On Tuesday evening, about 80 students milled into the Depot toward the sounds of electric guitars and pounding drums. Associated Students was hosting a Battle of the Bands, the winner of which will open the Rhythms Music Festival concert this Saturday.
The bill for this evening consisted of six bands, all of which included at least one student. Opening the evening was Wake Naked, a psychedelic rock band with ‘90s guitar rock influence. The band closed their set with a 5-minute song that showed off their musical chops, heavy with intense drumming and a shreddy lead guitar.
The next band of the evening was Citrus Pit, an energetic three-piece punk band. Breakneck drumming and power chords populated this set, with the band rarely letting up, playing for a crowd of about 30.
Blake Warren Hall, a drummer for the band, said they were influenced by groups like Agent Orange and Black Sabbath. She wasn’t completely pleased with their performance but enjoyed the show.
“It went all right,” Warren Hall said. “I fucked up a lot. It was fun though.”
The third band of the night was Elephant Garden, who walked up on stage wearing party hats and face paint. The band opened their set with a dreamy guitar-focused song and were met with cheers that implied they were already known by some members of the crowd. The band continued through a set leaning towards indie and art rock with danceable beats. The band drew the night’s largest crowd, setting the stage for the rest of the evening.
The fourth band of the evening was the Ones and Twos, a garage rock three-piece based in Ingleside. The musicians traded off on bass, guitar and vocals, the latter of which were distorted through a telephone microphone.
The penultimate band of the evening was Novus Moon, an alternative rock band. Multi-octave vocals and dreamy guitars played well to the evening crowd, plenty of which were crossing their arms and bobbing their heads.
Chrome was the final band of the night. Its members offered an emotional post-hardcore set to the audience members who stuck around. The band had recently opened for Midrift at Jack Adams Hall and seemed to have drawn new fans from there.
Aniah Cuevas was at the event for Chrome and found out about them through their prior show at the Depot.
“We came to see Chrome,” said Cuevas. “We left being fans of Chrome more than Midrift. Chrome’s fucking awesome.”
Shortly after the final set, the Depot manager Michelle Yang announced the winners of the competition. First place was secured by Elephant Garden, while second place went to Chrome, and third place was Novus Moon.
The members of Elephant Garden were elated and did not expect the win despite the crowd’s positive reaction to them. In their congratulatory speech, they thanked the other bands that played.
After the event, the band’s guitarist Louis Addis said that he was excited for the future.
“I did not expect it,” said Addis. “I don’t know where this band is going to go, but it’s a lot of fun and I appreciate it.”
Yang was pleased with how the night went. She had been planning the event since the beginning of the semester and it was likely her biggest event of the season. She feels that the event was a success and an improvement from last year.
“I feel like every year it just gets better and better,” said Yang. “I can say that I did the best this year compared to all the years.”
The Depot will host a DJ Competition on Wednesday evening and a show at Malcolm X Plaza, preceding the Rhythms Music Festival concert with Daya on Saturday.
This story was updated to correct the spelling of Jack Daly’s name.
