The Next Great American Band

The top four bands performed one original song tonight on The Next Great American Band, along with one Queen cover.  Now, the Queen cover would pose problems for any band given Freddie Mercury's almost unparalleled vocal range, but the bands did pretty well with the task, all things considered.  The originals, on the other hand, were a big disappointment and point to the real reason these bands have yet to hit pay dirt on their own – their songs aren't all that good.  Covering songs well is one thing, writing good songs is a completely different skill.

Dot Dot Dot was eliminated from The Next Great American Band tonight.  It was a disappointment for me (I'd rather have seen LOD or DMHO go home), but it wasn't like Dot Dot Dot was going to win the whole thing. 


The Clark Brothers: “These are the Days of Our Lives”

The Clark Brothers, thankfully, brought in a drummer and a bassist this week.  The sound is definitely fuller and doesn't take away from the down-home feel. This is the first Queen song ever, maybe, with a fiddle solo.  The cover isn't as awe-inspiring as other recent performers, but they rocked out at the end. 


Light of Doom - “We Will Rock You”

This was a very silly song for the kids to cover.  They didn't do much with the melody, but they rocked it out best they could.  The guitar solo was darn good, but the singing was mediocre.  The judges are lukewarm on the performance.  On a positive note, there was a reaction shot of the angriest little kid in the world, standing up in the crowd and yelling maniacally at something. 


Sixwire - “Fat Bottomed Girls”

Although it was a pretty buy-the-numbers cover, they performed it expertly.  Their harmonies are light years better than any other band in the competition, and it was an overall very good performance.  The judges all love it. 


Denver and the Mile High Orchestra - “Sleeping on the Sidewalk”

Again, Denver performs a wussified version of a rock song.  Denver is Denver is Denver.    I'm just done with these guys.  This is not a rock band, and they will not sell records.  The judges like the performance. 


The Clark Brothers - “Homestead”

It was a pretty cool blues song.  These guys should win this competition.  The lead singer was a little off tonight, but I still enjoyed it. 


Light of Doom - “Matter of Time”

It's teenagers performing a song that borders on parody of heavy metal.  However, almost every performance of heavy metal sounds like a parody to me, so who knows?  The song was also mercifully short.  It wasn't much of a song.  The judges are pretty negative, but they are all encouraging. 


Sixwire - “Go On”

They performed a mediocre ballad that they wrote.  This could be the kind of thing, if they make a good video, could get popular on the country charts.  One of the weaker performances of the season from Sixwire.  The judges love it, and it makes me want to gage my eyes out with a spoon. 


Denver and the Mile High Orchestra - “Big White House”

Is it OK if I don't talk about Denver anymore?  Their original was same ol', same ol'. 


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