_{By Abi Falin Horspool}

As I walked into my first Velour Battle of the Bands ever, I could just feel the buzzing excitement in the air.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know some of the band members before the show started. Everyone was all smiles and nerves. More and more people piled into the small venue, making Night 5 a full house.

Despite four nights straight of incredible MCing, host John Schultz continued to bring the energy, getting the crowd pumped for the four amazing bands they were about to hear. Anyways, let’s get into the good stuff.

Hockey House

Coming to Provo from the great city of Salt Lake, Hockey House immediately brought the heat with great alt-rock drums and heavy beats. They obviously had some big fans in the front dipping signs up and down (very respectfully, in between songs). Most of the group’s been together for two years, but this was the band’s first performance with their brand-new bassist Maddie, and it did not disappoint.

The group had a strong start with some great movement, getting the crowd excited. “Sundown” hit with some cooler chords that were just a touch heavy on the ears, then shifted into some sweet beats that got the crowd moving. That’s one thing the band knew how to do: they had a great stage presence and got the crowd excited. The audience went wild when they announced they’d be playing their song “Demons,” which went hard. It was a darker song and brought a heavier tone with some great headbanging drums and deep lyrics.

I felt bad because the microphone to instruments mix was a little off, and often I couldn’t hear the main vocalist very well. The glimpses of her voice that I did get, I could tell she was always strong and had a good voice, although she sometimes fell a little flat alongside the beginning chords (again, I wonder if the music was just too loud). All in all, Hockey House was an amazing first act that got the crowd primed for the rest of the night. Stay tuned, too, because they have a new EP dropping in August.

The Bombshell Flowers

Next, The Bombshell Flowers took the stage. I talked to one of the members beforehand, and he described their sound as alt/indie/surf/punk/pop. So basically, if you enjoy anything in the Provo scene, The Bombshell Flowers is sure not to disappoint. The group has been playing together since middle school under the name Melting Rain, and I could tell—they worked super well together, ebbing and flowing to allow each member time to shine.

The Bombshell Flowers got the crowd jumping almost immediately. They gave just the right kind of energy from onstage while playing killer music. There was so much movement as the band played their song “Japan,” with a ton of clapping and jumping in the crowd. Although you could’ve just enjoyed yourself listening to the good punk pop sounds, listening a little closer had me noticing the amazing storytelling in their lyrics too.

Thankfully, the microphone problem seemed to be figured out and didn’t distract from the performance. There were a couple times when the group tried their hand at harmonizing, which sounded awesome when it worked but sometimes fell flat. Despite that, the band was strong all the way through, even during slower songs. The crowd went cuckoo at the line “My mom thinks I’m gay, I kiss my friends anyway,” when one member gave another a kiss on the cheek.

Lazy Loners

Lazy Loners took the stage next. Host John Schultz joked that the “only requirement to be in their band is to have the same haircut.” But hey, long hair makes for some fun headbanging, which the band evidently enjoyed doing, because they were doing it practically the entire time. (That’s one thing I’ve never understood, my head hurts so bad whenever I’ve tried headbanging).

I loved the almost alien or Western riffs that were included in some of the songs. And they went crazy with the shredding. The band took a risk debuting three brand new songs in their set, but I feel like their act got stronger as they went along, gaining confidence from the crowd’s momentum. A lot of the crowd knew the words to the music they played, which helped a ton. The lead vocalist really leaned into a rockstar voice, but sadly he missed the mic once or twice while singing. 

I can’t put my finger on what, but it felt like they were missing something in their performance. There was just so much guitar going on that I kind of wish the drummer had a few more moments to show off his talent. But anyways, I loved the band’s vibe. They looked like they would shred the guitar while skateboarding along a Californian coastline. 

Kōmas

The crowd was antsy with anticipation after a long technical delay. When Kōmas finally took the stage as the final act of the night—despite there being fewer people in the room now— Kōmas lit up the room, complete with matching pairs of 3D glasses (personally I’m impressed, since I feel like it’d be harder to play the guitar seeing everything in red and blue).

The dramatic smoke in the air and hard-hitting drums made for a strong start. The crowd was immediately swaying in the first song, clapping during the second, and by the end, were throwing their hands in the air to reach toward the stage. The group had well-timed drops that made the audience go wild, which I feel like some earlier bands were missing. 

The vocalist had a strong voice and never missed a beat, although I would’ve appreciated a little more audience interaction and stage presence. Overall, they were talented guys for sure with strong rhythms. Oh, and the synth keyboard solos went crazy. The group has a song dropping later this week, so be sure to pre-save that through their Instagram bio. Overall, Kōmas finished night five of Battle of the Bands with a bang.

Results

Once again, John Schultz said there wasn’t a clear winner and that because it was so close, points were tallied again and again to ensure their accuracy.  Friday had been the biggest turnout of the week so far, and John thanked the crowd for their undying enthusiasm.

To lengthen the air of expectancy, John announced the order for Finals on Saturday, leaving out Friday’s winner. Then finally, much to the audience’s exuberance, The Bombshell Flowers was announced as Night 5’s winner. Well-deserved in my opinion.

Don’t miss out on Velour’s Summer 2024 Battle of the Bands Finals tonight at 7:30 PM, where you can catch the following lineup: Lonely Heights, HASHA, The Bombshell Flowers, Swerved by Blondes, and Avintaquin. Tickets are $12 at the door. Tickets for finals usually sell out, so be sure to line up early to get a spot! Until then, give “Come With Me” by Hockey House a listen below.