_{By Andy McFerren}

The finals of a Velour Battle of the Bands is a special night. The bands always bring their A game, and if you have had the chance to attend one of these, you know what I’m talking about. Tonight was no exception. 

Afternoon All Night 

Afternoon All Night kicked off the night, and seemed a little nervous during the first song. But by the end of the second, not only did they warm up, but the crowd did too. It’s tough to open any night during Battle of the Bands, but especially the finals. It’s a packed house, and most of the people are not there to see you. You can feel the tension in the air. However, Afternoon All Night did a great job despite it all. 

The band really got the crowd going on their song “California,” which in my opinion, is easily their best song. The rest of the set up to that point seemed a little flat, and I couldn’t tell if that was the band playing out their nerves or playing to a timid crowd. 

Afternoon All Night is a fun little ride. They play with a lot of energy. They’ve progressed a lot in the year since they last played Battle of the Bands, and I hope that progress continues. There wasn’t anything overtly wrong with their set tonight, but I would love to see them add a little spark – a little oomf. 

No Such Animal 

What can I say about No Such Animal that I haven’t already said before? Lead singer Finn Morrison is a master manipulator of a crowd in the best way possible. He started off their set in a Freddy Mercury-style vocal warm-up with the crowd, and they responded immediately. And that was only the beginning.

Part way through their set, he managed to get the entire crowd—and I mean entire crowd—to scream as loud as they could. And then he’d cut them off. He’d cue them in again with a scream and cut it off. That is peak crowd involvement. I’ve never seen anyone be able to pull something like that off at Velour.

While certain songs of the band may have some obvious comparisons, No Such Animal is bound by no genre. They’re a little metal, a little emo, a little alternative, and a little good ol’ fashion rock ‘n’ roll. Who needs one genre? It’s all No Such Animal, and it fits them. Give me a guitar riff-driven song as good as “New American Cyborg,” and that’s all I care about.

Hollow Hill 

Hollow Hill was the third band to grace us with their presence, and they wasted no time getting into their set. They came out with a lot more energy than they did their preliminary night, and it carried through their entire set. And I think this energy improved all other aspects of their playing as well. The vocals were crisper, the solos shredded harder, and everyone was simply tighter. 

I always love when Hollow Hill progresses from their softer side into their post-hardcore side (Make breakdowns great again!). Velour needs more double bass pedal, and it could benefit from some more head banging as well. Provo people jumping up and down and chanting “hey hey hey” is fine, but it’s nothing like head banging while the band breaks it down in half-time with some serious double bass pedal holding it down. 

Ferrin

Up to this point in the night, all of the bands were sonically relatively similar. And the crowd was responding to it pretty positively, so I was interested to see how they would react to something different. While the others were much more rock derivative, Ferrin has a softer indie sound with a little jazz influence. 

No disrespect to any of the other bands, but as soon as Ferrin started playing, the quality of music was elevated. You could feel the shift in the venue. Ferrin took it to a whole other level. And you even saw it in the judges’ body language as they perked up and really started paying attention. 

Ferrin is full of little surprises. Just when you think you’ve figured out a song of theirs, they add a twist that you didn’t see coming. Just when you think you know who they are as a band, they throw you a curveball. A sudden change in tempo or volume. A saxophone solo. A guitar solo. A harmony. 

And let me tell you, the saxophone kills. I usually think that saxophone is wildly misused in a lot of bands and doesn’t belong, but Ferrin makes it work so well. And the crowd devours it. 

Lovingly Clad

When you jokingly tell a band in their preliminary write-up that you want them to show you their soul by borrowing Jesse McCartney’s words, you don’t think they’ll actually take you up on it. But that’s just what Lovingly Clad did tonight. 

It was a drastically different set than they played the previous night in the prelims. It’s a tough task to play Friday night and then come back the next day. But the band did it just as well as I’ve seen anyone do it in my time coming to Velour Battle of the Bands. 

It was a moodier, vibier set, which was a fascinating choice. Most bands go the opposite direction and choose to add more energy from the prelims to finals. But I thought it featured a whole new side of the band I hadn’t seen the night before. It showed off their technical capabilities a little more, and showed a greater range. 

The most special moment came during their last song. As I’ve mentioned before this week, it’s always an impressive feat when you can silence the crowd at Velour, and Lovingly Clad achieved it. Few can do it, and I cherish every time it happens.  

In the end, Ferrin walked away with the win. I think it was a hard-fought battle, but the band who deserved it the most won. 

There ya have it, folks. Another Battle of the Bands has come to a close.We’ll be right back at you tomorrow with a detailed list of all the shows happening this week. Until then, check out “California” by Afternoon All Night below!