Monday, Sep. 10, 2007

Third time's a charm

Hot Shotz X-treme Laser Tag and the Toyota Arena are partnering up for the third bi-annual Battle of the Bands.

This time around, eight bands will be vying for that coveted $1,000 grand prize, plus the extra bonuses that come with taking first place....such as studio time and bragging rights.

The lineup consists of Folding In, Random Orbits, Stupid in Stereo, Nevah, From the Dust, 45th Parallel, Avery, and Diminished.

"They're judged on their crowd participation, their originality and style, their overall performance, stage presence, and music quality," explains Toyota Arena Manager Lance Waddell.

Nerdcore artist and local favorite Beefy will be opening the Battle with a 20-minute set.

"I'm not participating in the actual Battle," Beefy said. "I figured it wouldn't be fair to the other bands."

With eight bands that definitely hold their own and each have their own following; it'll be interesting to see how each group will step up their game to be crowned this Battle's winner.

Attendees can expect the same cool venue at the Toyota Arena with the two side-by-side stages for virtually no in-between set time, ensuring as much rock as you can hold up on two hands.

"Something we're doing different is backstage passes," said Joseph Kuzma, owner of Hot Shotz. "Three lucky winners get to hang out with the bands during the entire show and get cool prizes like posters signed by the bands....and a hug from me."

Last time, the event drew in more than 600 people. This time around Kuzma is confident the event will be bigger than ever, promoting on local radio station airwaves, as well as setting up commercials to run on MTV and VH1.

All new judges will be brought in as well. Last year, there was some discrepancy on whether judges played favorites. As Kuzma puts it, you live and you learn and this year they hope to eliminate the possibility of repeating what happened last year.

If you know what's good for you, you'll find yourself at 7 p.m. on Sept. 15, 2007 at the Toyota Arena. Tickets for the event cost a mere $10 at Ticketmaster and the Toyota Center ticketbox, or $12 at the door.