Jazz, beans, and shredding machines: Terrace’s Battle of the Bands

There is something special about walking into Terrace on a night out — feeling the suspense and anticipation that comes with watching the night’s performers ready themselves for a long set, bustling about, adjusting amp knobs, looking for cords, and hyping up the crowd. No matter how often you go to hear live music, there is a primitive, almost childish excitement that comes from hearing the first pummel of a bass drum or amplified power chord.

Walking into Terrace this past Thursday for this semester’s Battle of the Bands, I was met, before the show even began, with not only a crowd surrounding the stage, but more performers than I could count filling up the back of the room and the lounge. This time, instead of a single four or five-piece group, there were enough bands to fill in 15-minute sets over the course of several hours. From familiar faces to the exciting new talents of the Class of 2029, it was almost hard to walk in a straight line without squeezing through one band’s huddle or getting pummeled in the face by the headstock of a bassist lost in conversation. Feeling the anticipation grow with every passing second, I tried to catch snippets of the diverse assortment of songs or improv pieces that everyone was preparing to play.

After a few warm-up jams from multiple bands, the show started, skipping the usual “lingering” phase, where shy audience members hesitate to move towards the front. This was made possible by one significant addition: a barricade at the front of the stage area.

The physical divide did not discourage engagement between performer and observer but actually had the opposite effect. The barricade invited the crowd to press up against each other and anchor themselves onto the railing, be it to lean in or, in some cases, including my own, to violently headbang — my neck still aches as I write this. The barricade made the experience all the more intimate for the front rows, energizing the crowd beyond what you would expect on a typical Terrace live music night.

I was pleasantly surprised with the range of genres and instrumental combinations represented. Bands varied from standard 3- to 5-piece pop and rock groups to more improvised acts like a jam band and an 8-piece jazz ensemble. While some arrived with a firm setlist of three or four standard-length songs, others were more flexible with their plans.

The guitarist and singer for Dean’s Mean Lean Green Beans, Dean Miller ’28, told The Daily Princetonian, “Our band tends to be very improvisational and a little loose when it comes to playing actual songs. Coming into battle of the bands we really only had one functional song — “Too Much” by Dave Matthews Band — but we wanted to include another to really bring the whole place down.”

While the sound quality throughout the night left a little to be desired in the vocal department, with mics often being drowned out by the amps and drums behind them, I was pleasantly surprised by the clarity of the guitars during many of the sets.

Among the performances, several stood out for their groove and sync. Notably, Motel Glow’s guitarist duo, Tait Oberg ’27 and Nathaniel Walter ’29, put up an entertaining display of energy and technicality during their set, with the former effortlessly performing high-speed licks and bends to the point of string breakage and the latter running up and down scales with remarkable left-hand efficiency. Jazz group Funhouse showcased their improvisational ability through on-the-spot communication, primarily consisting of nods, hand gestures, and eyebrow raises.

Some bands, such as rock band Eqo, performed original material. Zach Goldberg ’28, drummer and main songwriter for Eqo, shared that he wrote an EP for the band over the summer and wanted to ensure that the band had original music prepared for the Battle.

With people flooding Terrace’s stage and adjacent rooms, cheering loudly, and enjoying the show’s electric atmosphere, this semester’s Battle of the Bands was a smashing success for artists and audience members alike.

“I can remember feeling the floor shaking not only from the music but from all the people jumping,” drummer of Motel Glow and Dean and Dean’s Mean Lean Green Beans Garrett McKenzie ’28 said. “That energy and connection are things I truly love about live music and the privilege of getting to perform.”

As bands continue to book eating club shows in the weeks to come, recognition and turnout are likely to increase among their showgoers, providing bands with a platform to share their love of music and establish a name for themselves in the community.