It’s no secret that Eddie Japan is one of my favorite bands in town. Their run in the 2013 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble showed exactly why that is. Their wasn’t a single moment during any one of theirsets in the year’s event where I thought they were anywhere but at their best. From the songs to the showmanship, the folks in Eddie Japan refused to let each other down. This was their night. This was their year. Eddie Japan won the 2013 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble.
Glenn Yoder And The Western States don’t mess around. Their set in the Rumble Finals was impeccable. They’ve got musicianship and songs to burn. When these guys and gal get going you can feel the heat coming off the stage. Outstanding.
It would seem that Twin Berlin had one mission in the 2013 Rumble: Remind everybody that rock ‘n’ roll is supposed to be fun. That’s exactly what them did in the Prelims. They did it again in the Semis, The Finals were no different. These guys are a blast.
Anngelle and the gang have done it again.
The 2013 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble is drawing to a close. We’re 32 sets deep into this thing. Glenn Yoder And The Western States, Eddie Japan and Twin Berlin (wildcard) will square off in the final round tomorrow night at TT’s. The Dogmatics are the special guest band. This is going to be good. Before you head out, here are a couple of quick thoughts on the Semifinals.
Not Their First Rodeo Glenn Yoder And The Western States have done this before.
There was a lot of past Rumble experience taking the stage on Semifinal Night #1. Glenn Yoder And The Western States, White Dynomite, The Daily Pravda and Lifestyle all had at least one member that had been through the ringer before. They combined for more than 20 previous Rumble appearances. You knew everyone was going to be at their best before the night even began.
Experience Vs And Youth Is this Twin Berlin and the crowd or the crowd and Twin Berlin?
On Semifinal Night #2, only members of Eddie Japan had Rumbled before. It paid off for them. They won the night. The first timers had a pretty good showing as well. Camden and The New Highway Hymnal both put on great shows. Closing out the night, Twin Berlin earned themselves a spot in the final round as the wildcard with a band/crowd blurring set.
Cover Me Lifestyle covered Ad Frank And The Fast Easy Women. I was happy.
One of my favorite moments of this year’s event came when Ad Frank took the mic during Lifestyle’s set to cover himself. The band launched into the old Ad Frank And The Fast Easy Women* tune “Winterthru.” It was amazing.
Fun With Numbers Eddie Japan played first and wore a lot of ties.
We’re number one: Both of the Semifinal winners (Glenn Yoder And The Western States / Eddie Japan) were the first band to compete on their night.
Lucky thirteen: The Semifinals featured thirteen band members that had participated in a previous Rumble.
Eight way tie: 8 performers in this year’s semifinal round donned ties for the occasion. Last year there was only one.**
Play Me Out
There were some great song in the Semis. Here are a few of them. Come on out to the Finals tomorrow night at TT’s!
Twin Berlin knows how to let loose on a Monday night. Their Rumble semifinal set of raucous, fuzzed-out tunes got people going. They didn’t take the night, but they earned a spot in the finals as the wildcard. They’ll do it all again on Friday night…
I’m pretty sure this is a first. Rumble Semifinal Night #2 was rescheduled to a Monday and we’ve got a special guest to open the night!* Randy Black And The Heathcroppers are 3 Rumble alum, so they’re right at home opening the night as a non-competing guest band.
* Extraordinary times, extraordinary measures and all. Special thanks to Brendan Boogie and Tsunami of Sound for giving up their slots, as well.
Sean T. Drinkwater said Lifestyle was created to provide an escape. We could use some more of that around here these days. Their Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Semifinal set was a temporary and much needed distraction from reality.
