TNT’s 89X I’m With The Band V2.0 Semi-Final #1
Swinging into full gear this week was the TNT’s 89X I’m With The Band V2.0 over at TNT’s in Clinton Twp where the 21 week contest is now into the Semi Final rounds that will decide the top 4 finalist. After 16 weeks and nearly 90 bands who competed in weekly preliminary rounds, the field has been narrowed down to the top 16 bands in Michigan, Windsor, and other Surrounding States who are within reach of 89X’s radio broadcast signal. Each weeks winner received a spot in one of the 4 semifinal rounds, studio time over at Metro Recordings to record 1 single for an upcoming 89X compilation album due out this summer, and most importantly, move one step closer to the grand prize of $10,000 & a 5 Song EP courtesy of Metro Recordings Studio. After 16 weeks of rumors & accusations, the scoring procedure has been changed up a bit for the Semi-
Final & Final Rounds. Throughout the 16 weeks of preliminary rounds, scoring was compiled in 3 different phases, On-Line Vote, Door Vote, & Performance Vote where the winner of each phase received 1/3 of the points necessary to move on to the semi-final round. Basically you needed to win 2 out of the 3 rounds to win the night and win a slot in the semi-final round. Well commencing with this weeks Semi Final #1. The 3 phases will remain in effect throughout the semi-finals with the same point structure needed to win, but instead of the 33% split for each phase the split will now be totaled as follows: 20% for the “On-Line Vote”, 40% “Door Vote”, & 
40% “Performance Vote”. This will bring the contest back in line with their original intention of determining the winner by who really does have the fans coming to their show, while pegging even more emphasis on how the Bands actually perform live! For the Final Round scheduled for May 29th, the “On-Line Vote” will disappear completely, and the eventual winning band will need to prove how many people they can draw to their show and will need to back that up with a top notch performance that shows they can entertain a crowd with their music! Phew........after 16 weeks the semi-finals are a welcomed sight, where soon we'll have a winner emerge. BTW- we have it from a good source that, yes, they definitely intend to bring back the I’m With The Band V3.0 early next year due to the extreme success the contest is experiencing, so for all the bands who didn’t make the cut this year, the time is now to start preparing 
those songs and honing your show for your chance to win $10,000! Last night’s Semi-Final #1 proved to be what we believed all along, that this contest’s format would provide some extremely hot nights of music, as Cal Cagno called it “The cream has begun to rise to the top!” Anytime a line-up consists of week 11 winner Fate Arising, week 4 winners Nine8stall, week 3 winner Arazi, & week 1 winner Band With No Name you know you’re in for a great show, and that is exactly what we got tonight. FYI- Week 2 winner Spades Alone has dropped out as they’ve moved out west sucka, taking residence out in the fantasy land of Las Vegas, so a slight shuffle occurred this week in respect to the line up. So with TNT’s filling up fast, the “Online Vote” winner Fate Arising started the night off with an infectious set of rock & roll, pulling in a large crowd which definitely had them in contention for the “Door Vote” tonight. This 4pc power rocker is no stranger to Dr2, having seen them win week 11 of the contest, and 
recently we’ve been spinning their latest disc “Reflections of a Lost Reality”, a unique collection of modern progressive tunes that bridges the mainstream with an almost conceptual take of their music. That translated into one hell of a set that had everything you’d expect from these guys, and in doing so they positioned themselves as the one to beat tonight. Finishing in 2nd in the on-line vote this week was Nine8stall which put them in the 2nd slot tonight in another twist on tonight’s show which reversed the order of performance based on the on line vote. Another fine crowd was in attendance for these guys
which witnessed a solid performance by Nine8stall this week, performing their smash up song Party, a real rock & roll anthem! Arazi has been burning up stages all across Michigan lately, and tonight was no different as they came into TNT’s tonight with a mission. Bringing in a respectful sized crowd themselves, this trio unleashed their fury of alt rock, including the song voted on this week Sorry & the title track from their latest offering The Light. With three bands up, and three outstanding performances turned in, it was up to the guys in Band With No Name to finish out the night as they received the lowest amount of on-line votes this week. What transpired next was nothing short of amazing, taking a slightly more than empty room and transforming it into a jam packed rock room! An amazing sight that saw person after person round that corner and lining up to the front of the stage till it was packed shoulder to shoulder all the way back to the 2nd row of tables! A good lesson this week that proves that in rock & roll it doesn’t matter how many votes are cast in your name, but rather by how many of those fans casting votes will actually show up to your show and shell out $10 just to see 
you perform. In less than the 15 minutes of load out/load in time between sets, BWNN left no 
doubt as to who won the “Door Vote” tonight, outpacing every ones expectations with a huge mass of people assembled front and center of the stage ready to rock. With the troupes gathered around, BWNN, fronted by the quintessential rock & roll front man Jeff Gutt, proceeded to roll through their high energy show that sorta leaves you in awe, pounding out such numbers as Criminal, Alone, and the power ballad It’s Over. Providing the thunderous beats, Mike Guy (bass) and Antic (keys, guitars) lay the perfect foundation for Gay Pittel’s (lead guitar) screaming leads and crunching riffs, sending shock waves through the room. By the time the opening riff of Animal Like called to order the mosh pit, erupting with a vengeance every time the chorus hit, BWNN left hardly a doubt as to who won the Performance vote, giving them 80 % of the point total, making them the clear winner of the 1st Semi Final and landing them in the Finals, one step closer to collecting that all mighty $10,000 Grand Prize! Remember to head on over to the Dr2 Gallery or the Dr2 MySpace page for more pics from the night. Stay tuned as voting is already underway for Semi-Final #2 next Thursday May 9th, where you’ll find week 5 winner Lithium, week 6 winner Soul Dub, week 7 winner Herd (from Houghton Lake) & week 8 winner No Resolve go head to head for a chance to move onto the finals and a chance at that $10,000 Grand Prize! Detroit Rock Review, The ONLY place for Local Music News & Reviews! Support local music before it’s gone!
Rock On
M: