Last Saturday our beloved McNeil room, packed to the rafters with speakers, lights, and students still working on their CAD toasters, was the scene for a brand new event in the RPI community; UPAC Fall Battle of the Bands, Part Two. Apparently in the past year, RPI has become such a Mecca for musical ingenuity and creativity that UPAC Concerts decided to host two editions of their annual free fall battle. The first showdown, held two weeks prior to this second installment, had a healthy turnout and some good musical styling. But as everyone waited for the first band to get things started at this final fall face-off, we were all wondering if UPAC had saved the best for last.
The first performers of the evening, the Ben Hanley band, started things off right, despite being a little older than what you think of as the average RPI students (I’m pretty sure the bassist is a Dean). Not too hard, not too soft, this threesome’s rock sound was well complemented by the lead guitarist’s full-toned voice, and their commitment to a pure sound. No effects, no pedals, just the gentle twang of a strat, a steady rhythm, and a quick bass hand. Their seven originals (yeah, I have no idea how they thought those would fit in the 20 minute time constraint) stayed well within the realm of a progressive-southern rock sound. The only stray from this sound was their last song, fronting a punk rhythm backbone, while still sticking to traditional classic rock chords.
Overall, their music was not too impressive in the realms of style and instrumental proficiency. The music was relatively simple creatively speaking, they were dynamically well balanced, and still put out some good stuff. So far this evening was worth the price of admission.
After hearing the name of the second band, People on Top of the Statue of Liberty and They’re Threatening to Jump, I was exhausted and I needed a nap. But I knew that with a name like that, this could be interesting. And like the name, this eccentric duo, consisting of a guitarist, a keyboardist/vocal stylist, and a Tascam 4-track tape recorder, was definitely interesting. Playing a handful of original compositions, and one cover track, the singer was a fan of yelling, the guitarist was a fan of jumping. They were both fans of doing whatever they wanted on stage, whenever they wanted to do it, with or without their instruments.
Personally, I don’t really know how to musically review this group’s accomplishments, because I really had no idea what they were trying to accomplish. I saw their performance on stage more as expressions of two entertainers, not two musicians. For example, the singer was out of tune, but for all I know, he wanted to be. All things considered, I drew a blank, and decided to go audience hunting for some other opinions.
One battle witness, Nick, stated, “I feel as if they were mixing creativity with noise. I didn’t really see the meaning behind their art.” Another audience member, Cate, said, “ It sounded like a kinda EMO rock, but not really.” Overall, no matter the opinion, the group was definitely entertaining. Watching them just to see what they were going to do next became easy, and, personally, I had no idea what was going on.
The third band of the night was March 4th, a trio of RPI students with punk on the brain. Their handful of original tunes, and their cover, followed strongly in the punk idiom; power chords, basic structure, fast transitions, and repetitive drum riffs—you know the drill. The most promising aspect of the group was bassist Jon Signore, doubling as lead vocals, with one of the best set of punk pipes I’ve ever heard on stage in the McNeil room, ever.
The drumming could have been more forceful (if you have a double bass pedal, use it!), with harder accents and more fluid phrasing, but after the set, March 4th praised drummer Mark Lown for keeping them together on stage. Guitarist Eric Schwerdt kept up the flow, but could have also used a more intense sound, something to really scream, “listen to me dammit!” I really enjoyed the funk/reggae interlude on the last song, which unsuspectingly switched up the set’s punk theme. Overall, the performance was definitely enjoyable, even for myself, even though I am not a big punk fan. All March 4th has to do is a little cleaning and a little polishing. Remember that punk, while easy to learn, is very hard to master, and these RPI sophomores will be right and ready for next year’s battle.
The last band to play Saturday night was no stranger to the RPI battle scene. In fact, they’re seasoned veterans. And it’s no question that when it comes to musicianship and heavy rock, Maelstrom was, hands down, the best act of the night. They have top shelf instruments, high end equipment, and boatloads of talent—and they know how to use it all. Their bassist is clean, their guitarist/lead vocalist is fast and accurate, and the drummer—we’ll get to him. Their cover of Ozzy’s Crazy Train was instrumentally accurate—very accurate—but left something to be desired in the vocal realm, with the lead singer often dropping out of tune. Then again, you need many many years of drug abuse to sound like Ozzy Osborne, so the dissimilarities are understandable.
Usually engulfed in the styling of metal-hard rock creativity, the third song from Maelstrom took a different route, opening with a wah-wah driven funk intro. The guitarist rhythm wasn’t as clean as his metal riffs, but you definitely got the picture, and he made up for any shortcomings with some wicked guitar solos.
Their fourth piece was great, with a lot of clean hard riffs, complex rhythm changes, and some sick double bass pedal work, the stuff these guys are best at. This song featured the unbelievable drum skills of Matt Johnson, currently a percussion student at Berkley College of Music in Boston. Mr. Johnson’s percussive styling made even the most involved of CAD students stand up from their third floor perch, take off their headphones and say, “Damn, is that a roll on a bass drum?” With sick guitar solos, and drums amazing enough to make one wet themselves, these guys were good. Really good.
And with the second installment of the Fall Battle of the Bands over, the votes were tallied, and Maelstrom, rightfully so, took the first place prize—and the invitation to the Spring Battle of the Bands. March 4th grabbed second place, which they earned without question. With the votes counted and stage empty, so ends another chapter in the RPI Fall Battle of the Bands legacy. Now, as we all anxiously await the spring battle, we can get back to the CAD toaster, and the daunting work of these final weeks—all without forgetting to stop and hug a local UPAC representative for putting on another stellar set of fall performances.
