Rod Stewart is the man.  The final five bands performed Rod Stewart songs tonight on The Next Great American Band, but there was no sign of Maggie Mae, which was unfortunate.  I was also hoping for some old school Faces tunes, but no luck.   The final five bands have two clear favorites, who both showed off their dominance of the other bands tonight.  One of the bands is good, but not good enough.  The other two don’t really belong. 

Tres Bien was eliminated tonight.  I really like Tres Bien and think that they have a good future ahead.  If they can convince a record company to give them studio time I think the results would be surprisingly good.  Here’s what the five final bands did on tonight’s American Band. 

Dot Dot Dot – “Young Turks”

Dot Dot Dot continues its streak of very good performances.  This was also probably the lead singer’s strongest outing.  These guys may be the most widely commercial, MTV-worthy band still in the competition.  Their performances are just getting tighter and better every week.  I used to hate these guys, but now they’re one of my favorites.  Sheila E isn’t a huge fan, she didn’t like the vocal.  She babbles mostly, talking about “a pocket.”  Dicko didn’t think they told the story well enough.  Me, I couldn’t care less about the story. 

Denver and the Mile High Orchestra – “Baby Jane”

Ooh, they’re wearing shirts, ties, jackets and JEANS.  So edgy.  They were Denver – we know what we’re getting.  They play their instruments very well, but it’s going to be safe and full of horns.  There was a sax solo tonight, and Denver performed better than he had in any previous performance.  They’re a great corporate band.  They talked earlier in the show that a lot of Rod Stewart’s lyrics were too racy for their tastes – they’re religious dudes. 

Sixwire – “Hot Legs”

All right, Sixwire deserves to win. They said “Screw country” tonight and absolutely rocked.  Bass solo, awesome harmonies and the best vocal performance of the season.   I really like this song, as well.  There’s nothing more to say.  Incredibly good.  Great band.  The judges love it. 

The Clark Brothers – “You’re in My Heart”

The Brothers slowed things down tonight, playing a ballad and, again, showing their awesome talent.  Great singing performance, great arrangement, great performance.  Talented dudes, The Clark Brothers.  Sheila E cries and can’t even say anything, she’s so moved.  It was a little much when she broke down, but I guess she’s an emotional woman. 

Light of Doom – “Infatuation”

They do their thing every week.  These guys play the hell out of their instruments for being so young.  Tonight was one of their better performances, but that doesn’t stop the fact all their performances sound alike.  It sucks that they took Tres Bien’s place.  The judges praise them, because what else can you do? 

-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of FOX)

Oscar Dahl

Senior Writer, BuddyTV