“We’ve got battle goin’ on here!” exclaimed Charlz Newman frontman Mark Charles, echoing the sentiments of a captivated crowd and the anxious bands that lie in wait, ready to give it their all on stage. The atmosphere inside the Fine Line Music Cafe crackled with pure electricity, setting the scene for the Cravings to Go “Battle of the Bands 2″ Finale. The July 24th event saw some of the best live acts from the Twin Cities area putting it all on the line for a shot at the coveted Grand Prize and potential music Superstardom.

Cravings To Go’s “Battle of the Bands 2″ contest commenced at the beginning of Summer 2008 with a call for talented Twin Cities bands and over 100 entries received. This figure was then pared down to 15 contenders who slugged it out in the CravingsToGo.com online competition where fans could cast votes for who they wanted to see rock the Big Finale. The votes were tallied and only five rose to the top, ready for their shot at the Grand Prize.

New to this year’s competition was the Wildcard Band, culled from the original entries to throw in some extra excitement and give a 2nd chance to one lucky group of underdogs. When the dust settled, six bands were ready for the Fine Line Stage:  The Blend, The Wannabe Hasbeens, Cedar Avenue, Sajak, The Evermore Escape, and The Run*.

The event began at 7pm with a rockin’ performance from last year’s Battle of the Bands winners Charlz Newman. The band kicked it into full gear from the outset, with tight vocal harmonies, thunderous drumming, and blazing guitar solos cascading into infinite echos.

Their eclectic blend of classic rock with contemporary polish proved why Charlz Newman took home last year’s prize and also raised the bar for the rest of the night’s bands.

Fox 9’s “entertainment guy” Jason Matheson took over MC duties for the evening, engaging the crowd with great prize giveaways and some hilarious and occasionally off-color observations. Jason also let the audience know what was at stake for the evening’s winning bands:

3rd Place would receive a $250 My Sonic Card from Sonic Drive-Ins

2nd Place would take home 500 retail ready CD’s from Copycats Media and $500 in Taco Bell gift certificates.

The Grand Prize winning band would receive 1000 retail ready CD’s from Copycats Media, $5000 in musical gear from American Guitar & Band, a two song demo produced and mixed by platinum record producer Chopper Black, and a starring role in a Pizza Hut television commercial!

With over $17,000 worth of prizes and a chance for state-wide exposure, the pressure was certainly on.

The first finalist to take the stage was The Blend, a 5 piece live hip hop/alternative rock outfit. The band has been together over 5 years achieving notoriety by opening for national acts Saliva and the Big Wu.

The band displayed amazing ability in seamlessly merging contrasting musical genres, with frontman Toussaint Morrisson’s soulful singing morphing into rapid fire hip hop verse. The band displayed equal intensity in holding down a raucous groove with each member getting solo time. Their fresh sound clearly left the audience craving more and the band happily obliged when they found they had extra time.

Keeping the excitement level up between bands, Jason and helpful assistant Lauren rewarded the audience with amazing prizes like Twins tickets, Valley Fair passes,  and great food from the Cravings to Go restaurant family. The audience roared prematurely everytime the first ticket numbers were called, at which point Jason attempted to calm the crowd by explaining “every ticket starts with the same 4 numbers”!

Next up was The Wannabe Hasbeens, a quartet who self described their sound as “Dumb Rock for Smart People”.  Previously the band has played the  SXSW festival and opened for acts like The Fray and Guster.

If the Grand Prize were award solely for appearance, this band would’ve taken it, as they looked like they had just stepped out of an iconic early 80’s New York music club. Fortunately, the band had a sound equally as impressive, with emotional vocals and bell-like guitar tones giving way to raw distorted jams and writhing while smoke enveloped the stage.

The Wannabe Hasbeen’s wall of sound left the listener feeling like they had just been hit by a musical truck and made a strong case for the Grand Prize in the process.

The 3rd band to take the stage was the Acoustic rock quartet Cedar Avenue. The band appeared have a strong following within the Fine Line crowd, as the cheering began before they had even played a note.

