Big guns start firing as BOTB finalists are decided

The finalists for this year’s Battle of the Bands ‘Grand Finale’ were announced at The Mill last night as Treehouse 3 and the Baker St. Irregulars took the two remaining places. They winners join Asylum and Sadie Hawkins Dance in the final which will take place on May 21.

The Shotgun Faeries were first on and sounded infinitely better than their last outing at The Mill, but did themselves no favours with their, apparent ‘Rock Star’ behaviour. There is clearly a great deal of potential for their tuneful brand of 60’s garage-metal, if they only let the melody shine through the mashed up sound of over-loud drums and feedback.

Flying beer

The performance took a turn for the worse as one of the
band kicked a full can of lager over the only fan dancing at the stage, and proceeded to collapse to the floor, signalling the end of the gig in a torrent of flying beer and falling microphone stands.

Treehouse 3 were an altogether calmer prospect, and their sound was immeasurably better than that of the last round. To add to this they almost completely changed their set, bringing in some much more up tempo and energetic numbers, and collecting a superb 89 points out of 90..

Wheatus-esque

The Baker St Irregulars, always a firm favourite, took to the stage dressed in blood splattered shirts and ties as a nod to the Shotgun Faeries singer who, a fortnight ago, supposedly bled all over his t-shirt mid-set. The BSI sound like a punk influenced Small Faces, with a singing voice that varies from Wheatus-esque to full on cockney.

Psychopathic

The Jackpot Golden Boys exit from the competition is, to say the least, a shock. This is probably the most vibrant, versatile band in the universe. They sound at times, like any single type of music you care to imagine, from the American high school prom sound to full-on psychopathic fairground pop – the JGB’s change direction more often than a tennis ball.

Although the final will sorely miss the Jackpot Golden Boys, Preston’s music scene was an overall winner last night, as every band delivered stunning performances which, if mirrored often enough in the future, could help re-establish Preston’s music scene among the big guns of the North-West.

Written by Dan Jeoffroy

Photography: Dan Jeoffroy