Rockstar Bar Battle Of The Bands Preview (Night 2)

It's now time for our second preview of the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands Semifinals, as the second night of the final round qualifiers goes down TOMORROW NIGHT! As brought to you by The Rockstar Bar, Case's Music, The Rad Zone, and The Sault Metal Scene, three more local bands will gather at The Rockstar Bar tomorrow night to join last week's winners Late & Loud as the second finalist band on April 24th, where they'll compete for prizes like $1,000, recording time at Case's Music, a guaranteed opening slot at one of co-promoter J.D. Pearce's upcoming concerts, and more to be announced! Judges Jay Case, Len Ward, and myself will have the work cut out for us though tomorrow night, as all three bands are making their first ever battle of the bands appearances, and all only just formed last year, so which of these three will leave the biggest impression to punch their finals ticket in two weeks (and can one of the runner-up bands score highly enough with the judges to earn the fourth wild card pass to the finals?)

Remember, like last week, I will NOT critique the individual bands or predict any results, as to remain fair & impartial given that I'm judging tomorrow. Instead, I'll just promote and hype the event and bands, and encourage readers to attend and support the competitors, just like last week. That all said, which of these three newer (and very different) local rock bands will prove victorious in the second semifinal come tomorrow night? Here's info on all three of tomorrow's acts, in alphabetical order:

The Northern Tragedy: Just 6 months after their debut gig, this new local punk trio will return to The Rockstar Bar for their first local battle of the bands tomorrow, and they've been making many fans at varying supporting & headlining gigs since last fall with their energetic original material! Drummer Terrence Gomes has had mixed success with Creedon & The Animal Detectives and Changing Waves in two recent battles of the bands, but can he improve on those finishes with The Northern Tragedy come tomorrow night?

The Pesto Shirts: This year-old acoustic jazz/rock quartet will make their first live concert appearance with new drummer Jake Rendell tomorrow night, and while they're the softest of this month's bands, they're very talented and not to be ignored! Guitarist Steve Myers won the 2008 Skid Row Battle with Sense of Truth, and both they & Jake's other band Blues Harvest made the Kiss Battle finals the next year, but can these guys and girls pull out a victory over their plugged-in competitors with their varied rock renditions?

The Suicide Kings: Since their debut last fall, this hard rock quartet have played a number of major concerts, and even began EP recording sessions, and they'll surely to be ready as they hit The Rockstar Bar for the third time in three weeks! Guitarist Steven Flint won a three-way tiebreaker for 3rd with Wishbone at last year's Humane Society Battle, with bassist Mitch Sirie a point behind them with The Bear Hunters, but can The Suicide Kings' varied originals & covers take them back to those heights at this battle?

Save for any sudden cancellations, tomorrow's winning band will return for the finals in two weeks on April 24th, where they'll take on week 1 winners Late & Loud, whoever wins next week (either The Bear Hunters, Giwakwa, or Sykotyk Rampage), and the highest scoring semifinal runner-up band for the top prize! Note as well that The Suicide Kings' Mitch Sirie is The Bear Hunters' lead guitarist as well, so imagine if both of his current bands made the finals?! Like last week, admission TOMORROW NIGHT will be $3 at the door and next week, but the finals cost $10. Ticket packages can still be bought at The Rockstar Bar/Algonquin Hotel or through participating band members for $15 (which is still a deal), and everything starts at 10:00 PM with a 19+ age limit tomorrow. For more details, check out the official Facebook event page or the above links! We saw a great night of music and competition last week, but which of tomorrow's bands will prove ready for a spot in the finals in their first battle, and can tomorrow's second place band overcome last week's for that wild card finals spot?

Can The Northern Tragedy ensure some punk representation in the battle finals on April 24th? Can Steve & Jake return to the upper echelon of a local battle with The Pesto Shirts tomorrow night? Or can The Suicide Kings continue their prolific early success with a finals run this month? We'll find out which of these newer local bands will win their way to the finals TOMORROW NIGHT, and I'll be sure to see you guys there! Thanks everyone!