Anyway, on to happier matters. The sun is shining, the campus if filling with beautiful prospective students, (yeah YDN I’m putting in that serial comma. Deal with it.) and Battle of the Bands is tonight. OMG.
It’s going to happen. Even after two great bands The Willow and the Builder and Shattered Eyes had to withdraw because of the date change, Two Out Rally is moving up to take their place.
Turns out the college radio peeps had to switch the date even after they did all their approval shit because General Stanley McCrystal was speaking last night.
DON’T MESS.
Of course, who wins the slots at Spring Fling will largely depend on how much these bands bring it tonight, and what the judges happen to like. (I didn’t get around to researching “Feeds the Hipsters” music tastes. Slacker.) But based on their demo tracks and past performances, I’d say three groups stand out.
Who will (or at least should) win the 2011 Battle of the Bands:
THIRD PLACE: GETS THE GIRL
Ellis Ludwig-Leone TC '11 is a talented composer (and he knows it) in and out of the classroom. But he and fellow musician/composer and band guitarist Nathan Prillaman JE ’13 also think it’s important that their friends like their stuff. They might have had some trouble with Ellis’s minimalist string quartet piece performed last week at the Beinecke. (I know I did.) But when it comes to Gets the Girl, the average Yale student has nothing to fear.
Also their name is pretty great.
The group brings its talent to the table in a way most people should be able to appreciate—with chill tunes that incorporate bass, keyboard and guitar in distinct music patterns (often scalar, yay melodic theory) that work well together and with interesting lyrics such as “It’s good, it’s bad, it’s worse, or it’s even just pretend.”
“Just Pretend” is another of the fabulous primers for the 17O1 album, Blue Noise. Get it free here.
Tonight’s lineup is going to have the following people. Notice how they’re poaching the majority of Plume Giant. Grab your talent where you can get it, I guess.
Ellis Ludwig-Leone TC ’11 (keys, vocals), Nathan Prillaman JE ’13 (guitar), Niraj Patel TD ’13 (drums), NYU friends Allen Tate (vocals) and Dan Bailen (bass), Leo Singer MC '14(another bassist, whoah) and then Oliver Hill BC ’12(viola) and Eliza Bagg SM ’12 (violin)
They’re bound to score high on freshness because their orchestration is usually really good. Musicianship should also be a plus. Their energy score will depend on how they do tonight, and they might lose some points on tightness given that not all their members are used to playing with each other.
SECOND PLACE: PLUME GIANT
I knew this group was solid, but they really impressed me at their concert last weekend. The fact that they have no bassist and no drummer puts a lot of pressure on guitarist Nolan Green ES ’12 to move the songs along rhythmically and to keep everything in the right inversion. But he seems to do a good job. The vocal talent (check out Oliver’s range!) in this group probably surpasses any of the other campus bands, especially because their songs make them tackle some pretty difficult but very cool sounding harmony patterns. (Just listen to “Tuesday.”) They were almost always spot on with the pitch Saturday.
They also seem to have wider appeal than I originally thought. I’m not really too big a fan of folk music, but I still really liked this group anyway.
And I should note that as Eliza pointed out during their last concert, the lyrics of "Honey Pie" are actually about something--Carolina, so clearly this New York City girl just didn’t understand. My b.
They’re going to score high and musicianship and freshness. They own the tightness category because they play and communicate together the best of any of the groups. So tight, so tight. The judges might dock a few points off energy because Plume Giant only has vocals and string instruments and because the type of music they play is usually pretty chill. They could boost their energy score by adding a drummer…ok I’ll stop now.
FIRST PLACE: JAMESTOWN, THE FIRST TOWN IN AMERICA
They have a lot of talented Yalies with instrumentation that is creative yet seamless. They keep the energy level high but do not sacrifice quality, and their many different parts mesh great together. They also might have more universal appeal than Plume Giant because more students will want to hear rock. Given the amount of electronic music we’re going to hear at Spring Fling, I’m almost glad Magic Man is not competing. Spring Fling could use a few more rock bands like Jamestown though. This group opened for Spring Fling last year but did not win first place at Battle of the Bands (bring back the Sandy Gill Affair! and Suitcase of Keys. I really wanna hear Suitcase of Keys). This year, I’d say they have a good shot at the title.
Also a shoutout to all the freshman in competing bands. Some of these groups sound really promising and given some more time to play together, I think some have the potential to open at future Spring Flings. I especially like Seven Locks 'cuz they have an upbeat rock sound.
Should be an EPIC BATTLE.
And you're probably already on your way to the event, but if now, who do you think will win?
Z
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