The Next Great American Band (recap)
By Inga Hansen
If your show has three judges, a metrosexual host and musical performances,
you can bet I'm watching it. This Friday, the final three contestants of The
Next Great American Band performed for viewers and a live audience--next
week the winner will be announced. I've been torn between The Clark Brothers
and Sixwire since week one and am happy to report, they're both still alive.
The lights went down for teen rockers Light of Doom but Denver and the Mile
High Orchestra played on.
The bands performed three songs each--judges choice, bands choice and our
choice. I assume the latter category was chosen by the producers, who should
be fired immediately for pairing Denver and the Mile High Orchestra with the
Ides of March classic Vehicle. This song should have been retired after Bo
Bice's American Idol performance but alas they passed it on to a 12-piece
Christian orchestra, and the results weren't pretty. On the upside, judge
Sheila E. chose Earth, Wind & Fire's September for the band, and they tore
it up. If you're keeping score that's an aye on the funk and a resounding
nay on raunchy, innuendo laden '70s rock anthems for Denver, whose
self-proclaimed mission is to "spread joy and make people feel good about
themselves."
Next up was the Clark Brothers. If I'd known this is the kind of talent that
books tent revivals, I would have packed up and found God years ago. "I feel
like a giddy little girl," was judge Johnny Rzeznik's response to the band's
slow and soulful cover of Lonestar's Amazed. But it was the brother's
gospel-inspired rendition of "This Little Light of Mine" complete with
mandolin and slide guitar that brought the house down. Sometimes hits come
from the most unexpected places.
Each band got a video message from home just in time for the holidays, and
that's where we learned that one of the bands Sixwire beat out for a spot on
the show included their drummer's own grown sons. After putting me to into a
brief slumber with their acoustic version of England Dan and John Ford Coley's
"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight," the 40-something southern rockers came
back to close out the show with their original, "Good to be Back." I'm a
sucker for a band where every member can sing and this piece certainly
showcases their harmonies and musicianship. It's the third time they've
performed the song on the show, and it just keeps getting better. Win or
lose, I have a feeling this single will be hitting shelves in 2008.
So who's going to get the title "The Next Great American Band"? I'm still
torn between my two favorites--The Clark Brothers and Sixwire--but Denver
keeps holding on. Let me know what you think, and check back next week for
the final results.