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BOTB 2011 Final!

Posted by Dan (Sub-Editor) from Cardiff - Published on 23/08/2011 at 00:09
5 comments » - Tagged as Festivals, Music

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Yn Gymraeg

CLIC Battle Of The Bands 2011 Final @ Clwb Ifor Bach

How do you judge who are the best unsigned band in Wales? It's no easy task, that's for sure.

But that's exactly what CLIConline do every year: we scour the land for young Welsh artists – everyone from metalheads to MCs – and help at least one act to make it big.

CLIConline teams up with established musicians and producers to judge and award the finest acts. This year we partnered with Merthyr Rock and Schecter Guitars for our prizes: slots to perform at Merthyr Rock for our top three winners, with first prize being a Schechter Tempest Custom guitar (worth £750) and opening the 4,000 capacity main stage at Merthyr Rock Festival.

After a number of Heats held across the country, the five finalists were announced. (You can listen to all five finalists here – no doubt you'll be hearing more from them in the future as they all rock.) And on August 18th they gathered in Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff, to battle it out for the grand prize.

I won't bother telling you that all the bands were good; in order to have got this far each band had proven themselves to be not only skilled musicians but exceptional performers, capable of creating (and handling) a crowd. As the audience contained a wide range of people, I think the real sign of each bands' abilities was showcased by audience reaction: supportive parents and people who had come along to hear Editions' light-hearted pop-punk melodies were probably not the target audience for the blood-curdling screams of heavy metallers The Hotel Ambush, but the punks and pensioners got down and dirty in the pit alongside the moshers and metalheads. It shone through how each band's stage presence overruled any musical differences among the audience.

My personal favourites of the night were The Hotel Ambush and Eric Unseen: both delivered completely different sets with drastically different styles of music, yet they both demonstrated an exceptional ability to work as a unit. Performance obviously comes secondary to the music itself but, boy, did these guys show how combining the two make a difference: from synchronised headbanging to Eric Unseen's matching jackets, they both took their sets to the next level and had the audience captivated.

Despite only having 15 minute sets, two bands found time to throw in a cover: Editions gave us a pop-punk rendition of Katy Perry's hit Firework while The Hotel Ambush played a very interesting metal cover of 80s pop classic You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) [listen here].

The gig was compred by Julian Gardner of Circle Of One, and the judges were Matthew Davies (The Blackout), Darran Smith (Funeral For A Friend) and Paul Gray (The Damned – ask your parents if you've not heard of these guys ;)

And the winners of CLIC Battle Of The Bands 2011 were:

First Place: Eric Unseen (Winners! The fame, the glory, the guitar. Will be opening the main stage at Merthyr Rock)

Second Place: The Hotel Ambush (Performing midway on the second stage on the Saturday of Merthyr Rock)

Third Place: Editions (Opening the second stage)

And now I'll hand over to the winners themselves:

"Eric Unseen would like to say a massive thanks for the support from everyone who came to the final and to all the judges for getting behind the band, we aim to use this success as a platform to progress as a band. We have a lot of things lined up at the moment. We have our Album launch 17th September in the Ebbw Vale Institute and then we're supporting The Stiff Little Fingers in Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre 15th October...Hopefully the start of things to come! See you on the main stage at Merthyr Rock!"

I've discovered some great acts through my involvement with CLIC BOTB, from the carefree tunes of Nothing New to the addictive lyrics of Cardiff rapper Akronist. I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in this year's Battle Of The Bands, whether you were a performer, an entrant, or simply someone who came along to one of the gigs to show your support. And a big shout out to The Undivided and Men On The Chessboard who made it through to the finals but didn't win a Merthyr Rock slot – hopefully we'll see you guys again next year. You all rocked.

LINKS:

Photo Gallery

CLIC BOTB 2011: The Bands