ANIMAL magic was visible in Simmons Park last Saturday, as the Animals performed at the grand final of the Okehampton Battle of the Bands. Earlier that evening, hundreds of people had witnessed Plymouth rock band Ammafist being named as winners of the third annual Battle of the Bands. Despite a strong challenge from Okehampton bands Evolution, who came second, and Bionic Compromise, third, the title went to the Ammafist boys. The award for outstanding overall musician went to John Cordy, the virtuoso guitarist in Bionic Compromise, while in the fashion icon stakes a special award was made to Drew from Felix. Over the last few weeks, more than 100 musicians have taken to the stage and entertained the public of Okehampton. Saturday?s event saw the seven final groups playing to a fantastic crowd made up of families, with young and old alike enjoying the open-air music. The event was kicked off in eclectic style with Tommy G and the Banditz playing a mix of country and blues. Next up were Felix, a young Okehampton-based rock band who are seasoned competitors at the town?s Battle of the Bands. Exeter-based four piece The Nine then kept the excitement levels high with a well-received set. Bionic Compromise, an Okehampton band, took to the stage next with a huge prog rock sound which filled the park. The crowd loved them, and soon had their arms raised waving cardboard swords in the air. The band confidently issued directives to the crowd and even managed to sneak in a plug for their MySpace internet site. They finished with a cover version of Europe?s ?80s power-rock anthem The Final Countdown. As excuses go for missing a gig, completing your Duke of Edinburgh Award probably isn?t very rock n?roll. But that is precisely why Gavin, guitarist in Okehampton outfit Evolution, was not playing with the group at the final. Though Gavin may be in South Africa, he is still in Okehampton, albeit in lifesize cardboard cut-out form. The band worked up some new material to compensate for the loss of one of their guitarists, and if anything this gave more space for their singer to unleash her powerful voice. There was quite a dark edge to Evolution?s music created by a strong atmospheric mix of instruments. The band sounded good ? and cardboard Gavin seemed to enjoy himself! The penultimate competitors of the night were Output, a lively young rock group from the Yelverton area. They had a direct, urgent sound, and good strong original material ? they also found time to fit in a cover of Spiders by American-Armenian metal act System of a Down. No band seemed to be having more fun on the stage on the night than Output and their singer was a ball of yellow-shirted energy, who ended the performance with a playful mock dive into the crowd. Last but not least, as darkness fell the audience were treated to Ammafist. The group from Plymouth were on a mission to get the front rows of the crowd jumping up and down to their aggressive hard-rocking sound. The confident singer exuded plenty of stage presence and rapped his vocals as the extremely tight band pressed all the right buttons in a homage to Rage Against The Machine. As the audience waited for the results to be announced and the headline act the Animals to appear, organiser Richard Appleby did his ?Arthur Daley? bit from the stage, selling Battle of the Bands t-shirts. Sales of merchandise and donations on the night go towards holding the event again next year. At 10.45pm, the Animals arrived on stage and transported the crowd back to the blues clubs of Newcastle circa 1964, as they launched into their first ever single, Baby, Let Me Take You Home. More hits followed during a great show, including I?m Crying, It?s My Life and of course, The House of the Rising Sun. The band showed their blues roots with a cover of Screamin? Jay Hawkins? I Put A Spell On You and also a superb version of their 1965 hit Don?t Let Me Be Misunderstood. Lead singer Pete Barton?s voice seemed ideally suited to bellowing out the chorus. He hardly needed help, but the entire audience were singing along to every word anyway. The group took time out to give some encouragement to the next generation of up and coming musicians too. Pete told the crowd: ?We have been here all day and we were listening to the other bands and you have got a lot of great local talent in Okehampton,? he said. As this contest has shown, and will surely show again next year, he was spot on.
