Highlight of the Week

Teilo win Battle of the Bands

Finally the much awaited day dawned!  After all the setbacks, the RDS was booked, the set-up time arranged, the judge and audience in place, and off we went.

Dyfrig kicked off with their video.  There were some technical problems with the sound track, but we nevertheless enjoyed an entertaining video and various amusing shots taken around school. 

They followed this with their live performance of Katie Turnstall’s Suddenly I see.  Sam J’s cool persona contrasted with the up-tempo performances from Archie and Finn T and  Charlotte B’s vocals were great.  Overall, an expressive and pleasant sound.

Their second song was a real rocker: the Arctic Monkies’s Are you mine?  This saw Morgan H on drums, and his rock solid performance helped the whole house to move.  Congratulations to Archie T for stepping in as lead singer and keeping the show on the road!

When they performed their first song live, Euddogwy produced a very believable version of the Monkees’s I’m a believer.  Their second song, Paul McCartney’s Live and Let Die, was hugely ambitious, with changes of gear and atmosphere effortlessly achieved.  The rock tension built up as Ben P’s and Neryse M’s vocals overlapped and contrasted.  Cian W augmented the sound with some excellent drumming!

The Teilo video was a real tour de force with cleverly shot scenes harnessing the power of Llandaff Weir, with Ben P wading in the shallows while playing guitar and singing!  The close-ups, camera angles, long shots and juxtapositions created a moving narrative of isolation. Alex L was commended in the highest terms by the judge for his skill in directing and editing!   The band, when they performed the same song live (Under the Bridge by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers) featured some old masters – Sam B, George T – and some new performers. There were superb vocals from Claudia H, who really lived the part! Their second song, Tick, Tick, Boom by the Hives saw James K migrate from drums to keyboard, Tom B step in on drums, and Morgan S augment the guitar sound.  Perhaps the most surprising part was the appearance near the end of a huge soprano choir drawnfrom Years 7-10.  The resulting descant lifted the end of the performance.

We are hugely grateful to our judge, BBC award winning produces Stephen Rajam.  In spite of the excellence of the other two houses, Teilo were clear winners this year, with Euddogwy in second place and Dyfrig in third!