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‘The judges are going to decide who are going to be the big shot musicians, and who are going to be the losers.’

That was the idea of the night that was the National Campus Bands Competition, held at the Canberra Institute of Technology’s Southside Campus on Thursday night. It was easy to see a lot of time and effort had been given to making the otherwise boring theatre into a rocking stage, with professional lighting, smoke machines and even a big screen.

With an impressive line-up of different musical tastes and varying degrees of rock, each of the six bands of the night showed off their enormous musical abilities and promising future careers.

First up, from the University of Sydney, came Wifey. Starting the night with an eclectic roots-infused sound, complete with a violin, Wifey warmed up the audience with an easy-going tune before getting to the good stuff. Heavy basslines and fancy violining gave the Sydney band an edgy, groovy feel. A highlight of the set was a harder, distorted version of the classic Chapel of Love. Ever the polite band, at the end of the set the lead singer was sure to say extend their thanks, telling the audience, ‘thanks Canberra, for receiving us into your bosom’.

Next, all the way from the Edith Cowan University in Western Australia, came The Brown Study Band. With song titles such as Designer Everything and Loose Change for Free Range, the WA band are as much about social messages as they are music. In fact, Loose Change for Free Range, which comments about caged chickens, plays with heavy metal and a pop lyrics, including ‘hey man, do you want some chicken cause I bought some from the shops’. Casual and entertaining, the boys interacted and played with the audience throughout their performance.

Next, South Australian band Behind These Walls lit up the stage to change the mood. Formed just over a year ago, the band from University of Adelaide steadied the vibe with their violin and saxophone grooviness. Fusing rock with folk, the band had a slight Spanish folk feel, reminiscent of The Cat Empire, if Josh Pyke was the lead singer.

Representing the ACT, four-piece band Rubycon took to the stage, amid cheers and chaos from their eager following. Being on home turf agreed with the ANU band, who played a rocking set, wowing the audience with their raw talent and musical abilities. Considering how young the members are, with the youngest at 13, the band came in at 2nd place in last year’s competition, which just goes to show their capability and talent. Reminiscent of Australian rockers Faker in their musical style and performance, Rubycon showed Canberra enormous confidence and musical skill. Backed by a big following of friends, family and appreciators of fine music, the Canberra boys stepped up a notch and powerfully rocked out.

Nearing the end of the night, [Me] from Swinburn University in Hawthorn Victoria was the second last band of the line-up. Christening themselves as ‘purveyors of theatrical rock’, [Me] took to the stage in an excess of smoke, lights and ambient rainforest music. With their long straggly hair and vest/tie look, the band exuded the standard old-school rocker vibe for the night. As performers, [Me] seemed quiet and almost angsty, preferring to focus on their music rather than their performance. Not interacting with the audience was forgotten from the first note, giving the audience a mix of progressive rock/alternative hard indie and emo music. Atmospheric and haunting, the Melbourne band were a cross between AFI and Queen. In fact, a special mention goes to the lead singer Luke Ferris, whose strong voice carried across a number of octaves and is almost on par with Freddy Mercury.

Finishing the night off was Queensland band Skara Brae and the Renegades, from Griffith University on the Gold Coast. Starting off on a bad note, the band was able to quickly regroup and show off their groovy tunes and interesting vocal harmonies. Proving that violins were indeed the theme of the night, Skara Brae and the Renegades enthralled the audience with their brand of alternative/folk/pop stylings. Changing tempo’s flawlessly, at one the band used a tambourine for a flamenco inspired Spanish number that ended in what can only be described as a distorted Zorba dance.

After a big thank you to everyone involved in the night (‘thanks to Dickson backpackers where the bands are staying’ ‘free towels!’), the final moment of truth came, with the winners announced to an eagerly anticipating audience. In 3rd place was Wifey, 2nd Behind These Walls, and, with applause, yelling and chaos erupting from the crowd, Canberra’s own Rubycon were named the winners of the night. Scoring a ton of prizes and exposure, Rubycon are set to make it big in the music world.