Their set started with electronic drums shifting into sentimental acoustic confessions with the keyboardist and guitarist (who also happen to be married) sharing harmonies.

The airy vocals were complimented with some texturally creative synth, bass tapping, and punctuated snare hits. Despite only being together for 1 year, the band delivered both a skilled and personal performance.

More unique prizes were given away like Family Guy whoopee cushions, American Idol bags, and even a Seinfeld salsa bowl!

Up next was the Wildcard band, Sajak. Donning alternating black & white dress shirts and ties, Sajak appeared all business while a straight faced band member quietly said “Sajak” into the mic.

The band then turned the somber mood on its head by kicking into some classic ska/punk music with a hyperactive brass section, upbeat chunking guitar, and singable choruses with no shortage of “Hey’s” to join in on.

The band kept their set fast and fun as the crowd responded accordingly by dancing to the infectious grooves. Sajak also did an excellent job putting the night into perspective by exclaiming “It’s all about pizza, it’s all about Taco Bell, but it’s also about music.”

Taking the stage next was The Evermore Escape, a pop/rock/emo quartet from Mankato.

Though the band mentioned their influences include the likes of The All American Rejects, Yellowcard, Falloutboy (and Celine Dion), it was clear they had a uniquely crafted sound of their own, with a diverse instrument mix of double racked keyboards, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, and electric violin.

Vocal melodies echoed the urgency of desperate violin bowings in heartfelt tunes that paired raw emotion with a consistent high energy performance. The band also seemed to have an incredible connection with their fans as one girl who photographed the band seemed to know every lyric to their songs.

By the end of their set, the audience clamored in unison for “One more song!” while the band exhibited a clear sense of satisfaction that could only come from knowing they played their heart out.

Rounding out the evening was the sixth and final band, The Run* who hail originally from Little Falls, Minnesota.

Melancholy acoustic chord progressions built into powerful personal anthems with soaring vocal melodies driving the point home.

The Run*’s polished performance and finely crafted songs made them into another formidable contender and a tougher deliberation for the judges.

With the final performance complete, it was time for the judges to conference on who had truly “brought the goods” to the Fine Line stage. Put in charge of these six band’s fate were entertainment lawyer Ken Abdo, songwriter & CEO Steve Greenberg, American Guitar & Band owner Cory Lake, McNally Smith director Debbie Sandridge, and music publicist Krista Vilinskis. Combined, the judges had decades of music industry experience and a track record of success, but choosing a winner from this year’s crop of bands proved to be no small feat.

Every band brought a unique sound and character to the stage, every band engaged the crowd, but it would all come down to who wanted it the most, put in the most hard work, and truly transcended the ordinary.

During the long deliberation, all of Fine Line was chattering with speculation on just who deserved to take home the Grand Prize.

With that, Jason Matheson returned to the stage, with judge’s votes in hand, ready to announce the Cravings To Go “Battle of the Bands 2″ winners:

Taking 3rd Place, The Blend!

Going home in 2nd, The Run*!

And this year’s Grand Prize winner of the Cravings To Go “Battle of the Bands 2″ is………..

The Evermore Escape !

It was clear that The Evermore Escape displayed the musical talent and boundless potential to garner the Grand Prize. Their hard work and dedication had earned them 1000 retail ready CD’s from Copycats Media, $5000 in musical gear from American Guitar & Band, free Pizza Hut pizza for a year, a two song demo produced and mixed by platinum album producer Chopper Black, and a starring role in a Pizza Hut commercial.

The fans were big winners as well, everyone in the Fine Line won a night of fantastic free music and great prizes from Cravings to Go.

And with that, the night had come to a close, with everyone cheering the great bands that had performed and wishing a bright and successful music industry career for The Evermore Escape.

Cravings to Go “Battle of the Bands 2” was a momentous event for both the great bands and the fans at the Fine Line Music Cafe, but be sure to check back often at CravingsToGo.com, there will be more to come!

Tags: Battle of the Bands 2, contest, Contest Winners, cravings to go, Entertainment, fine-line-cafe, minneapolis, music, twin-cities-bands

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 9:57 am and is filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.