The contemporary pop department held their annual Battle of the Rock Bands in the amphitheater on Oct. 5. This year, the department experimented with a voting format through Instagram analytics, which was won by the five member band Gambit. From laid-back fall indie tunes to 80s pop and experimental rock, players ensured that there was never a dull moment.
Modeling black mouse ear headbands, student band Opulence kicked off the night with a melancholic performance of “Dark Red” by Steve Lacy. Then came the indie pop band Crocs ‘N’ Socks, covering “Sweater Weather” by The Neighbourhood. Lead singer and junior Suah Yang said that the song required her to deviate from her experience in choir and use more of a rough chest voice.
Ending with “Josie” by Steely Dan, members of Crocs ‘N’ Socks unexpectedly brought on saxophonist and junior Saathvick Kakarlapudi as a guest performer. Despite some early rough patches, lead guitarist and sophomore Ethan Ngyuen said that he was excited to give new performances and play with new people.
“I’m really proud of where our band started and how we got here,” said Nguyen. “It started to feel like we were lagging behind other bands, but I’m really proud of the development of some of our players.”
Staying true to their name, Heat in the Atmosphere brought the heat with “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse and “Call Me” by Blondie. Decked out in dyed shirts and flaming red hair, drummer and junior Django Marshall and bassist and junior Luke Passey kept the band on a tight rhythm, all while vocalist and junior Isabelle Guilfoile floated over the band with her hypnotic vocals.
“When I first started playing it was right after the first Battle of the Rock Bands in freshman year,” Passey said. “Me and a couple of my friends went and we thought it was really cool, so afterwards we ended up creating our own band, and in the following year we got into the program. It’s just fun, everyone’s up there, there’s a lot of energy going on.”
As the sun began to set, The Blinding Lights stuck to their 80s theme with “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears. When pianist and junior Mary Su and lead guitarist and senior Sneha Aravind arrived at the iconic chorus of “Billie Jean,” audience members were already moonwalking in front of the amphitheater.
The night rounded off with performances by After Hours and Groundwire. After Hours vocalist and sophomore Coco Marshall took on “Hot to Go” by Chappell Roan, riling up an audience already well trained in the song’s campy choreography.
Like Marshall, Groundwire vocalists and seniors Sara Haidar and Iliana Gaona delivered a powerful execution of “The Kill” by Thirty Seconds to Mars, creating a satisfying harmony that highlighted their individual vocal tones.
“Getting to bond as a band is really the most enjoyable part of Pop Performance,” said Marshall. “I hold every fun moment where we’re all just messing around coming up with silly ideas to enhance the show close to my heart cause that’s what really makes being in a band so much fun.”
