Blue Bridge Battle of the Bands

Round One.

The first round of the Bluebridge Battle of the Bands at Doctor Browns took place on Wednesday May 14th. Taking part in round one were Electric Nightmares from Middlesbrough, Such Great Heights from Middlesbrough and Gin Soaked Boy from Barnard Castle.

The night kicked off with a pleasingly full Doctor Browns as all the bands taking part tonight had brought along their own supporters. We were looking forward to an entertaining evening with some great music and we certainly got what we wished for!

Electric Nightmares

The first band to start our Battle were Electric Nightmares. This was a fantastic evening for them as they had appeared on the local TV just a couple of hours earlier where they had been promoting their new EP. Electric Nightmares is a young 4 piece rock band who have literally hit the local scene with a great impact. The age of the members of the band range between 13 and 16 however despite the tender age of them, this band plays with a maturity and passion seldom found in many a seasoned band. They kicked off their performance with an instrumental piece which really set the pace for the night ahead. If they were nervous to start the proceedings in this competition you couldn't tell, they flowed from one original song to the next and looking around Doctor Browns there appeared to be many a suprised face from the regular crowd at what these kids were playing!

The band is made up of Jamie Donnelly - Guitar & Vocals, Ben Turner - Guitar & Vocals, Jessie Jones - Bass & Vocals and Rob Maynard - Percussion.
Jamie spoke to us after they played and this is what he had to say;

We are taking everything as it comes, we go out and play where we can when we can because we love playing. Whatever happened to Classic Rock bands, we need them back. The Who, Clapton, The Eagles. Bands that ruled the world yet now the world is filled with 3 chord songs, Whatever happened to the melodies? That is what we try to re-create.

All we can say is we wish them the best of luck in everything they do in the future, keep an eye out for more from this band, they certainly have the time and talent to be something really special.

Such Great Heights

Our second band of the evening were Such Great Heights, another band hailing form Middlesbrough and again making waves in the local music scene. They have secured a spot on the Home Grown Stage at Middlesbrough Music Live and have been in a few other battles held locally over the last few months, one of which they have won and another they are through to the final being held in a weeks time. Such Great Heights describe themselves as an Emo/PowerPop/Rock band and they have an amazing stage presence which again defies their age.

The band is made up of Evelyn - lead vocals, David - Guitar & vocals, Huddy - Guitar & vocals, Callum - Bass & Vocals and Al on the drums. The band are tight and becoming more polished each time we see them. Callum adds in a welcome element of humour to their performance and Evelyn has the most amazing voice and stage presence. The whole outfit are superb to watch and they can only go from strength to strength if they continue with what they are doing. This act played all original material the content of which was outstanding. especially the second song of their set - Recovery Mode - which is a slow rock ballad. The whole pub was silent as Evelyn belted out the song which on ending was met with a thunderous applause.
Such Great Heights are recording their first demo on the 31st of this month and are sure to be gigging regularly around the North East in the future.

Gin Soaked Boy

The final act of our first battle of the bands were Gin Soaked Boy, an older group from Barnard Castle. Again we were stunned by the outstanding performance put on by this band. Gin Soaked Boy is a four piece unit consisting of Dave Kidd - vocals and guitar, Rob Kidd - Guitar and backing vocals, Darren Smith - bass and Nathan Coyle - drums. Having seen the standard set by the first two bands of the evening, these guys had everything to play for as they took to the stage. Virtually unknown over in the Teesside area, this band positively rocked Doctor Browns with a fantastic set made up of original, gritty rock songs. Their performance included lots of interaction with the audience and at one point the whole pub was on its feet clapping along with the guys! Gin Soaked Boy were a fantastic act to end an amazing evening with. They are definately a band to watch out for, they have secured a spot at The Studio (Basement of Chicago Rock Cafe), Manchester on the 24th of this month and are hoping to gig more frequently throughout the whole of the North East. We will definately be having them back at our future events!

Thus the judges now had to make their decision. We have put 5 categories in the judging criteria for this battle. Entertainment Value, Originality, Presentation, Musical Ability and Overall performance. Each band can score a maximum of 50 points from each judge based on the five categories.

Looking at the performances we saw tonight any one of the three bands that took part were more than capable of winning not only the round but the whole battle. We are delighted with the standard set by the first of our bands and are looking forward to the next five weeks. This competitions first round has shown us three of the finest bands in the area give outstanding performances and we feel that if this is what we can expect from the rest of the bands taking part that this is more of a showcase for local talent than a competition.

There has to be a winner on the night though and I was delighted to announce the winner tonight as Such Great Heights who now go through to the first of the Semi Finals on June 25th.

Next Wednesday we have The Banter from Whitby, Dark Messiah from Redcar and Shoebox from Middlesbrough.

Back to Battle of the Bands