Battle of the Bands: semi-final 1

Hot Toddy

The night's music began with the vibrant carnival atmosphere of Magnapow!, who produced the performance of the night, their stage presence much like that of The Go! Team. Their encouragement of crowd participation throughout and a great light show complemented the consistently tight ensemble, which included perfect male-female vocals and strong brass and rhythm sections. Magnapow! were loved by the audience, and although they went through to the final in second place, it should’ve been first.

Second on the bill, Magicians’ Ghetto produced a set of two halves. Their first couple of tracks were slow to start, and the guitar being lost in the mix left the heavy bass and drums sounding like an empty backing to the horns. However, as the set continued, the balance was restored and the influence of reggae and Latin American rhythms built to an exciting climax involving a didgeridoo and intense polyrhythms on the drum kit and congas. The semi-rapped vocals were successful, and with such excellent trombone and sax, it will be a shame not to see them in the final.

Hot Toddy were extremely unlucky to be dogged by frustrating technical problems at the start of their set, which was delayed for some time while feedback issues were sorted out. The YUSU Ents sound setup seemed ill-fitting for the relatively subtle pairing of violin and drums, but once the problems had been overcome, their Owen Pallett-inspired set of covers was, at best, captivating. In addition to three Pallett standards, their own arrangement of Radiohead’s ‘Myxomatosis’ was the highlight, the extremely well-played violin lines being looped to create a concentrated and ultimately satisfying texture.

Tin Pan Valley came first in this semi-final, having delighted the crowd and judges alike with their performance. Whilst their songs were nothing special, the classic band format they deployed displayed excellent musicianship; lead guitar, bass and drums were played to perfection. The vocals were inconsistent, but when they worked, the three-part harmonies were a welcome addition to the night's musical variety. Their enthusiastic stage presence was positively noted by the judges, and their frequent banter well-received by the crowd, who responded to their victory with euphoria.

Not getting on stage until after midnight, a full 90 minutes later than advertised, Little Jimmy’s Flaming Funk Orchestra had to deal with a flagging crowd, but did so in rip-roaring fashion. After opening with their hyperactive cover of the ‘Ghostbusters’ theme, they reeled off an exciting set without pausing for breath, the only banter being accompanied by taut drum beats. Their arguably ill-advised but thoroughly entertaining rap section remained from their performance in the heats, and later on, they threw in a few lines of the ‘Ready Steady Cook’ theme tune in for kicks. As reward for a set that flowed as well as any on the night, the Flaming Funk Orchestra came third, which could (depending on tomorrow’s result) see them through to the final.

Tonight's second semi-final will see Ah Good The Sea, Jonny P and the Howlie T Experience, Drunken Chimney Sweep, The Goslings and Gurmeet Singh's Percussion Buffet duke it out for the remaining places in Saturday's final.

Photo courtesy of Sam Newsome: [1].

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