The Next Great American Band, despite the constant criticism from everywhere, had its fair share of good to great performances.  The show had a lot of talent flow through its ranks.  Unfortunately, these performances were pretty rare. Realistically, the top five performances could all be songs by The Clark Brothers, but I'm going to be fair and limit one song per band on the list.  This means that some deserving performances will be left off the list and, just to incite the ever-frisky Denver fans, I have included exactly zero performances by Denver and the Mile High Orchestra.  Sorry.  I wanted to give Franklin Bridge some love, but after looking back at all The Next Great American Band episodes on which they appeared, I couldn't find one defining performance.  Perhaps that's why America gave them the boot. 

#5 - Zombie Bazooka Patrol: The Song The Auditioned With

Maybe my favorite original audition.  These jokers came on stage in full zombie make-up, and I can guarantee the viewing audience (myself included) was expecting some really terrible hard rock performance.  However, the Bazooka Patrol came out and played an awesome little folk ditty that surprised everyone, especially the judges.  In the end, the judges deemed their presentation too gimmicky, but I wish they'd been given a chance in the top 12, instead of less deserving bands like Rocket or Light of Doom. 

#4 - Tres Bien: “Some Other Guy”

Tres Bien is a throw back to garage rock of the sixties, so when they were given the task of covering a Lieber and Stoller song, it was right up their alley.  This performance was a clear reminder that Tres Bien has tons of potential and, once they're given time in the studio, they might end up producing the best album of any band from the show.

#3 - Sixwire - “Good to Be Back”

The second time they performed this song was their last performance of the season and it was a notable one.  These guys have to be given props for their song writing ability.  “Good to Be Back” sounds like a top 40 country hit and is reason enough to take Sixwire seriously as a commercially viable band.

#2 - Dot Dot Dot: “Pressure”

Dot Dot Dot got the shaft.  They kept improving every week and when the lead singer stopped running around like a mad man on stage, the band was a force to be reckoned with.  Their electronic-infused cover of Billy Joel's pressure was an inspired take on a classic.

#1 - The Clark Brothers - “Gimme Shelter”

There were a number of Clark brothers performances I could have chosen here, but I think their Rolling Stones cover, while perhaps not their best, was the most indicative of why they are the great band that viewers have come to know over the past couple months.  It was a wild cover, almost unrecognizable from the original classic, but it took the emotional core of the song and turned it into an intense and passionate performance.  The Clark Brothers may be destined for greatness – doing the Rolling Stones justice is just one reason why.

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