Gelled mohawks, black wife-beaters, bearded adults, a multitude of speakers, and one stage to be shared by six unique bands. Welcome to The Gig.

The annual battle of the bands and talent competition for high school music, The Gig provides a performance opportunity outlet for student musicians. Co-sponsored by Music Hawk, an online music community based in Mountain View, and Highway Community, an independent, nondenominational Christian church, The Gig showcased six different bands from local bay area high schools.

Held on May 26, in Haymarket Theatre at Palo Alto High School, The Gig marked the day that I entered the local music scene. Unfamiliar with the independent, local music community, I had preconceived notions of the music that would be played. Expecting to hear heavy metal cover songs, overly loud guitar, drums and bass, and corresponding head banging, rather than actual musical skill, the talent that was displayed surpassed my personal biases.

Rectifire, Crimes of Passion, A New Prophecy, Fragile Stage, Valley Fever, and Paly’s own The Fink, who placed third and received a $25 iTunes gift certificate, displayed their talent for a crowd of 200. Crimes of Passion from Lynbrook High School, placed second and received a $200 gift certificate to Guitar Center, while King’s Academy’s Valley Fever, the winner of the competition earned recording time at a professional studio for a three-song demo.

The following were among the highlights:

The Fink

Paly’s trio, composed of juniors Vanessa Pan, Allison Doxsee, and Tessa Opperman, flaunted their avant-garde style at The Gig, beginning their set with a waltz. Although musically simple, The Fink’s unusual approach paid off, engaging the audience for the rest of their set. After slowly starting off with the three-count dance, the band followed with two original compositions, both refreshing with charming indie rock overtones. The Fink shows potential, and with confident execution they can expose more of their true talent and complete their whimsical, indie rock package. The Fink justly earned third place with substantive lyrics and musicianship.

"It exceeded my expectations," Pan said. "I was like ‘we’re going to get second place, baby!’ when we were practicing. When I saw the other bands, I was like ‘I’m happy if we even place’."

Rectifire

This Lynbrook band kicked off The Gig, covering an intricate Buckethead song. Although the trio didn’t place, their advanced musical skill could have solely qualified them. Individually talented with well executed solos during their second song, Rectifire played as a cohesive ensemble, presenting the image of a rehearsed, seasoned band. Their musical genre seemed to turn the judges off, but Rectifire solidified their talent during the performance of their original composition, with brutal solos and melodic intricacies. Underestimating their capacity for execution and musicality, I stereotyped Rectifire as a typical metal band, who compensates their lack of skill and practice time with excessive head banging and long hair. They broke my preconceived notions (while encompassing some of these characteristics) and exposed me to what high school music should like; representative of hard work and musical skill.

Valley Fever

After only two rehearsals the King’s Academy and Santa Clara High School five man band won The Gig, despite their short time together. Beginning their set with the self-titled song, "Valley Fever", the band followed with covers of No Doubt’s and Maroon 5’s "Sunday Morning." Valley Fever is a good hybrid between pop and rock, maintaining equilibrium of both genres. The band’s strength lies in the vocals of their two singers, who were the best heard at The Gig, as they make their songs live up to the music they cover. However as a band, Valley Fever’s musical skill isn’t bad or good, it’s just mediocre. Although I don’t agree with the judge’s decision, Valley Fever did present exceptional vocals that blended well with their guitar, bass, key board and drums, making me realize how disjointed current pop rock bands are.

The Gig was my opportunity to hear and learn more about my peers’ music, and change some of my preconceived notions of their musical skill. Some of the performances confirmed my initial biases, but the majority of them changed my original thoughts and even inspired me to believe that they could someday get the Led out.