The battle for Bumstock

Eight contenders go for the festival opener in the Owls' Battle of the Bands

By Eryk Salvaggio

Posted on Feb. 20, 2006, at 12:00 a.m.

laura giorgio

SING TO ME - Violinist Evan Jones turns to his band mate Tom Tash, the lead singer of The Bay State. The band took home third place in the competition.

laura giorgio

Derek Johnson, bassist for The Murder Weapon, climbs on his instrument as he plays.

adrianne hess

Second-place winner Highway Jackson played all-original rock music.

The Field House was a surreal experience this Friday night: a giant, spider-like bungee-jumping station throwing people up to the ceiling, a huge mechanical bull throwing them to the ground, and two stages front and center throwing out sound. The Winter Carnival and Battle of the Bands collided, bringing together heavy metal, classic rock, punk and laser tag. Surrounding these activities were various vendors including free candy art, wax hands and a psychedelic frisbee spin art booth.

The musical side of the event was set up with two stages, allowing for an almost constant stream of sound throughout the gym. The bands played for the entire carnival crowd, but also to three judges from the Bumstock committee who would decide which band went on to play the festival on April 22. Judges included Pattie Barry, Maine Campus Style Editor, as well as Bumstock Director Andrew Gerke and Wayne Clarke, also a member of the committee.

“We’re looking for maturity in experience as well as technical ability,” Gerke said. “Anyone can play an instrument, but not anyone can know how to play for a crowd.”

Clarke agreed. “It’s important to be comfortable in front of a live audience, but you want the audience to be comfortable, too. If a band is so in your face that you have to back up, then that’s a problem.”

The evening started out with Duck and Cover, a pop-punk band that played an energetic, spirited set that rumbled through the entire gym. The crunching emo sound of Seal Man Investigation followed, and they were followed in turn by The High End – so named, it seems, because most members of the band are over six feet tall. They mixed covers of Neil Young and Led Zeppelin with originals in a similar spirit. By 9 p.m., the crowd started to grow, and Highway Jackson took the stage with some classic rock-inspired originals.

The band Disaster Complex took the stage with a punishing blend of hardcore and metal, which seemed downright surreal alongside cotton candy, wax hands and snow cones. The most unique sound of the night came from the band Murder Weapon, who fused rockabilly, surf, swing and what sounded like some Russian folk influences into a hardcore stew, topping it off with a caustic stage banter that alienated the crowd and judges alike.

“They were kind of jerks,” said freshman Chelsea Douglas. The band not only insulted the event, but also the Bumstock festival. Judge Clarke was unimpressed. “You can’t play to get into a show and then dis the show you’re trying to get into.”

The Bay State was a welcome relief, with great stage presence and a unique sound, fusing the punk rock style of the Clash with electric violin. By this point, the judges seemed uncertain who would get the vote for Bumstock 2006, and Clarke said the slot “could go anywhere.”

The last band to take the stage was Hour Past, a band out of Biddeford that made the two-and-a-half hour voyage to play in the Battle. With a unique backdrop of gothic imagery and a dark sound reminiscent of Type O Negative, Hour Past won the crowd with a slowed down cover of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me,” the famous closer to “The Breakfast Club.” The sound as a whole was danceable without being too poppy, dark without being too angry, and the crowd responded positively. So did the judges, and the last band of the evening ended up winning the battle.

“I actually thought you guys had already called the winners,” said the lead singer, who goes by the name Coopa. Turns out he heard the names of the fraternities and sororities being called out and thought he was hearing the results of the battle he was playing in. Nonetheless, he was excited about playing the show. “We don’t get to play in front of kids that often. Usually it’s 21-plus clubs, and they’re drunk or didn’t really even come to see a band. This was cool because the audience was really into it.”

Second place went to Highway Jackson, and third place went to The Bay State, both bands to watch in Orono. Hour Past hopes to have a CD by the time they play Bumstock, but in the meantime you can check them out on MySpace by searching for “Hour Past,” or you can find them at Hour-Past.com.