On Saturday the 16th, the Pub Entertainment Committee (PEC) held its annual spring concert focused entirely on Clark bands. This year, the club opted to do a “battle of the bands” in which audience members could vote for their favorite bands. The band with the most votes gets to play as an opener at this year’s Spree Day. Five Clarkie bands were highlighted at the concert, all with different music genres, band members, and original music. 

My Neighbor George, a long-time fan favorite at Clark concerts, played first highlighting entirely original songs. With six band members, they were the largest group that played at The Battle of The Bands. Utilizing their group well, the band executed beautiful harmonies with a melodic sound that wowed the crowd. 

In contrast, the second act, Barrow Boys, had only two members. With their smaller size, the group focused more heavily on their lyricism, creating a very intimate experience with the audience, and talking about themes that were evidently very personal to the performers. 

To bring up the energy in the room, Twelve Pack Of Safety glasses came out next. As opposed to the other acts, only one member of the band, Marcus Palumbo, was a Clark student, with the other three members being the group member’s brother and friends from their town. With the best stage presence of the night, the group played a mixture of originals and covers, starting with their own spin on Queen’s Under Pressure. Twelve Pack of Safety Glasses expertly executed a mixture of groovy electric keyboard with intense bass bringing the entire crowd to their feet and dancing. 

After a short break, the three members of Ginger Chris came onstage to play, once again bringing the energy even higher in the room. The trio skillfully brought out intense yet still melodic build-ups throughout their music. The group’s drummer, Aria Cranford, showcased their immense talent throughout the band’s performance, perfectly matching the energy of the crowd and songs. 

To end the night, Pillars of Atlas came out with four original tracks. Despite it being their first time as a band onstage, through their intense rock and punk tone the group managed to bring the entire audience up near the stage and even a few in the crowd creating a mosh pit. Every member of the band brought their all, cementing their immense talent as a group. 

Before the concert, I sat down with Pillars of Atlas to learn about what it’s like to start a college band, as well as how the group got started. “I was sitting in Wright third floor,” Jack Tykodi, the group’s drummer tells us, “and I was drumming on a box I had just bought. David was playing guitar and Cam had a ukulele in her hand and I was like guys, we should start a band.” Phoebe, the group’s lead vocalist added “We went to the park to mess around and we started playing the first song we wrote, Barotrauma. It was the most magical thing in the world. I felt the world stop for a second.” When describing their sound, the group explained that each group member comes with their own musical backgrounds. “We’re all coming from different musical interests and backgrounds”, Phoebe expressed, “There’s not a single song of ours that is consistent with a theme.” 

As the event approached, the band also shared how they prepared for their first show on stage. “We decided we need to like, you know, get our shit together and complete songs because of this show”, David, one of the guitarists, mentioned, “ It’s been a pretty good motivator – For me, like every practice, I just get lost in all these songs. I’ve grown to love them so much. I’m just excited to be able to share that, it’s gonna be awesome.”

At the end of the night, crowd members ranked their favorite bands of the night to decide who they thought had the best performance. With an incredibly close vote, My Neighbor George won in the end allowing them to once again play the coveted Spree Day spot. Prize aside, The Battle of The Bands showed off the immense talent of Clark bands. Whether it be the melodic harmonies of My Neighbor George or the heavier rock that the Pillars Of Atlas offered, each band brought their all and once again cemented the incredible talent the Clark music community has.