Q103’s Play For The Stage Round #2 Results

This past Friday, round two of Q-Ruption's Play for the Stage took place at Savannah's on South Pearl Street in Albany. The Hearing Aides, Tamerlane and Potter's Field all competed and played for 20 minutes to win a chance at the finals later in the month. Last week, Pipebomb was the big winner. Read on to see which band was also given a chance to open at this month's Q-Ruption!

The Hearing Aides were the first band. They're a trio from Upstate New York and are made up of a drummer and two singers/guitarist and bassist. They also had a mascot that was a Muppet-like head

which was placed on a stand and wore a homemade THA shirt. Their style was indie-rock, and their songs were catchy. The main vocalist had a unique voice and style which kind of reminded me of Johnny Cash- he talked at times and sang at others, which worked well for him. They made everything seem so natural and the crowd seemed to get into them. They have an album due out this month.

Tamerlane was the second band to compete. They are based in the Capital Region and are made up of four guys- a vocalist, drummer, guitarist and bassist. They rocked the house and had amazing stage presence- very interactive and the vocalist went out into the small crowd to get people to rock out. He even did what a lot of popular bands do these days and took a picture of the crowd so that fans could tag themselves in the

picture on their Facebook page. Honestly I never would've expected the frontman's voice to be as powerful as it was. At first glance he looks like an everyday, athletic guy with hardly any visible tattoos and a short ponytail, but when he opens his mouth this awesome rock-styled voice comes out, which was backed by awesome instrumentals and sound. The crowd loved them and supported with cheers, whistles and claps, and even demanded them to play more songs than allotted. I also appreciated how the vocalist was supportive of the other bands they were up against and asked for the crowd's support for them as well. They were great sports and awesome entertainers.

Albany-based quartet Potter's Field was the final competing band. I must say that they were all nice-looking- dressed very nicely and looked like decent, respectful guys. The frontman was very talented, taking charge of vocals and lead guitar, and was supported by the back up guitar, bassist and drummer,

who was the only member rocking the long hair style, which I liked. Technically, they were the best. You could tell they've had a lot of training and were very passionate about their music, which was a mellow and melodic rock/alternative. The crowd chanted their name and obviously loved their music. The choice was obviously going to be very tough.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend last week due to a concert, but I was so excited to be a judge for this week's competition. All three bands did an unbelievable job, but ultimately Tamerlane won and will move on to the final round in a few weeks. They will join Pipebomb and this week's winner for a chance at the ultimate opportunity- to join Godsmack, Five Finger Death Punch, Sick Puppies, Skillet and Egypt Central for Q-Ruption on August 19.