American Band: Top 12 Bands Perform

Oh boy, that stage is ugly. Yikes, that guy Dicko is flying in from Australia every week? Isn’t that like a 14 hour flight? this first week the bands will be performing a Bob Dylan tune and an original song. Good, glad they’re doing something of their own too.

Denver & The Mile High Band
The big band kicks off the show with “The Freight Train Blues”. Alright. If only I knew a single one of Bob Dylan’s songs, sigh. They sang their original “One Time Show” right off the bat. Eh, these songs sounded the same, they did have energy though. The lead singer makes too many scary faces at the camera. This band is going to get annoying quick.

The Hatch
The Maroon 5 wannabees took on “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”. Their original song “Stretch Out The Time” was blech…. I couldn’t understand anything the guy was singing at all. I wasn’t even sure what exactly was wrong with that song but Johnny Reznik said it didn’t have a hook. And the Australian guy said they were just “jamming”. Yeah, it was probably one or the other.

Light of Doom
A lot of people are giving these kids a hard time saying they’re a gimmick, and they are, but they play just as well as anyone else in the competition. Give the kids a chance! They sang “All Along The Watch Tower ” and “Eye of the Storm” and the opening kinda sounded like “Eye of the Tiger”, heh. They pretty much rocked the first two bands off the stage.

Oh and I’m glad they put their shirts back on. Some of them, at least.

The Likes of You
These guys are pretty tight for only having been together for five months. Lead singer is tall. Looks like the bald alien with the flowers from Men in Black. They covered “Blowin’ In The Wind” and it sounded on the countryish to me. Their original song, “Love and Gravity” was mellow and pop rockish but it actually had a melody, unlike whatever it was The Hatch did earlier. I kinda liked it; these guys are pretty good. Lead singer likes falsetto (I could do without that….).

Judges liked ‘em for the most part; Johnny said their song was hit material. Lead singer pretty much admits that they just put the band together for the show, hmm….

Rocket
The resident girl group took on the classic “Knockin’ On Heavens Door”. Oh, so I DO know one of Bob Dylan’s songs! Right from the first measure of this performance I was worried. They gave it their own vibe but it didn’t do the song justice. Their original song was called “Mean To You”……..sigh, I just really don’t like this kind of music.

And we get it, you can count to four!!

Judges seemed to like it. But why?

Cliff Wagner & The Old Number 7
Well, it’s not often that you see bluegrass on national TV so I guess it’s pretty cool to see something different. They covered “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”; I actually liked the way they sang it but the Australian judge missed the feeling of “spite” that the original had. I wouldn’t know. “Old Fire” was their original; yep, these guys play well even though it’s not my cup of tea.

The Muggs
Last week I mentioned that these guys really ROCKED it out and they did the same this week with “Meet Me In The Morning” and their original “Slow Curve”. Only negative thing I can say about them is the lead singers voice is a bit too raspy. Is it me or did he sound less high pitched before?

The Clarks Brothers
A really cool reader mentioned in the comments section last week that one of the guys is the violin player for Carrie Underwood, and I also read that their family band had a hit at one time (I think I remember them?). They covered “Maggie’s Farm” and sang their original, “Billy The Kid”. The bros played both numbers pretty darn well. I especially liked that these guys understand dynamics and how to put on a show in their own way.

Tres Bien
They were very good (pun intended) the first time but I really felt like they were missing something tonight. Their songs were “Subterranian Homesick Blues” and “Easy To Love Me”. I don’t think they’re going to be versatile enough in the long run.

Franklin Bridge
Yesssss. What I was looking forward to. My favorite band from week 1 covered “Tangled Up In Blue”; it was good, but they can do better. And they did with their original “Incredible”. It was the same song from last week and I’m so glad they sang it again because I love, love, LOVE that song.

Dicko said the lead singer was over range in the first song. It’s like he just HAS to say something negative to everyone. Sheila predicted they would win…..yeah, she just jinxed them. I see these guys falling through the cracks and it’s a shame.

Dot Dot Dot
Oh boy. I really wanted to hate on these guys and go on some sort of tirade about how the tweenyboppers will vote for them (which they will/are) and the fact that the whole band looks like Lukas Rossi exploded on them, but I thought they REALLY stood out tonight. They sang “Like A Rolling Stone” and their original “Another Stupid Love Song” and in about five minutes I’m going to try and rip that song from their myspace (if it’s available). Seriously, it’s radio ready.

It’s funny though because the judges obviously don’t like them much, but from what I’ve read online the viewers are really feeling them. All three judges were pretty harsh on the band but they really would be smart to listen and learn from what was said.

Oh and another Idol connection; yet another of our fabulous commenters informed us that the two girls were in a band with Gina Glockson.

Sixwire
Okay, the lead singer looks like Josh Holloway’s uncle or something and it’s kinda creepy. Not that that’s at all relevant but I just had to mention it. They sang “Mr. Tambourine Man” and the same song we heard from them last week, “Good To Be Back”. The first was snoozeworthy for me; it just sounded generic country. Something is telling me they’re going to sound the same every single week.

Alright, time for the verdict. I’ll definitely be sticking with this show but I was hoping it would start off a tad bit better. It is kinda cheesy, but as long as the good bands stick around it could turn into a nice competition towards the end.

Who will go? If I had to put my money on someone it would be he big band and Rocket. I’ve got nothing against girl powah but those ladies are out of their league. The bluegrass band could be at risk, but they deserve to stay, and Tres Bien didn’t make much of an impression.

My faves are the same: Franklin Bridge and The Likes of You. The Muggs are awesome too. Dot Dot Dot is growing on me. Don’t ask me who’s going to win this….maybe Dot Dot Dot or The Clarks Brothers, but probably not the two bands Sheila E. predicted.