By Dessa Bayrock (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: June 19, 2013
The first round of CIVL’s Battle of the Bands came to a close last Saturday as the last three bands of the competition competed for a single remaining spot in round two.
June 15 saw Big Damn Heroes, MG Graveyard and Derrival fight with guitar, kickdrum and the occasional tambourine in front of the laid-back audience filling Aftermath. Although all three bands had energetic and tight performances, Derrival rose to the challenge and joined six other contenders as semi-finalists in the competition.
The night ended with a bittersweet and unscripted monologue from MC Lance Skullz, who ruminated about the winners of past Saturday showdowns.
“The theme of CIVL Battle has been ‘young and adorable,’” Skullz reminisced, going on to describe all the triumphant bands so far.
Derrival joins Casinos, Empty After, Losses, Merciful Angel, The Nacaals and Poppy and the Pistols in round two, which begins Saturday, June 29.
Since the competition began in May, 11 bands have been eliminated and graciously thrown in the towel.
But as MG Graveyard stated (albeit in a completely different context) during their set last Saturday, “It’s time to get funky!”
Although nearly two-thirds of the bands thus far failed to make it to the next round, CIVL has granted each unsuccessful band a second chance.
Through a poll on CIVL’s Facebook page, fans have a chance to vote for their favourite unsuccessful band and put them back in the running. The top two bands from the poll will play this coming Saturday, June 22 in a final mad dash for the remaining spot in the semi-finals.
Wildcard bands will hit the stage starting at 7:30 p.m. and as always, SUS will provide a selection of cold beer and hot pizza for sale. Although, as Skullz said, the night will be “nothing you haven’t seen already,” it promises to be just as rollicking as the previous six nights of the first round. Faced with one last chance for the CIVL crown, bands just might be able to harness enough adrenaline and desperation to gain an advantage over their competitors in what promises to be a high-stakes battle.
As CIVL states on their website, “It’s official; anything can happen!”
