Velour Summer 2024 Battle of the Bands – Finals

Lonely Heights

I can’t think of a better way this night could’ve kicked off. Lonely Heights opened with massive, thick, theatrical chords to set the tone for the night and grab the audience’s attention. After welcoming everyone out and getting them to clap in unison, they launched into “Greetings from Hell,” my personal favorite from their EP Welcome to Carnival.

These guys have an insane low end rumble that shakes the venue without ever getting muddy. You can tell they’ve taken the time to dial in their tones and are smart enough to understand the frequency spectrum and how to make it work for them instead of against them.

Their lead vocalist is a Warped Tour dream come true, evoking dozens of mid-aughts emo and pop/punk frontmen without ever feeling like a copy. Everyone in the audience was genuinely having a good time. Even the seated concertgoers on the side of the venue were bopping and nodding along.

Honestly, I don’t have any criticism for Lonely Heights. Their harmonies were on point, their guitar solos were thrilling and never wore out their welcome, and they evoked spontaneous yips and cheers from the audience several times throughout their set and had everyone losing their minds when they went from their slow jam into their most true-punk song of the night. I guess the only thing I can level at them is that their third song could’ve used some more high end shimmer. But that’s such a nit-picky criticism that I feel silly for even putting it to print. Their show literally rocked the cowboy hat off the head of Grandmaster of Musical Merriment and Festivities John Schultz. I loved their set. I loved it loved it loved it loved it loved it.

Did I mention I loved it?

HASHA

If you want sonic whiplash, attend Lonely Heights and HASHA concerts back to back in rapid succession. For some bands, such a jarring genre shift would be a weakness, but HASHA knows exactly what they are and what they do, and they do it well.

Opening with swirly, ethereal tones, the band drew listeners in with a subtle build into a laid back, funky groove with melodic, interlocking polyrhythms. This song, entitled “Away,” has an instrumental that’s good enough to listen to on repeat without a vocal track. But when you put superstar vocalist Marie Hopoate over the top of it, it becomes a singular experience. This magic is further supported by tasteful harmonies from her brother Robert, who blends with her in a way only flesh and blood can.

Their second song was a beautiful, piano-driven ballad that convinced me that Marie just might be one of the best vocalists in Utah. The moment the first chorus hit and she started switching effortlessly over her vocal break between her chest voice and head voice made one random citizen exclaim “OH, YEAH” so audibly I heard it from the Enchanted Chamber. At the climax of the piece, she belted so powerfully the whole venue cheered and applauded. The same thing happened again when Robert joined in with a powerful, soulful unison. They had everyone eating out of the palm of their hands, and when she commanded the audience to sing along on an oh melody in the outro, everyone did it wholeheartedly. Chills, homies. I got chills. This was a magical piece.

This magic happened again on the next track when guitarist Mitch Tousley stepped up for one of the most rippin’, soulful guitar solos I’ve heard in a long, long time. He entered with pickups after a powerful and abrupt cut off from the rest of the band, and when they all came in on the downbeat, the crowd lost their minds.

This was a GREAT performance.

My only critique of HASHA has nothing to do with music. Sometimes HASHA’s performance felt like a set, and sometimes it felt like a show. Their songs, their live arrangements, their instrumental ability, etc. are so good that they deserve to be at show level at all times. When the band was playing, they felt like a magical show. But their transitions, even though they were professional and brief, were mostly the same: “This next song is about ____.”

My advice for them is to save that “This next song is about ____” bit and use it one time before their most important song. When it’s done in between every song, no matter how briefly and quick, it feels like a time filler instead of an intentional thing. I can’t wait for the day when I see HASHA just roll from one song to the next without asking the audience’s permission; where every second between songs is just as intentional and beautiful as the absolute masterpieces they hit us with tonight.

I had a blast during Lonely Heights’ set, and I’m biased towards pop punk. But this set nearly brought me to tears and HASHA was my pick for winner tonight.

The Bombshell Flowers

Watching The Bombshell Flowers was a real joy. Last time I covered them at a Velour Battle of the Bands was back in 2016 when they were in high school. Then known as Melting Rain, they unfortunately were disqualified that night because one of their band members had an emergency and couldn’t make it. Talking to drummer Brendan Blackham after the show, he said, “I hate that you remember that. That was the lowest night ever for me. That was the night my dreams almost died.”

But I will gladly quote my past self here, because I was prophetic: “Brendan Blackham of Melting Rain put on a stellar solo performance in place of the rest of his band… This kid is a triple threat. The regular drummer for Melting Rain, he’s also a dang good guitarist and vocalist in his own right.”

It was really great to see Brendan singing and drumming again years later – this time with a full band and eight years of growth. He was incredible then, and he’s incredible now. As a lead vocalist AND drummer, he’s pretty much the Phil Collins of Provo.

