By Rebecca Vikari
Moshing, crowd surfing, dancing, screaming and a little head banging.
Those describe both a true rock show and also BYUSA”s “Battle of the Bands” Friday night, Oct. 6, 2006, in the Ballroom.
Ten Provo bands rocked their hardest in hopes of winning votes from BYU students.
BYUSA student activities vice president Jessica Witt said despite the fun time the competition provides students, they are always a little apprehensive because of rock ”n” roll”s tendency toward rowdiness.
“Battle of the Bands is a great event, but we have a little anxiety because it is a rock show,” Witt said. “It was great though, and the students rocked out.”
The rule of the night was that if any students started moshing or crowd surfing during any given band”s set, the band would be disqualified. But some students took advantage of this rule, by moshing when bands they didn”t like took the stage.
“They took one for the team,” said business major Jared Smith, a sophomore from Arizona. “Bless their hearts. I love those guys.”
Sergeant Wayne Buck of the BYU Police realized that because of the genre of music, inappropriate behavior was bound to happen.
“It”s all in a days work,” Buck said. “A couple of times it got a little out of hand, so we stepped in.”
After all the bands played, students had the opportunity to vote for their favorite act, and shortly after, the winners were chosen. First prize was $500 and eight hours of free recording time. In third place was Billy Turbo, Metzener won second place, and in first place was Truman.
“It was ethereal,” said Truman guitarist Tyson Chapman, a senior studying economics.
Bassist Aaron Allred was impressed with the professional atmosphere during the competition.
“BYU did a good job with the sound,” Allred said. “It was overall a good production. Everyone liked it. It was a fun night, and we”re excited.”
Jeff Hart, guitarist and vocalist for Metzener, appreciated the support of his fellow BYU students.
“It went really well,” Hart said. “The fans at BYU are really awesome. It looked like a sea of people. I think it”s great that a lot of people stuck around this year.”
Overall, the students enjoyed the show and agreed that this was something unique to BYU”s entertainment scene.
“It was fun,” said Smith said. “It was the first time I”ve ever done something like that.”
