What has two stages, six bands, and a room full of Stony Brook music fans? Stony Brook’s Battle of Bands. The ACH and SSO Councils hosted their first Battle of the Bands competition Thursday night in the Black Box Theatre located in the Tabler Arts Center in Tabler Quad.
Students gathered at 8 p.m. on the second floor of the Tabler Arts Centers to watch their fellow schoolmates express their talents for the chance to be named ACH and SSO council’s battle winners. Six bands performed and only three were chosen to move on the finals.
The bands that played on Thursday’s semi-finals were The Gekko State, The Dan DeDora 5, Honus Wagner, Mother F’Nature, Thursday was Cloudy, and Vector Red, respectively. Each artist performed three or four songs either all original tracks or a mix of original songs and a cover.
I personally loved the idea of Battle of the Bands and was really looking forward to going. There should be more places on campus where students can just listen to music. I also thought that the advertising done for this event was a lot better than most events that happen on campus and was impressed with the turn-out.
The bands each brought their own personal style to the stage. From The Dan DeDora 5’s piano-based song “Don’t Look Down” to the crazy guitar riffs of Honus Wagner’s lead guitarist.
“It was awesome, there was a lot of energy, and a lot of people,” said sophomore student, Marvin Parasram. “The three bands that were chosen played well, had good lyrics that all had meaning.” He added, “You don’t find that in a lot of bands.”
After about two hours of performances a decision had to be made, which three bands would make it to the final round? Honus Wagner, Mother F’Nature, and Thursday Was Cloudy have made it to the finals and will perform at 8 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre, Thursday, Apr. 23.
I must say, I happen to think these three bands were well deserving of making to the finals. They each had great stage presence, worked the crowd well and trying to get them pumped up. They also were obviously very talented. I was actually surprised at how many talented musicians there are on campus, some even have demos out and merchandise like shirts on sale.
It is uncertain if the ACH and SSO Councils are planning to make Battle of the Bands an annual event, but given the turn-out for the semi-finals, I think they should really consider it. I can see this easily becoming a very popular event on campus.
“It was a good turn out,” said singer Patrice Zapiti, singer of Mother F’Nature, who has be playing with her band officially since mid December. “I’m pumped,” added Zapiti when asked how she feels about making it to the finals.
The location of the event was big enough to house two stages and a substantial amount of people. Yet it was small enough that you could get close to the actual stage and the band could interact with the audience if they wanted to.
One audience member said that although he thought the event went well, it didn’t meet his expectations. “I expected the event to have more of a concert feel than an actual event. I thought the crowd would be more active,” said Eric Ayende.
