Final six bands perform Saturday

At the University of Indianapolis Battle of the Bands finals this weekend, organizers hope to create a truly concert-like experience for both the bands and audience.

“The attempt is to give the bands the ability to experience a fully professionally produced rock concert,” says Will Pfaffenberger, arts outreach coordinator for UIndy. “A night where they’re completely featured as rock stars — the same atmosphere you might get at the Egyptian Room or Verizon. All the elements are by professionals who normally produce these sorts of things for national tours, instead of the typical half-sound, half-light club scene. There won’t be a dead moment in the show.”

Each of the six bands will perform for 20 minutes. Hosted by 93.1’s Nigel, industry professionals and the infamous applause-o-meter will judge the bands.

“It’s a decibel meter based on the audience response to the band,” Pfaffenberger says. “So they’ll score points from the judges. It’ll be very American Idol-esque. The judging is completely subjective, very much in the American style, only they’ll be awarding points 1-10. And audience response will pay off in the end; that’ll be the mystery score revealed at the end of the show.”

The prize will be the chance to record a full-length studio album.

Also making the show distinctive: Every band entering had to be made up of at least half full-time college or high school students. The bands will play entirely original music. The final six were chosen from 40 entrants and represent a broad range of rock genres.

“It’s a diverse group,” Pfaffenberger says. “They all play at different places and to different crowds, so it’ll be cool to have that spread of people in one show.”

The contenders include My Hidden Track (indie rock/emo/pop; www.myspace.com/myhiddentrack), Paradise Regained (rock; www.myspace.com/paradiseregainedband), The American Night (classic rock/blues/jam-funk; www.myspace.com/theamericannightband), Red Letter Reason (rock; www.myspace.com/redletterreason), Three Piece Suit (classic rock; www.myspace.com/tpsband) and Same As Sunday (pop punk; www.myspace.com/sameassundayband).

What: UIndy Battle of the Bands finals, www.myspace.com/uindybandbattle
When: Saturday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m.
Where: Ransburg Auditorium, University of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave.
Tickets: $8 in advance, $10 at the door, $8 for students