This band is catchy, riffy, and groovy. I’d put them in the Provocore genre, with clean guitar tones and an emphasis on unison grooves and complex soli rhythms. But they had more of a power pop feel and a vocal approach that really sets them apart: they feel like The Wonders time traveled to the 2010s to cover COIN and The Backseat Lovers.

They’re a really tight band, and they make some serious sound with only three members. Their multi-member vocal approach gives them the kind of edge I haven’t seen in a local band since Cinders. It helps that all three members sing, and they do it well. Their harmonies not only survived but thrived during a classic 50s rock key change and I loved it.

Unfortunately, they had a string break during their set and it kind of killed the momentum. Which is a shame, because they were so fun and their songs were quirky and catchy. They could’ve been frontrunners, but in a show this close, it really stood out. Lesson learned: even if it feels extra, always bring a spare guitar.

Everyone go stream their song “Monday” though. It’s an absolute banger.

Swerved By Blondes

Swerved By Blondes has improved SO MUCH since the last time I saw them. They’ve always brought the energy (and they had it in spades tonight), but I always felt their songwriting was lagging behind their showmanship and musicianship. That all changed tonight.

Their first song was a riffy, rowdy anthem that befits their vibe. It’s singable, it’s carefree, it’s in your face. These guys are the Party Princes of Provo – the Andrew W.K. of the Wasatch Front. They’re true innovators as far as stage antics are concerned: they’re certainly the only band I’ve ever seen launch a female-only mosh pit. And their double kick breakdowns go hard, dudes.

While this set was undeniably fun, unfortunately Swerved By Blondes didn’t quite stack up when it came to the technical tightness or musicality of the likes of HASHA and Lonely Heights. Swerved By Blondes is so SO close – they just need to figure out how to stay rhythmically tight while executing all of their beloved, smile inducing antics. There were no disastrously out of time moments by any means, but they were noticeably looser than the other bands when the party started going too hard. It would also help if they turned off the antics for one or two songs to make the times they go nuts more impactful. Add some salt to the sweet, you know what I mean?

But when you’re having this much fun, who really cares?

Avintaquin

Okay what the h*ck kind of steroids were these bands taking backstage that made every single one of their openers an absolute banger? Avintaquin’s opening number had a massively anthemic “hey ho” chorus. The hook (over a sudden half time shift coupled with Hyrum Peatross’ powerful tenor vocals) was so powerful that it overcame the fact that they were the only folk band of the night. The crowd – initially disengaged when the song kicked off with acoustic guitar – were cheering by the chorus.

This was an incredible thing to pull off after such a rowdy and beefy night full of rumbling bass, double kick, and stadium-quality vocals. Every one of the Peatross siblings had a chance to shine tonight – both as a featured solo vocalist or an impressive backup vocalist.

I want it known that I’m a huge fan of Avintaquin. Their vocal talent is unreal. I’ve had the pleasure of sharing bills with them as part of Michael Barrow & The Tourists. I’m a fan of them as people. I’m a fan of them as musicians. I’m even a fan of them as showmen. Some of their most theatrical moments – like the senselessly epic trashcan ending that came out of nowhere at the end of their second song – genuinely thrilled me. It’s an indicator of their great taste.

Unfortunately they haven’t sold me yet on their songwriting. There’s a disparity between their taste and their skill as songwriters. Every song in their set was well performed, but none of it felt… what’s the word? Groundbreaking? Fresh? New? Revolutionary? Instead, it all felt pleasant. Inoffensive. Good. But otherwise not something I wanted to rush home to stream.

With one remarkable exception.

Liam fronted their third song, and it was a goshd*rn, motherh*ckin masterpiece. The song was intentional. It was pure. It took itself seriously. And it was a journey from start to finish. This is a song the band really needs to examine and say, “Ok, what about this is working so well? What can we replicate and apply in different contexts?”

Avintaquin has so much potential. I love them deeply. I love their stage personas. I love how sincere they are. I love hearing them. There’s just some growth in their songwriting and arranging that needs to happen before they can really hit that next level. But Liam might’ve cracked the code on this one.

Results

As any avid PMM reader knows, there can only be one winner. After much anticipation, the Grandmaster of Musical Merriment and Festivities John Schultz took the stage to reveal the winner. And the winner of Velour’s Summer 2024 Battle of the Bands was…

Avintaquin.

This was a wild night with a TON of talent present throughout. I enjoyed my time and couldn’t be more proud of the Provo music scene. A huge thanks to everyone who made the Summer 2024 Battle of the Bands such a success.

Make sure to follow Avintaquin on Instagram and check out their song “Vcr” below.