Tin Bangs @ NXNE 2008

BACKGROUND/COMPOSITION: This garage rock four-piece have come pretty far in only a year and a half, parlaying their street buzz into opening slots for touring acts such as Editors and The Killers.

Grade: 78

Comment: Tin Bangs immediately won points for being the only band to attract a double digit crowd to the Kathedral on Saturday night. The audience even approached the stage unbeckoned and proceeded to bob politely. The band were fortunate to have such immediate goodwill, because there were a few speed bumps in their set. They weathered the storm and pulled together a solid 40 minutes of catchy rock influenced by '70s New York punk. Still, they couldn't seem to push the audience past the nodding head stage.

Achievement of Rock 'n' Roll Expectations
80-100: Exceeds skill and knowledge expectations, i.e. rocked us so hard we peed our pants.
70-79: Achieves required skills and knowledge. Meets rock 'n' roll standard.
60-69: Demonstrates some skills. Approaches rock 'n' roll standard.
50-59: Demonstrates some required skills and knowledge in a limited way.
00-50: Has not demonstrated required skills or knowledge.

Learning Skills: E=Excellent, G=Good, S=Satisfactory, N=Sad Really

Oral And Visual Communication
Eye Contact: G
Pronunciation: E
Stage Presence: G
Stage Banter: S
Image: G
Appearance: G
Use Of Stage: G

Strengths/Weaknesses/NextStep: 
Twisting his body so that his head angled upwards toward the mic, frontman Ben Taylor alternately shrieked and wailed. He looked and sounded young, though not at all in a bad way. Really, his voice had a clarity that is unusual in bands of Tin Bangs' genre. Nothing much happened in the way of stage antics. Lead guitarist Bryan Dunlay tried a couple short walks into the crowd and three girls got on stage and clapped for the last song. Pretty standard stuff.

Musical Analysis
Level Of Participation: G
Problem Solving: S
Teamwork: G
Work Habits: G
Organization: S
Audience Participation: G
Sound: N
Composition: G
Songs: G

Strengths/Weaknesses/NextStep: 
There was real problem solving in this set, but it didn't exactly merit high marks. Early in a cover of The Stooges' "Search And Destroy," a high-pitch squeal invaded the speakers. As a fan of noise I thought it wasn't so bad, but the sound guy went ballistic. While he was on stage fixing the whine, Taylor pulled his mic free of its cord. He tried switching to another microphone only to find it had been cut to fix the feedback. Meanwhile, the sound tech struggled with the lead mic stand which Taylor inadvertently knocked over. It was like The Three Stooges put on a rock concert.

Other Skills And Areas Of Interest
Charisma: G
Problem Solving: N
Teamwork: G
Sexiness: E
Haircut: G
Indie Rock Footwear: G
Nods To Disposible Fashion: G
Cool Equipment: G
Level Of Inebriation: E
Actual Ability: G

Strengths/Weaknesses/NextStep:
Oh yes, this is quite a pretty band. Surely there were women swooning over Taylor's sharp cheekbones, retro three-quarter sleeve T-shirt and aloof rockstar poise. Bearded bassist Phil Darling was the cute one and lead guitarist Bryan Dunlay took over The Rolling Stones style ugly-hot. Drummer Robbie Butcher was hard to see at the back of the stage, but I'm sure he's adorable.