Battle of the bands

By Cosi Lovegrove-Leak

No one thought the Battle of the Bands would happen. On the day, band members, crew, and organisers all seemed anxious that Union staff would walk in and say, “why are all you all here? Get out, the event is cancelled.” 

The idea almost died the prior semester after multiple last minute booking changes were followed by last minute cancellations. In second semester, Music Fund’s involvement brought legitimacy to the operation. They recruited bands and booked Club 601, but then the unimaginable happened: 601 was closed. The roof was unstable, so in the interest of not crushing any 601ers, they shut it down. The Battle of the Bands was once again homeless. The organisers, however, persevered, and were able to get it back up and running in Main Bar before the date. 

The organisers were understandably proud of their efforts. I talked to two Music Fund committee members at sound check to gauge how they were feeling. Music Officer Evelyn Hoon said that she was “really fucking excited”, but made sure to emphasize that “it’s been so much fucking work.” The St Andrews music scene has slowly recovered from the pandemic, but many say it still isn’t the same as it was before. Battle of the Bands, however, is evidence of the exploding number of local student bands. Committee member Jenna Fisher mentioned that “it used to be bands from Dundee who would play at Sounds of Sandy’s, but now it’s all St Andrews bands.” Battle of the Bands brought all this creative energy together. 

Marine Anthropology opened the night. At the beginning of their set, front man Eli Thayer had to ask a nervous and dispersed crowd to move up closer to the stage. No one seemed to know exactly what this event was going to be, and they weren’t sure how to act. But as Marine Anthropology began to play, some heads began to bop, some toes began to tap, and the energy came up a bit. It continued to rise, and by the time The Slick came on, people were dancing. The energy peaked during the Fidel Castrated set as fans began to mosh, plunging the crowd into chaos. The collective excitement was palpable throughout the event. It was cool to see people from the library or tutorials playing music. It was more casual and intimate than it would have been in 601 because the bands were right there in front of us.  

From there the energy mellowed out. The event had been long, and there were still hours to go. People began to filter out, and the atmosphere grew sleepier as Brine! jammed. By the time the scores were tallied, the audience was ready to go home. Who won wasn’t really what the event was about. Brine! won the band vote. Downstem took home the judges’ choice and a box of Fisher and Donaldson donuts. And, finally, Verbatim won the audience poll following an incredible (almost unbelievable) 2,500 votes. Everyone cheered for each other and the night ended as an unequivocal success.

Maybe the solution to restoring St Andrews’ music scene is to look local. When outsourcing our talent was no longer a possibility the scene had to look inward and the result was more creative people in St Andrews making the scene their own. Battle of the Bands is a testament to what this scene can be. When talent is brought together, people come out to see it, and this sort of gentle competition can only make the scene better. I am personally excited to see what happens in my remaining time here because there is the potential for bigger events, more bands, and more good music coming from St Andrews if we continue to give people a place to express their creative energy.