As the roaring drums of soundcheck filled the air, Ollie’s Pub & Patio quickly transformed from Carleton University’s local campus pub to a rocking concert hub at the Battle of the Bands final on March 27.
Battle of the Bands, initially an eight-band Carleton-based faceoff, was whittled down through two semi-final rounds to the final four bands. The performing bands, spanning from 90s grunge to 2000s indie-rock, performed at least one cover song and one original piece with the winner decided by a panel of guest judges on their performance, audience engagement and technicality.
Battle of the Bands finalists Kibble, Broken by Friday, 4DAYWKND and Hedonic, all began their pre-show prep, marking the calm before the curtain.
Miguel Filiatrault, Ollie’s manager and Battle of the Bands creator, said the event is his passion project.
“The first one was the first year coming back from the pandemic,” Filiatrault said. “For some reason, we only did it once, and then we wanted to bring it back this year.”
The night’s winners, 4DAYWKND, consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Gabriel Merino, lead guitarist Aaron Wylie, bassist Simon Ludington and drummer Jason Perrins. The band performed The Killers’ bar classic “Mr. Brightside” and alt-rock anthem “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon, as well as their original hit, “Marianna.”
Merino said the band was fueled by the live audience.
“Getting that feedback from the crowd is a different feeling, especially for the songs you’ve already put out,” he said. “Hearing people sing those lyrics back to us is a really cool feeling.”
Wylie said the band ultimately wants people to listen to the original tunes they’re creating.
“It feels good making people feel good; it feels good when people are vibing with what you’re vibing with,” Wylie said.
Broken by Friday, a band mostly made up of music majors adorning 2000s-era My Chemical Romance-esque outfits, began with a 1990s-themed music club performance.
Kuba Kaczorek, the band’s drummer, along with Shah Salter, Rieley Hunt, Sami Zeng, Audrey Guenette rocked the stage with original song “Empty Little Jars,” the emo anthem “Welcome to the Black Parade” and the iconic female-fronted rock hit “Misery Business” by Paramore.
Battle of the Bands runners-up, Hedonic, fronted by singer and rhythm guitarist Nolan Meloche, Leon Ewald on lead guitar, Evan Levite on bass guitar and Owen Finn on drums, said the band’s success this year is a huge accomplishment, considering they only started a few months ago.
“The past couple of months we [have] finally gotten the band off the ground,” Meloche said. “We started off in a little cellar in the basement … We jammed all our equipment in there, just coming up with random stuff, then found Leon, the craziest guitarist I’ve ever met.”
Led Zeppelin, Dave Grohl and Alice in Chains inspire Hedonic’s classic rock sound flared by a 1990s grunge hook.
They captivated the crowd with songs including “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors, “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin and their original unreleased song “Rain and Bad Little Woman.”
For Evelyn Lussier and her concert companion Al Stapura, Battle of the Bands marked the perfect first visit to Ollie’s.
“I had a great experience here, but the dudes definitely don’t know how to mosh,” Lucier said, laughing. “Our favourite band has to be Hedonic, they did an amazing job with “Wanted Dead or Alive.”
For Ollie’s manager Filiatrault, exposure and community are the crux of what Battle of the Bands is all about.
“It was really to give these bands a place to play,” Filitrault said. “I know it’s hard for a lot of these bands to get exposure to even just find places to play … This event is trying to build a little bit of a community on campus.”
Featured image by Jaden Croucher/The Charlatan.
