"Hey Joe, Ruskabank won the battle of the bands show," says Danielle to me this evening. Last night, in the smoke filled (cough) and smelly recesses of the Bottleneck, Danielle and myself, and Bryan and Adam of Shudderbug took in a strange combination of bands playing for the chance to open the Lazer's Christmas Clubhouse show on December 19. In case you haven't heard who else will be there, here's the lineup: (tonight's winner), K's Choice, Goldfinger, Limp Bizkit, and the Urge....whatta show. Here's the chain of events:

First of all, the bands playing here tonight were chosen by call in votes to the Lazer. These are (I guess) the bands du jour.

First up was Norman 360, and since we got there at almost 10pm, we missed them. I heard they're ska, and that they were decent. Sorry I missed 'em.

Second up was Ruskabank, a ska outfit with all the traditional horns and trimmings. Not being a ska fan, I couldn't say if they were good as far as ska goes, but I was entertained, and the crowd was starting to move and make some ruckus. I felt they were vocally very good, but their brass section was not very tight, and the guitar was way too low in the mix. I dug their bass player, sittin' it the back just grooving away. Their performance was somewhat lackluster, but I'm glad they were up there doing what they do, when so many bands just plug in a few guitars and a bass, stare at their shoes, and whine about life and girls and spit at the crowd. Oh yeah, Ruskabank gets props for using a Fender Rhodes....sounded killer.

Third up were the Rayguns, another ska group. OK. By this point I was like, "are all these bands going to sound like this?". I sure didn't feel they would fit well with Limp Bizkit or the Urge. Anyway, these guys were pretty good, once again as far as ska goes. The guitar was more pronounced, and the vocalist was highly agitated and animated, which in turn got the crowd fired up and rowdy some more. They were jumping around and doing ska dances (skanking?) up there in front. I really wish I knew more about what makes ska good, cause my analysis by about the third song was, "NEXT". Sorry to all you ska folks out there, but I'm not a fan. I gotta say (at the reminding of Danielle) that these guys had a much tighter brass section, and overall were more together and interesting. Moving along.

Fourth up was 8 Degrees, a Metal/Hip Hop mixture with some painful rumbling from the bass. I like Korn. I like Limp Bizkit. I like the Deftones. So do 8 Degrees, and they make that very clear with each song. If you are a fan of any of those bands I just squawked out, go see these guys. I liked them, but I gotta admit that they need some work on their tone. The bass was far too muddy and rumbling, although he was very talented. I'm not a huge Hip Hop/Rap fan, but I thought the vocalist had a few cool rhymes cooking, along with some thick (or phat, for those of you who use that) and rhythmically interesting guitar lines. I give them credit for trying to pull some different textural-type sounds out of those guitars, and not just pounding out a 90's Judas Priest or something. A high point for me: a heavy rendition of "Funkytown", the song that made and broke LIPPS,INC in the 70's. Very cool to me, especially since I covered it in college. The crowd was nuts for these guys, slamming each other, throwing junk, and just making it very uncomfortable for those kids who like to stand just outside the pit - you know the ones you liked to smash into just for the heck of it...oops maybe that was just me and my friends in high school. Nevermind.

Last but definitely not least, were the Feds. The crowd was already worked up, and had been chanting for them before they ever got up on stage. As soon as they started playing, I could hear why. Funky/Heavy guitar pieces and a thick-on bass groove mixed with some sort of rap/hip hop vocal style (not demeaning this in any way, cause it was very well done and very clear), and solid percussion patterns. These guys are ahead of their peers in this town, or at least what I've heard so far. I was truly impressed. Everyone was nuts in the joint. It was hopping. I was pretty tired by this point, but I was really enjoying what these guys were doing. Usually I can stand only so many songs before they start to sound the same and I get bored, but the Feds threw in enough changes and varied their songs enough to keep it interesting, and to keep me listening. Their songwriting ability is strangely mature, but then again, doing the Zone with Danielle has opened my eyes to the talent of the local scene far more than when I was playing with Redshift and played with tons of bands. I dig the Feds. OK.

And the Winner is....RUSKABANK.

But you wouldn't have guessed that by being at the show. It was pretty clear to everyone there, at least everyone awake, that the winner (by crowd reaction, not talent or ability) was very clearly the Feds or 8 Degrees. I'm not sure what show the judges were at.

So go catch Ruskabank with all those other superstars on Friday, Dec. 19.

BIG DISCLAIMER: I don't dig ska too much so don't get pissed at my ignorant review. If you were there, and you wanna say some things about the show, send it in and we'll see what happens. Also, not to cop out, but I thought all the bands did a great job, and I'm proud to be a part of the scene. It's getting stronger.

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