit. The winners of Best of the Bands 2009 also managed to secure the title of Best original with their individual song titled ‘My uncles on fire (put him out)’.

Plenty of enthusiasm and charisma was shown on stage on Friday night by the majority of the performers. It made me enjoy the songs more to see that they were enjoying it too. Some bands were especially great with the crowd molding them in their hands like putty with their witty comments and captivating performances. Lots of the bands and individuals showed future promise, so I’m keeping my eyes peeled for their names in the future.

All I can say is it’s a tough act to follow next year.

By Sammy Holmes

I very much enjoyed Best of the Bands, there were some great performances and it was an eventful night. First up were Airheads, their cover of YMCA was very entertaining and the creative outfits of boxers and see-through body suits added to the fun of the performance! The boys took risks by choosing YMCA and showed determination by coming back to BOB for their 3rd year. Their song was catchy and the lead vocals were very impressive. They were lacking in involving the audience, but other than that, Airheads were hard to fault.

Next was Epidemic, one of my favourite bands of the night. Although 'screamo' isn't normally my choice of music, I thoroughly enjoyed their performance. Very good screaming, and their song was very good, and I was amazed they had written it themselves. The band had amazing stage presence and as a member if the audience, I felt very involved. I particularly was impressed with the synchronised head banging! The guys left with 2 well earned prizes at the end of the night.

The next band was Teen Zu, my favourite band of the night. They described themselves as 'jolly rockers' and by the end of their performance it was clear to see that they definitely were. They were very exciting and energetic; I was particularly impressed with the drummer of the band. They were very happy and powerful, but I was unfortunately disappointed that the band left with nothing.

Up next were the 2009 winners Rince Tyler and the Unit. The well deserved winners did a fantastic of I'm Blue and really got the crowd going. They were cool and energetic with a huge fun feel to them. They were very original and I was very impressed with the fantastic band. And it was no surprise they left with the first place prize.

Next was a band from Millthorpe, The Standbys. I'd heard that these were one of the favourite bands to win, but personally I wasn't that impressed with their cover, but their song was very catchy and I soon began to grow on the band. They weren't as involved with the audience as other bands however I was impressed with their bassist and their creative song writing and the cheerful vibe to their song writing.

Error State were next, their song, Summertime, was brilliant and when they were performing I felt that it was the kind of song I would go out and buy. I didn't enjoy their cover of Sugarbabes 'About You Now' but it was a brave choice of song and I would give them full marks for originality.

The Galleries were next, the energy performed by this band was amazing! The lead female guitarist and singer was brilliant, she showed serious 'girl power' and I very much enjoyed their cover of 'Take on Me'. Their own song was even better and I would buy it today! I would say out of all of the bands, it was one of the best written songs out of them all.

Next was 2nd place winners of the night- Hot Fudge. The young band from York Arts Academy had a very fun vibe to them, and the trombone and trumpet playing created a happy mood to their music. Both the songs were very good choices and I thoroughly enjoyed them both. They deserved 2nd place for taking a risk and performing a different genre of music to the other bands on the night. The bassist of the band, Helgi Clayton, also got the prize for best individual of the night.

Next was Ubiquity, the very hardcore screaming band was my least favourite band of the night. Just for the simple reason that this is not my type of music and, unlike Epidemic, I couldn't find myself growing on it. The screaming was good, but unfortunately halfway through their cover the drummer lost his drumstick and they had to start again, making the performance drag on a bit for me.

Kaleidafunk were the next band, they had cool laid- back feel to them, they had catchy songs but unfortunately they weren't memorable band for me, unlike other bands during the night.

The youngest band of the night, G-String, were up next. They were a very cute band and were very impressive to say they were only together for 6 months. They were very well presented and their song was catchy and fun. They had a lot of talent for their age and showed promise. The Future were next and from an audience point of view it was clear to see that the boys had a passion for what they were doing. I was particularly impressed with the bass player and the drummer. Unfortunately I did feel like they played it safe in a way and maybe could have done something more spectacular with their performances.

Last but not least were the Kicks. The York College band showed a great amount of talent throughout the night and very much deserved the 2nd place. They had a relaxed, clam vibe about them and the boys dressed in skinny jeans. They were original and their song was fun and I found them very entertaining.

Best of the Bands was a very good night as it is every year. I was pleased with the winners but was disappointed that other bands that I expected to win prizes unfortunately didn't.