Battle of the Ad Bands goes down to the wire

300 people enjoyed another monumental Bullshit Battle of the Ad Bands at the Irish Club last Friday night.

Defending champions 303 started the night with a stunning version of Adele’s Rolling In The Deep, followed by Kings of Leon’s Radioactive. It was an almost completely new line-up from last year (with an average age of about 12 if you take out Rene Migliore) and they did the agency proud.

They were followed by a much pared-down Brand Agency band. The three-piece Atrocity Exhibition, featuring Mitch Mitchell, played a brace of songs led by a slow version of Mad World. Their set was described as ‘dark’ by the judges.

Naughty Hawke from Brainestorm were next up and their combination of musicianship, a bit of theatre and a whole lotta fun marked them as an early contender for the rock-off. Does anyone have more fun on-stage than these guys?

Next up, AC/GC stepped onto the stage and launched into a pulsating version of Janet Jackson’s Black Cat, punctuated with a white-hot, extended guitar solo by Sava Unpronouncable-last-name (Hatzianastasiou – see what I mean?). It was a powerhouse performance that had everyone thinking they were shoo-ins for the trophy. After a quick change by the 3 vocalists, a fun and funky Ghostbusters completed their two song set. Whew – it was time for a breather.

Newcomers Four Dogs One Bone from PPR were first up after the break and made an impressive BBN debut. Gary ‘The Dark’ Knight gave an impeccable vocal performance on their rendition of Springsteen’s Red Headed Woman before they launched into everyone’s favourite Stones classic Jumpin’ Jack Flash.

And jump we did – forward a couple of decades when Meerkats’ Bree and The Cheese plunged deep into indie-rock with The Breeders’ Cannonball and Beastie Boys’ Sabotage, complete with plenty of bass attitude from Paul Coghlan.

Hard-luck story of the night was Reg Marks and the 5 Mils Bleed from Marketforce. Their singer and lead guitarist Jon Case was struck down with a severe case of flu on the day,necessitating a quick line-up change. With virtually only the afternoon’s soundcheck for a rehearsal, they still delivered a great rendition of Cee Lo Green’sFU and a clever mashup of Mark Ronson’s Valerie & George Michael’s Faith.

Judges ‘Count’ Tim Count, ‘Jumpin Jack’ Ilian and ‘Bad-ass’ Bec Clarke deliberatedbriefly before sending 303 R Soul, Naughty Hawke and AC/GC through to therock-off.

303 R Soul got it off to a flyer with Rene Migliore’s vocals leading the way on Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground – a tricky song to do well and they did it very well.

Naughty Hawke then delivered a sensational rendition of Hippy Hippy Shake. It was fast,it was furious, it was fun and it had the dancefloor in a frenzy. The men in hats had pulled out the performance of the night and suddenly AC/GC had a fight on their hands.

They answered the challenge with a stirring version of local rock legends Baby Animals’ Rush You. It was good but was it good enough?The Count, Jumpin Jack and Bad-ass Bec had plenty to think about. The judgingsystem combines the early round scores with the rock-off scores, and AC/GC’s first round performance saw them get the nod – just.

Although they took the trophy, the real winners were everyone who was there to witness a fantastic night’s entertainment. There was music from every era over the past 50 years and every band provided a highlight. It is without doubt the best fun night of the year for the industry.

Special thanks to the WA Youngbloods, RT Films’ Ross Tinney and Music Design System’s Tim Count who make it happen.Planning is already underway for next year and we can’t wait.

SOS: We need pics for this story. There wasn’t an ‘official’ photographer this year, so if anyone has any pics available please send them to martin@campaignbrief.com.