REVIEW: Toad wins Battle of the Bands SLO

Shabang Music Festival held the third-annual Battle of the Bands at Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo on April 4. Five bands performed for the chance to win $1,000 and to play at Shabang. Performers included Tiny Plastic Everything, Skipping Breakfast, Big Sierra, Avalynn and Toad. Each band had 15 minutes to play their set. At the end of the performances, the audience voted for which band would play at Shabang Music Festival and Toad prevailed. 

For the past three years, the venue has been home to Shabang’s Battle of the Bands. With Fremont standing as an iconic venue, hosting larger artist names over the years, it is a great opportunity for local bands to play.

As the doors to Fremont opened, attendees of all ages filled the general admission floor. It became apparent after speaking with several audience members that the crowd was excited to see Toad and Avalynn. 

By 8 p.m. SLO was immersed within the local DIY scene ranging in genres of indie, alternative, art-rock and shoegaze. 

 

 

Tiny Plastic Everything

Tiny Plastic Everything was the first to perform, warming up the crowd with a high-energy, headbanging performance from the five-piece band. 

Skipping Breakfast

Skipping Breakfast, the second band to perform for the night, had a unique entrance to their set. A full-size mattress was carried to the right side of the stage equipped with a pillow and blanket. The band dressed in white t-shirts with graphic print pajama pants. Frontman Julius Hoffman lied down and was “woken up” by bandmates who launched into performing their set. Within their set, Hoffman said he “skipped breakfast,” leading him to crack a raw egg into a clear mug and then consume it. 

Big Sierra

Big Sierra, the third band to perform, gave fans the experience of a true California indie sound. The majority of the audience held up their phone flashlights and a few individuals crowd-surfed, while inflatable beach balls emblazoned with Big Sierra’s social media handle were bounced around the crowd. 

Avalynn

Avalynn, a three-piece alternative band, had the crowd buzzing immediately into their first song, sparking a mosh-pit halfway through their set. Before singing their popular song, Mikey Espinosa, lead singer of Avalynn asked the audience  “What kind of bird?” as the barricade cheered back, leading into their song “Canary.”

Toad

Toad was the final performance and overall winner of the third Battle of The Bands SLO. 

Toad’s, fans otherwise known as “Tadpoles,” came prepared to support.. A group of individuals was dressed in white t-shirts with toads or some reading “I heart toad,” while others held signs and rang bells in the crowd. One sign read, “Toad-ally OBSESSED with Annie Pagel” and another read “Tits out for Toad.” 

“We found it was going to be on Rayne’s birthday, which gave us one slight ounce of hesitation and then followed by a very triumphant swell of energy towards focusing on the Battle of the Bands.” said Casey Brant, drummer in Toad. 

The lead singer of Toad chimed in, “I was not in the room. I was awoken from my nap with a text message, ‘hey we just made Battle of the Bands, are we going to do it?’” said Annie Pagel. “I screamed out loud and my roommate was like, ‘what went wrong?’”

The bassist of Toad concluded,“We’re all fourth years, all of our friends are fourth years. This is like our last quarter [at Cal Poly SLO],” said Rayne Lejano. “This is just such a memorable way to close it out, just being able to play at this festival we’ve been going to these past few years.”

 

Tickets are still available for the Shabang Music Festival on May 2 and 3.