By, Bayaan Mengerink & Henry Sullivan
On April 1st, 2023, Rodrigue’s Coffee House hosted Battle of the Bands, a yearly tradition where members of the club arm themselves with rubber bands and fight to the death. I hadn’t attended this event last year, so I trained myself during the month of March heading to Rod’s at 1pm loaded with a series of bands collected during my training. When I arrived at the coffee house, I was told by Allen,the sound guy, that Battle of the Bands didn’t involve a rubber band fight-off. I was completely disappointed and utterly let down. Allen (the sound guy) told me that, actually, seven student and non-student bands were performing.the winner would open for Spring Weekend, the second place holders opening for Rod’s Spring Weekend. Oh.
With my newfound understanding of Battle of the Bands, I decided to help out; sitting on the couch and cleaning a chalkboard that never ended up being used. Without my presence, the battle could not have commenced. The doors to Rod’s opened at 1:30pm and nothing could have prepared me for the mass swarm of Fordham students that began entering Rod’s. It was like mosquitoes to a light bulb. I was tasked with handing out wristbands to everyone coming in, used for voting after the event, and served to test my ability to talk to strangers. After a rambunctious half-hour, the show commenced, with seven bands performing for a spot to perform at Spring Weekend and an eternity of bragging rights.
The first band to perform was Last Week, performing for the first time since their formation a week ago . Because they only formed last week, this was their first time performing live as a group. Trust me, no one in the crowd could tell they only formed last week. Everyone in the crowd cheered them on as they played a series of different indie songs they had only put together just last week. Last week. Jokes aside, this was a very talented group of people who played an original song, “Down by the Seaside,” “Still Beating” by Mac DeMarco, and “What Once Was” by Her’s. By then their 20 minutes was up and it was time for a 10 minute intermission.
The next band to play was Guren, a band who came to Fordham to play especially for us. These people absolutely blew me away with their vibrant energy and eccentric style. At this point,I would like to give a special shout out to the member wearing all brown. This kid looked at the lead singer with so much love and admiration, it filled my heart with happiness and didn’t at all remind me that I too want someone to look at me like that. For their last song, the boy in all brown grabbed a mega phone. while I feared for my ears, as soon as the song began he started quietly talking into the microphone. I truly do not know how to describe this sound, but on top of the music, it sounded pretty epic. I soon found myself bopping my head and awkwardly moving to the music while I tried to figure out what to do with my hands.
After Guren, The World’s Biggest Corporation began their set. While confused by the name as they did in fact only have three members, I was blown away by their talent and sound. What I really admired about this band is that you could tell they had a deep friendship and admiration for each other. There was a true sense of togetherness and fun, all of which was aided by their matching ties and frequent thumbs up. One song that stuck out to me was the one about fathers, where the only lyric was “dad.” While listening to this song, I was reminded how much I miss my dad. Shout out to you, Matthew. This band had a captivating stage presence and edge; I totally see them as future #rockstars.
The next band to play was The Wave, a group of Fordham students who blew the crowd away with their covers and technical skill. The Wave played “Treasure” by Bruno Mars, and at one point the lead singer shouted “you are my treasure” to whom I assume is his girlfriend. Both I and the crowd thought this was adorable and awwww’d, but maybe next time they could give a TW for those in long distance situationships. That’s not me though aha. For their last song, they played “Sex On Fire” by Kings of Leon.et me tell you, the crowd went nuts for this one. They had the whole establishment doing hand waves and singing along.
The next band to perform was Crotona, with Rod’s own Vice President, Aine Mullaly, on guitar. Unfortunately by this time my friends and I, utterly exhausted by the insane crazy sick partying, had to take a lay down on Rod’s cozy couches, so we didn’t get the opportunity to see Aine’s angelic face while performing.
By this point, it was 4:40pm, and I had to take my leave as the kids I babysit for awaited my presence. After I left, the band Mother Cabrini played followed by Pacer, who some may know from their previous name Edd Pines. When walking out of Rod’s we cut off our wristbands, wrote the name of our favorite band on them, and put it in a plastic box to be tallied up later. The winner of the 2023 Battle of the Bands is The Wave, with The World’s Biggest Corporation going home with silver. Thank you very much to all who performed, to all the students who came out to watch, and to all who have read this oddly personal but hopefully informative review.
