LIVE REVIEW: AMP Awards Final, Harrogate
Report by Gig Scene Editor Graham Chalmers Pictures by Adrian Murray
THERE were banners, there were texts, there were screams and even the odd tear but, in the end, the second annual AMP Awards was won by a brilliant band from St John Fisher School in Harrogate.
Amid the stunning surroundings of the Royal Hall packed with students, parents and teachers from schools across the district, the young indie trio fought off close competition from runners-up Dukes of Bevington and third-placed The Weeknights.
In truth, the standard of all seven bands was so good on a night superbly organised by the students and schools themselves that the result was anyone's guess for a time.
Judges Simon Colgan, owner of Harrogate venue the Blues Bar, Jason Odle of Harrogate's BASH Studios, the Harrogate Advertiser's Graham Chalmers and aspiring young Harrogate music journalist George Tyson were helped in their difficult task by a smart new idea this year - let the audience take part in the decision.
Having utilised the giant screen on stage all night for a stream of good will messages and occasional bit of witty rudeness, the crowd then made their choice by text, contributing 20% of the final vote.
Part musical competition and part hands-on business learning experience for the students, the prizes for the top three bands and winning business teams this year were provided by 6k Vision, a music industry development project for young musicians; Harrogate Spa Water, the Young People's Enterprise Forum, supported by Yorkshire Forward; and leading music industry suppliers, Soundsavers.
On the big stage, winning band The Brixton Rowers may have been a bit too Arctic Monkeys for their own good, despite excellent singing and playing, but they really rocked on their second track and look like a fully-formed band.
The Dukes of Bevington, from St Aidan's C of E School, produced well-arranged interesting indie pop, part piano-led and party jangly guitar . Only their mysterious lack of a bass guitarist stopped them winning.
The Weeknights from Ripon Grammar School were the most innovative band instrumentally of the night with slight shades of Vampire Weekend's quirky Afro-beat and bravely finished with a brilliant instrumental.
Boroughbridge High School's Going Backwards Forwards were blessed with the best DVD of the night, which spared them terrific MC Josh Hill's wisecracks when their business team was interviewed on stage. The band's terrific showmanship was let down by the slightly sloppiness of their passionate synth-led pop.
Caramel Fortune of King James's High School in Knaresborough were among the front-runners, their strong, slightly grungey sound being one of the few proper 'rock' moments this year (outside of a guest appearance from last year's winners Book of Job).
Missing Link from Harrogate Grammar School were another band in thrall to the Arctic Monkeys and, although, their playing wasn't as tight and bold as winners The Brixton Rowers, their songwriting was good with some nice guitar lines, too.
Last but not least, Boston Spa School not only made the best impression with their business team, their band Psycho Strangers shocked the crowd and judges. They were great, they were terrible, charismatic lead singer Daniel Drinkwater winning a special judge's award for bravery in peppering the band's set with provocative rantings about the ills of fascism, capitalism and life at school, almost daring the crowd to heckle.
A true rock n roller in a great rock n roll competition.
Among the event's other sponsors are BASH Studios, Thirsty Planet, Soundsavers, Vision Records, the Graphic Attic Ltd and Harrogate International Centre.
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Sunday 05 February 2012
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