Bands go off to battle, doggie-style

Once upon a time—when men were men, when Rolling Stone didn't blow, when rock 'n' roll was undownloadable—Iggy and the Stooges put out an album called Raw Power (1973). "That band could kill any band at the time and frankly can just kill any of the bands since," Iggy Pop remembered 24 years later. "[We could] just eat any of those poodles."

This is the moral framework in which we must consider the Yale College Council's (YCC) Battle of the Bands.

COURTESY SIX PACK ANNIE Ryan Hickox, SY '00, bets Annie's bottom dollar on Spring Fling.

Regrettably, the Stooges never played such a competition, and they won't be at Toad's Place on Thurs., Mar. 2, vying for a slot at Spring Fling. (They'd probably lose, anyway.) But their spirit will be vindicated by a cutthroat crop of Yale poodles—each hoping to hump the crowd's leg while exterminating the competition.

"We appeal to people who enjoy getting punched in the groin," Six Pack Annie bassist Victor Kao, TC '00, said. By now, Kao knows what he's talking about. Over the past two years, Six Pack Annie has bludgeoned more than 20 Yale audiences—including that of last year's Battle of the Bands, where the band finished second to Pearly Sweets and the Platonics. "Last year sucked," Annie singer Peter Farris, SY '01, said. "Playing at Battle of the Bands means in part dealing with people who don't know much about music."

Farris may not be alone in his sentiment, but not every band on the bill is taking such a reluctant attitude to the event. Surprisingly, more than half of them are relative newcomers to Yale's rock scene. Full Service and Nuts in Your Mouth (NIYM) have never played shows here, and the Gary Coleman Orchestra played its first on Tues., Feb. 29. "This is our 15 minutes of fame," NIYM rapper Andy Sinton, BK '00, said. John Leibovitz, LAW '02, singer and key-boardist for the Gary Coleman Orchestra, is also enthused. "Since I was three years old, I've had a fascination with battles of the bands," he said. "Maybe it's because I watched too much of The Partridge Family."

Anticipation is running high for members of the YCC as well. This is only the second year they've staged the Battle to select Spring Fling openers—the first four or five finishers earn spots, the winner chooses its time slot—but co-chairs Mary Bennett, PC '02, and Dave Nop Lee, SY '02, are confident the Battle will repeat last year's success. "Even the phrase `battle of the bands' is exciting and progressive," Bennett said. "The Battle allows bands to showcase not only their musical creativity, but their ability to ignite an audience." The six band judges are from the Herald, the Yale Daily News, the YCC, the Freshman College Council, WYBC, and the Performing Musicians' Cooperative.

But the talk among bands has been largely of each other, and not always in glowing terms. NIYM's Sinton Vignos, SM '01, who succinctly described his group's style as "thugged-out bitch," remarked obliquely that he expected Six Pack Annie to take home the prize. "They clearly have the prerogative to stamp out the competition," Vignos said in reference to the rival band's effort to secure a later time slot. When prodded on the same issue, Farris was less subtle. "I don't like any of the other bands," he said. "We're not going to win, anyway. I'll bet NIYM or Skin the Donkey [sic] wins."

Leibovitz avoided slinging mud, but did concede that he expected his Orchestra to win. "Then again, I haven't heard any of the other bands," he added. Nop Lee admitted he had never seen bands fight, and that he hoped Thursday night wouldn't be the first time. "But, hey, if it happens, it would definitely be interesting to see," he said. "They are sharing each other's equipment, but I'm sure it's going to be competitive."

In the name of rock 'n' roll, let's hope they go at each other like crazed poodles.

Back to A&E...