Battle of the Bands Delivers a Broad Range of Sounds; Maevey Stands Out in Second; Roller Snakes Grabs First Place and Spot in Spring Fling Lineup.

Last Friday in Hotung, five bands faced off in a well-attended competition for the chance to open for LION BABE, Misterwives, and Kesha at this year’s Spring Fling. In the process, Wakana, Shark Saddle, Roller Snakes, Maevey, an GGGGHOSTS brought an entertaining mix of sounds. The night opened with Wakana’s pop-infused “Latch” cover and closed with GGGGHOSTS’s groovy and laid back set of singles including originals Hang Mioko and Wisdom Teeth. Results were announced just after their set.Second place was given to Maevey, who put on the most textured, interesting, and original set of the night. Typically the solo project of Maeve Bell-Thornton, a senior music major, Maevey’s typically “more low-key, softer” sound was beefed up by the accompaniment of her “two friends, Rubin and Jonathan, on bass and drums” in accompaniment to Maeve’s guitar and ethereal vocals.Faced with the challenge of unexpectedly missing their fourth member, Harrison Kim, Roller Snakes’ Mike Nuzzolo, Dave Igliozzi, and Eric Broess “rearranged everything” and “simplified a lot of stuff, and it worked out.” Perhaps harnessing any nervous energy, their vivacious set covered the Strokes, Mac Demarco, and lastly Ezra Furman in their now-staple rendition of “Take of Your Sunglasses.” Clearly stoked and in mild disbelief, they spoke with me after their win was announced.Nuzzolo made no effort to conceal his excitement: “I think the show went pretty fantastic; it was everything we could’ve hoped for. . .I’m just super pumped. This is like everything I had hoped for from Tufts. Playing for Spring Fling [was] probably the first thing freshman year, I was like “this is what I want to do, the thing I hope to accomplish before I graduate.”Igliozzi, poised but clearly pleased, explained that the results had not yet sunk in. “It was kind of a surprise. Like, are we sure we won? . . . I just hope I can meet Kesha and borrow a little glitter.”Photos:GGGGHOSTS, Maevey, Roller Snakes