Last Friday, a Battle of the Bands took place at Lizard’s between four bands of completely different genres of rock, and the event as a whole brought in a formidable, energetic crowd and a successful show for all involved.
The event was organized as a contest performance between The Last Great Assault, Barely Blind, FrameSwitch and Indian Giver. FrameSwitch was declared the winner that evening, and who won was determined by crowd reaction to each band and by a panel of bartenders. The decision must have been a difficult one because according to FrameSwitch member Reshard Westmoreland, each of the bands had their own individual and likeable style.
“The Last Great Assault is a local trio that sounds like Atreyu, Barely Blind is a quartet that sounds like Sum 41, Indian Giver sounds like Green Day and (our band) FrameSwitch is comprised of local music majors that mix the bands Story of the Year and Deftones,” Westmoreland said.
The bands at the event were so varied in styles of music that it was very positive and somewhat surprising that the crowd responded so strongly to each of the performances, even considering a few technical difficulties with the sound systems that had to be worked out the night of the concert.
“There was a lot of energy for an all-genre show,” Westmoreland said. “Sometimes we play shows at Lizard’s with specific genres, but this one went well.”
The other bands enjoyed the evening as well and got to hear other bands play as an added bonus. Gary Hansen, who plays drums in Indian Giver, had actually just replaced the group’s old drummer and it was his first official performance in the band.
“We had a blast, really,” Hansen said. “The show went quite well for having barely practiced. We showed up late but I heard some stuff and had fun.”
According to Hansen, Indian Giver has been compared to Nirvana in the past, but he hears more Red Hot Chili Peppers or the White Stripes in the music. Though the group has not yet recorded an album, they hope to accomplish that goal in the fall and are already lining up more shows for the Woodlands area. Hansen also encouraged fans of the band to visit their Web site, http://www.myspace.com/indiangiverrock.
Information on the other bands that performed at the show can be found on the bands’ respective Web sites. Fans of The Last Great Assault can visit http://www.myspace.com/thelastgreatassault and fans of Barely Blind can visit http://www.myspace.com/barelyblind or http://www.BarelyBlind.com. Barely Blind has shows coming up in Humble at Fuel Cyber Caf on April 1 and at the Bridge City State Park in Bridge City on April 8.
Future shows for FrameSwitch include another scheduled show within the next month at Lizards, and the Relay for Life Cancer Walk show with Shortbus Superheroes on April 7. The concentration of shows at Lizard’s is partially because the bands want to draw more of a crowd to the location.
“We want to turn Lizard’s into a Java Jazz or Club Fuel, but in Huntsville,” Westmoreland said. “I’d like to think college people have more money than 11 and 12 year olds, but even at that, the concerts at Lizard’s are free, so I don’t know why people still complain that there’s nothing to do in Huntsville.”