Rocket and The Muggs eliminated from The Next Great American Band Week 3
This week the remaining bands would be performing only one song this week, an interpretation of a Billy Joel song. Ten bands made it through to this week but only eight would be performing tonight. The order in which the bands performed was not a reflection on their place in the fan voting.
Here’s what I thought about the performances tonight, in the order in which they performed on the show:
Franklin Bridge. At first I kind of liked their interpretation of “Big Shot” but then as their performance went on I did not care for some of the phrasing later in the song. John Rzeznik liked the performance; Sheila E. noted that they took the judges’ advice from last week but said that the band needed to stay humble and not confuse cockiness for confidence; Dicko thought it was a fantastic song for them and did not think their confidence was cockiness at all.
Cliff Wagner & the Old # 7. They did the Billy Joel classic “You May Be Right” and did it in a very country style (not quite bluegrass I guess, but pretty close). I think this band is turning out to be my dirty little secret. I really like them but I don’ t know that I want anyone to know that. Like it will ruin my “reputation” or something to like a bluegrass band. John loved it and thought it was a great version of the song. Sheila E. said she thinks they are amazing and did a fantastic job tonight. Dicko said he slept during that performance, that the original was kind of edgy and this was a sleepy version of the song
Denver and the Mile High Orchestra. Their choice of song was “Tell Her About It” and it was a great choice for them. Their version was great, and I think the song really lends itself well to a horn section. They are also one of my favorites again this week (and it’s not my dirty little secret that I like them either). As a side note, their wardrobe is greatly improving. I loved the jeans this week versus the matching suits. John thought they were great and he said that they amaze him every week. Sheila E. said their arrangements are so well done and that they were fantastic tonight. Dicko said that they need to find something a little different if they want to be able to sell out arenas and such.
Dot Dot Dot. The Billy Joel song they performed was “Pressure.” I think the performance was ok, but nothing special for me. I did not care for some of the dancing of the lead singer – it was annoying. John called it a solid interpretation of the song. Sheila E. said they listened to what the judges said last week and it was better than last week. Dicko said it was a terrific performance – the lead singer was focused and allowed him to have a better vocal performance.
Sixwire. They chose to perform “She’s Always a Woman” and what an awesome performance! To me it was the best performance of the evening. They sounded great and I loved their interpretation of the song. John called it a great arrangement and a solid performance. Sheila E. called it beautiful and incredible. Dicko called them the housewives’ choice. He called it a woman hating song but the band disagreed, calling it a song that celebrated all the aspects of a woman. Boy did he win points with that answer!
Tres Bien! They did the song “Movin’ Out.” I did not like their version of this song. I did not like the arrangement or the vocals. I’m sure they have lots of fans or they would not have made it through to this week but I don’t think you could count me among that group. They are just not my style. John said this band was one of their favorite bands but said the song lacked aggression and urgency even though it was a cool version of the song. Sheila E. said she liked them as a band. Dicko said he loved them but it was a bit sloppy tonight. He actually did the “thumbs down” sign and made a raspberry sound to indicate his displeasure with the performance.
The Clark Brothers. They chose to perform the song “She’s Got A Way” and I think this soft song was really a good choice for their music style. That being said, I did not enjoy this performance as much as I did some of the other ones this evening. John said they owned the song and gave a confident performance. Sheila E. called them amazing and outstanding. Dicko said it was absolutely fantastic. I guess that is why the judges are the experts and I am sitting at home on a Friday night watching the show.
Light of Doom. I was really happy that they made it through to perform a Billy Joel song because I was interested to see how they would interpret this type of music. They performed the song “The Stranger.” I hated this performance. I don’t know why, I just know that I hated this performance. I don’t think that Billy Joel songs lend themselves to heavy metal. Plus this version of the song sounds just like every other song they’ve played on the show. Heavy and pounding. It would have been nice to see them do an “unplugged” type performance. That would have showed some versatility. The audience disagreed with me as they seemed to love the performance. John called it the best performance they had, but he said they need to stay humble and focused to succeed. Sheila E. said she was happy they listen to the judges’ comments. She said they rocked tonight. Dicko wanted to know if they could get some Light of Doom toys out for Christmas and that some of the older singers could learn a thing from this lead singer.
Rocket and The Muggs were sent home this evening. Dicko said the reason they went home was because of the lead singers. It will be interesting to see who goes home next week.
Tonight my favorites were Sixwire, Denver and the Mile High Orchestra and Cliff Wagner & The Old # 7. Hey, I think they were my three favorite bands last week too.
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