Last Thursday night, November 17, Yeshiva University hosted its Third Annual Battle of the Bands competition. The competition began three years ago in response to growing musical involvement on the YU campus. Since then, the competition has grown in size and popularity. This year, the caliber of the music was higher than ever before as five bands competed for the opening slot at YU’s Hanukkah concert.
As in the past, the each band performed some variety of Jewish music. Some of the bands that played Thursday have names like Midnight Remedy (a reference to the late night prayer service mourning the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem) and Tzemach, the Hebrew word for budding vegetation. What constitutes “Jewish music” in this context consists of lyrics derived from either Psalms or the prayer book sung along to original pop or rock melodies – the format that the winning band, Omek Hadavar, which means “the depth of the matter,” used.
Last year, both musical and organizational problems plagued the competition. The Geraldine Schottenstein Cultural Center on the midtown, Stern College campus, where the event was held, quickly became packed and students holding tickets were locked out for the first portion of the concert. Once allowed in, they were treated to performances which mostly ranged the gamut from average to boring. The one ray of light at last year’s concert was Jason Caplan, who leads the double life of YU rabbinical student by day and jazz/funk/rock guitar virtuoso by night.
Of course, the biggest disappointment surrounding the 2003 Battle of the Bands came once the winner was announced. Instead of Caplan, or even one of the more mediocre bands, the winner was a group called Emet, whose selection seemed to hint at a discrepancy between the audience’s and the judges’ tastes. While it seems fair to say that a majority of the students at the concert were fans of rock and roll and contemporary pop music, the panel of judges were figures from the professional Jewish music industry who produce music much more influenced by disco, show tunes (of the Andrew Lloyd Webber, rather than the Gershwin variety) and traditional cantoral music. Emet, with its syncopated rhythms, group harmonies and keyboard lead arrangements seemed to reflect this preference, and their selection left some of the audience members scratching their heads
This year, under the leadership of Yeshiva College President Ayal Frist, efforts were made to correct some of last year’s shortcomings. The concert moved uptown to Lamport Auditorium on the Yeshiva College campus which allows for larger seating capacity. And though some of last year’s bands are on the lineup again this year, the additional year of practice and rehearsal seemed to pay off.
The first group to play, the Josh Heller Experience, lacked cohesiveness, but added stage presence with the harmonica riffs of Avi Steinberg. They were followed by a set of deep, complex songs by Midnight Remedy. Lead singer and songwriter Jeremy Gaison brought out extra singers and a group of talented back up musicians to add power to his songs. But Gaison and his group were beat into second by Omek Hadavar, led by Chaim Feigenbaum, who won over the judges with a set of strong straightforward rock songs.
Additionally, Simply Tsfat, a trio of Hassidim who play incredible arrangements of traditional Breslov songs using two guitars and a violin, wrapped up the concert after the competing bands had finished, providing an exciting end to an entertaining night.
