By Alessandro Improta
The Boardwalk’s Spring 2023 Battle of the Bands Finals sold out, and that energy and excitement definitely bled over into this Fall’s event. While tonight wasn’t sold out, having over 100 people on night 1 of preliminaries was a really cool thing to see.
While Velour’s Battle of the Bands draws a lot more casual spectators, there’s a tight knit community growing at The Boardwalk, and it’s a great contribution to the scene. Tonight got the week off to a great start with four new bands, none of which I’d heard before. It was great to hear some fresh music and see some fresh faces – and that’s precisely the value this competition provides the scene. Let’s dive in.
Lemonfern
Lemonfern kicked off the night with great lead vocals, melodies, and general songwriting. The performance was a little stiff, however, and lacked things that come from experience – broader dynamics, commanding stage presence, set transitions, etc. Simply having more confidence would do wonders for them, but their ages literally range from 15 to 17, and they have only been playing together for a couple of months. Lemonfern is the epitome of young. But they are a young band that’s off to a great start. If they keep at it, these guys will do big things.
Stardance Riot
I got to talk to these guys for a long time after the show, and it was great. They approach music with humility and sincerity. They have a very unique sound and delivery, with some interesting songwriting. It’s hard to give them a fair review because, unfortunately, their set was riddled with technical difficulties (a malfunctioning cable and a broken string two songs in that removed a guitar), and we found out near the end of their set that a band member was missing as well.
Based on what I heard, it’s clear that Stardance Riot understands what makes them unique, and they have no fear in leaning into it – which is the hard part for a lot of bands. My only advice here: bad shows happen, and some things are entirely out of your control. You just gotta pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on. I’d be very interested in seeing them again and getting the proper experience.
Ideal Horizon
These guys are super high energy, and came through with the tightest set of the night by far. They were a four-piece band with a bassist, guitarist, drummer, and vocalist. They were unbelievably fun. Dom, the guitarist, even won an award for being the best performer of the night, and he was by far the most deserving of it. He was super comfortable on stage.
Their problems came from some competing sonic frequencies. The guitar, bass, and the lower end of the vocals overlapped a bit and made things a little muddy. Other than that, they were a perfect punk band. Very close to winning. Only two points from winning, in fact, and a lot of that came down to the crowd vote going elsewhere.
Comply or Evict
These guys are a true representation of ’90s grunge. They had two singers: the primary singer was much cleaner and the secondary vocalist has much more soul. It’s a cool pairing, and there were great vocals from both singers. In the future, I’d love to hear more harmonies. Their two voices sound great together. The band as a whole was confident and had great dynamics. A big thing working in their favor was their showmanship. They were the only band that had any thought out transitions from song to song, and it made a huge difference.
It was a close night, but after some deliberation, Comply or Evict was announced as the winner of night 1. They’ll perform this Saturday in the Fall 2023 Battle of the Bands Finals.
The Boardwalk Fall 2023 Battle of the Bands returns tonight and features Lazy Loners, Red Tide, Vybbe, and Man May Be. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Tickets are on sale now.
In the mean time, make sure to follow Comply or Evict on Instagram and check out their song “Angel and Devil” below!