Headhunter

Headhunter Records Battle Of The Bands 2005, by Gill Brammer

So, Monday 3rd October saw the opening night of the Headhunter Records 'Battle of the Bands'

First up were Seven
Now, this band were shit hot. I just have to get that in first.
They opened up with a little country sounding number, introducing some gospel/organ cords, then proceeded to some rock for their second number.
The thing I noticed about these guys was that they kept changing instruments. Now this is what I like to see. Multi talented individuals.
For their next track, they came out with some Irish folk sounding tunes, and kept weaving in and out of 60s rock.
A great band with a great mix of sounds.

Next up... Recliner
Attitude of Ian Brown/Liam Gallagher, with a swagger that could dry a washing.
The only thing I liked about this band was the fact that every song they played was similar to so many. (is that a good thing?)
Me and my friends had a good time though guessing who they sounded like at each song
First off was a song that I thought was very similar to Bryan Adams' 'Summer of 69' intro. Then Charlatans' 'Pumping on Your Stereo', then Foo Fighters' 'Times Like These', and I'm sure I heard some Blondie thrown in.

So, now...the finishing act...You Can't Eat The Word Food
This was my favourite band.
These guys were just so original. You just can' compare them.
If Headhunter are looking for a bad who can make it through being original, and produce great tracks that are catchy and will appeal to every age, then this is the band.
OK. I know I have only heard the first three of 27, but this is a really, really good band..
Their sound I think was slightly similar to the Magic Numbers, with a wee bit of the Beatles and the Proclaimers. Now I know what some people think...'The Proclaimers are a cheesy Scottish band'
If that were the case, they wouldn't be so popular the world over and sell millions of albums... But they are.
They're good Scottish rock, and thatís what The Food are...with a wee bit of punk thrown in to spice it up a bit as well.

And so to the end of the night.
If it were a talent contest then I'm pretty sure Seven or You Can't Eat The Word Food would have won.
But as we all know, these battles are all down to who brings the most fans.
So congratulations to Recliner who brought the Strathclyde Uni Girls along, and well done on writing a song about them to actually get them along and vote.

All I can say is thank god for the 'Wild Card' that has been introduced, to ensure the best band of the contest actually has a chance of winning.
The judges will be able to choose 3 bands they thought were good enough, even though they didn't get the votes.
And they will have a chance of going through to the finals without relying on a popularity vote.

Tuesday 4th October brought us to night 2 of the Battle.

Up first was Kodiak.
Now these guys were obviously well experienced at performing on stage, as this came across in their performance and presence, being really at ease and interacting well with the crowd, The lead singer had an air of Michael Stipe from REM about him. And the more I noticed this the more their sound reminded me of REM as well.
I loved this band, and I thought they were gonna be the best by far that night.
They threw in some jazzy wee sounds, which I always love. And some bass driven tunes which always get me going.
And a lot has to be said about the vocals. The lyrics were great, and his voice was amazing, not a break in it whatsoever.
This band have a mature and safe sound. And if that's what you're looking for then this is the band.

Next up...Attica Rage
I always get scared when I see 3 guitars on stage, I fear for my poor wee ear drums. And when you see these guys who are holding the guitars, you fear that maybe where they are from cannibalism is legal. But as their set progressed they spoke more and more and we got to see that there was nothing to fear by them or by their sound.
Metal isn't my thing, I always expect I'm gonna be killed by electronic noise. But this wasn't that bad.
I could actually get into this. And so could their fans they brought with them. I don't actually think it was their mates that were there supporting them, I think they really were fans. You know when a band brings their mates and their cheering them on and doing a bit of head bopping. But these guys were right into it.

So, to the final band...No Ghosts
If I wasn't there alone I would have been pissing myself at these guys. But instead I just had to hold a cheesy grin and try not to feel like the loony in the corner.
These guys were AMAZING.
They came over from Dublin and only had two of their mates with them, which was a shame coz one more vote that night and they would have won through.
The frontman was this skinny thing that danced about the stage as though his legs were giving way, and he was holding onto his guitar as though it was made from bendy cheese.
They were rock/punk/rap and I'm sure if I knew what they were saying the lyrics would have been first-class and witty. But even when they spoke, their broad Irish accents were unrecognisable. They laughed a lot and so did their mates so they probably were witty and entertaining, but we shall never know. Maybe they could get some sort of subtitle thing sorted if they come back over. I'll definitely be in line for a ticket when they do.

The winner that night then, with one more vote than No Ghosts was Attica Rage.
Well done guys and good luck in the finals.

Wednesday 5th
Here we are again at Soundhaus in Glasgow

First to grace us with their presence were Luma.
Looking all young and pretty, I could imagine the type of material they were gonna give us before they played a note.
And then out it came, their American indie/pop style tunes. These guys wouldn't seem out of place on a show like the O.C or something. Maybe I say this because one of their tracks was called 'California' and reminded me of Phantom Planet... I don't know.
But itís good teen indie/pop and I like it, they have a pretty cool wee sound and image to go with it, and I'm sure the chicks will love them.

Taking the stage next...well, storming the stage is more like it... Little Panic
That's the words I would use to describe the look on the sound guyís face when this lot got going, actually.
As their energetic vocalist bounced around mentally, jumping from speaker to speaker, he still managed to keep his breath to belt out some fantastic notes; he did however manage to snap a mic cable in the process mind you, but with a performance like that I'm sure they can get away with a few quids worth of damage.
These guys must have brought along the rowdiest people they could find, coz the crowd went mental for them, and almost formed the first mosh pit of the battle.

And so for the last band of the night Nine Circles.
This was a weird band. They came on looking all Maroon 5 , and proceeded to belt us with some rocking tunes. I was quite taken aback by the vocals as they were at times very hard rock/metal sounding and they didn't seem to fit with the image, or the Jay Kay style moves he was showing off. But itís not their style being judged in the battle, it's their music. And it is good rock, with some really excellent guitar riffs.

But once again there can only be one winner, and that night it was Little Panic
So, congrats and see you in the final.