Pacific:

1.5 stars

Pacific left the listener feeling a bit underwhelmed.  The crowded 5-man stage sounded like a flock of 27-year old Billy Ray Cyrus indie hipsters whose parents bought their ripped jeans and Chuck Taylors.  The simple drum beats and repetitive strumming made the audience believe they were listening to an opening act. And although they were the first act to play, Pacific sounded like they missed the memo that this was supposed to be a competition… a battle in fact.  Or maybe these Nashville hotshots are too cool for school and just ignored the message. Either way, let’s hope the bands to come have their fax machines plugged in and received the memo.

: 6.8/10

Wow, what a wake-up call to this once tiresome musical show.  If this competition is a battle, then The Shortlist is George Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas and absolutely gutting those no-good Hessians.  This four-piecer brought a depth to this battle which was once lacking. Throughout the short set, The Shortlist wakened up the crowd and sonically communicated energy, heartbreak, and Friday night feelings all at one time.  These four rockers have definitely been “Shortlisted” to my top picks.

Two thumbs down

Let’s start with the name.  Cole Hennessey? After seeing a single name, this writer was expecting two things out of the third act of the night: a musician who is talented and performing solo.  Unfortunately, Cole Hennessey underdelivered on the former and over delivered on the latter. With a backing band who apparently got no credit and plaid pants so short and revealing of his ankles he would be tried as a witch in the 18

th

century, Cole Hennessey had a clear wartime strategy: distract the audience with looks, dance moves, and flair to disguise the mediocre songs.  Perhaps he borrowed the strategy from the rebels which tried to flank the Union in the wee hours of the morning at Gettysburg. Well, let me tell you one thing… this yankee wasn’t fooled.  As he danced across the stage trying to be John Mayer, Cole Hennessey and (Band name to be determined) successfully won the election for Mayor of last place town.

3 Gold Medals

The winner.  I’m calling it now.  With some far-out costumes, this easy-going group of goofballs brought a smile to the crowd with their bright, crispy pop songs.  Sounding a bit like Vampire Weekend in all the best ways, Dayglow walked the very fine fence between top 40 pop and underground indie.  And let me tell you, these crowd favorites didn’t just walk, they waltzed along that fence. With some of the first successful crowd participation attempts of the night, Dayglow quickly became the clear frontrunner.

☹

With a grey hoodie which probably cost $85 and a faded haircut with tiger stripes which somehow cost even more, Mr. Knowles closed out the night of performances.  After reading that his music was self-described as “chill-pop,” I quickly became skeptical. The only thing “chill” about the performance was the crisp March breeze I felt as I walked out of the Palace Theater after only his first song.  As I walked back to my car along Main Street, I could continue hearing his strained, forced overproduced songs as if they were searching for ears to listen. Well if Zachary’s music was searching for my ears, I might as well be Vincent van Gogh with an earplug in the ear he didn’t cut off.  Mr. Knowles did, however, experience some above-average crowd reactions. Even if the applause came from some personal friends and family, these votes cannot be overlooked in the all-too-important winners’ poll which will open soon after the show.