THE NIGHT STUFF
Band battle fun, tough to judge

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

A few words of advice, should you find yourself tapped to judge one of the many "battle of the bands" competitions popping up around town: Angle for a slot at the finals.

Five weeks of rough-and-tumble elimination rounds leading into the Oct. 28 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Battle of the Bands finals at the Hard Rock Café resulted in a slate of fine local alternative rock bands that were fun to watch, and unexpectedly difficult for five judges to select a unanimous winner from. For me, an oddly weighted judging system — based primarily on audience reaction rather than talent or stage presence — made the job even more difficult.

Still, having the crowd count for so much on the judges' scorecards did result in a wall-to-wall gathering of fans coming out on a weeknight to support their favorite locally-bred rock band. Even more impressive was seeing dedicated fans of Free Sound and Amplified wait patiently to raise the roof for the bands' post-1 a.m. performances.

The judgment: a three-way tie between Hot Rain, Neken and Amplified. Promoter Turk Cazimero of Hawaiian Hurricane Productions later said five weeks of competition hadn't come close to producing even a two-way tie. All three bands won the grand prize of opening slots at tomorrow's Triple Crown Kick-Off Concert at Sea Life Park.

A second round of Triple Crown band battles — this time with separate alt-rock and reggae competitions — kicked off Tuesday at the Hard Rock and will continue weekly through December. Entry is $10. Doors open at 9 p.m. Call 955-7383 for more information.

Finally, expect Los Angeles-based underground hip-hop crew Dilated Peoples to throw down a decent live set when it arrives for a Monday show at the Pipeline Café. Composed of that most classic of hip-hop lineups — two MCs backed by one very prominent DJ — Dilated Peoples has skirted the edges of mainstream success since the late '90s, while still adhering to a sonic mix dense with gritty left-of-mainstream appeal.

The trio hasn't dropped a new disc since its 2001 sophomore effort "Expansion Team." But with a third CD, "Neighborhood Watch," slated for February release, Evidence, Iriscience and cut-n-scratch master DJ Babu would be guilty of poor marketing for holding back new tracks from their Pipeline audience. Doors open at 9:30 p.m.; tickets are $15 advance, $20 door. 18 and older. Call 589-1999 for more information.

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.