As the Christmas season approaches I am sure many are out with all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season but I do welcome you to another re-cap of The Next Great American Band.
Dominic Bowden in his usual attire of jeans, t-shirt and jacket does the introductions to the Green Room where the remaining 6 bands wait to find out if they are going forward and also to our judges who look quite nice with John all in black, Sheila in gold and Dicko wearing one of Liberace's shirts as Dominic mentions.
This week the bands will do the music of Mr. Rod "Do You Think I'm Sexy" Stewart. And yes Rod I do think you are quite sexy and I have all of your music from Day 1. In Rod's wonderful career he has over 200 million in record sales and even today is still a force in the music world with his Songbook Collections. On his last tour of this collection he had sold out 92 arenas and his sales of these songs are over 90 million alone.
Our first group to be saved is Dot, Dot, Dot. I was kind of upset by this performance as Adam starts that goofy stuff which I think distracts from his vocal abilities. Also the band decides to do "Young Turks" which I can honestly say is not a favorite song of mine of Rod's. The band does do this song with energy and Rose and Adam do a decent duet of the song but overall I was not blown away as I have been by some of their prior performances. While John liked it, Sheila and Dicko were not so impressed. My grade: B
Another not so favorite song in the form of "Baby Jane" is performed by Denver & The Mile High Orchestra as they are next to take the stage. They give it a swing-like jazzy version and although Denver was okay with the vocal I was most impressed by the sax solo. All 3 judges were in agreement that they liked it alot. My grade: B
Six Wire is next and give in my opinion the best performance of the night with their rendition of "Hot Legs". Lots of guitar action is featured with this bluesy and rocking version of this song. Sheila is equally impressed as she dances during their performance and gives them a standing ovation once they have finished. John and Dicko really puzzle me as they critique the bass solo but Dicko does mention that musically this band is a master class. My grade: A
The Clark Brothers take the stage to do their version of "Your In My Heart". The first few notes sang by Ashley sound a little rough but once again this man captures the heart with his passion and soulful expression of this song. So much so that it moves Sheila to tears and she can barely speak when it is time for her to give her thoughts. John is also moved by this tender rendition and Dicko calls it magical. My grade: B+
Last but not least Light of Doom is saved and give a heavy-metal type performance of "Infatuation". What can I say about Erik the lead singer who constantly amazes me. This kid has star power written all over him and when he goes into the audience, the girls are swooning. Sadly though this walk does throw his vocals off some but he re-gains the power once he steps back on the stage. Lucas joins him as a back-up vocal which adds some depth to the song. All the judges agree that this band is stepping up to the plate. My grade: B+
Tres Bien is the band to leave this week as I hoped but it is always sad to see anyone go. I went to the Green Room to listen to their original and I must say I liked it. Sure wish this show would let the bands perform their original music instead of covers because it truly shows the talent of the groups.
Okay the remaining 5 bands have all impressed me with different performances so it is anyone's guess who will leave next week as I will not want any of them to go. All I can add is I think either Six Wire or The Clark Brothers are the real contenders for the title. Time will tell, I guess.
Hugs to everyone as we wrap up another round of this show. Have a great week!