John Gandys Battle of the Bands
Last night, I watched the John Gandys Battle of the Bands contest in Exeter’s trendy John Gandy’s bar.
This competition will be taking place over four weeks of bands playing on Sunday evenings. Three groups will play each week, and only one of them can go through to the next stage to play in the final on Sunday, 5th February.
The winners will win £500 in cash and £100 worth of free drinks behind the bar.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to try out some cocktails from their new upstairs cocktail bar as we were only there for a few hours, and we sat downstairs.
The first band came on just after 8 pm, “The Awesomes”, it’s great to see an old man (Tony) on a guitar teaming up with a young lady (Ida) on her keyboard and playing songs that they have written themselves.
However, I thought this band were the best entertainer on the night. You could see and feel this in their music, and they were connecting well with the audience.
Even though they won, I don’t see them as musicians. I can see this being the type of band that Simon Cowell would hate and the X Factor audience would love, a bit like the Jedward or Honey G scenario.
Check out The Awesomes Facebook page to find out more about them.
“That Band” was the second act to come on and play. I thought this band were the best, not just because my brother-in-law is the guitarist, but because of the way the whole band interacted with each other and the playing and singing was very tight and professional and listening to this band reminds me of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers who are one of my favourite groups.
You can follow “That Band” and their journey on their Facebook page.
Last up to play were Flaws Above, a young band with James Waldron on lead guitar, Helen Payne on Guitar and backing vocals, Matt Brown on Drums and Ellie Duncan on Vocals.
It’s great to see new young talent writing their own music.
However, they need a bass player, and the singer needs to work on her voice.
This band could have future potential if they keep at it.
You can follow Flaws Above as they continue to rock out Exeter on their Facebook page.
After voting on Facebook for the winner, the results were finally announced around 10.30 pm. The winners were “The Awesomes”, who will now go through to the final in a few weeks.
Thanks to John Gandys for putting on excellent entertainment and congratulations to all the bands who took part.
If you want to find out more about these bands or other bands in the South West, check out our brand new Digital Classic Facebook page or @DigitalClassic on Twitter.
We will be posting gigs and gig reviews.
