The Brow Horn Orchestra, which has received much acknowledgement around WA of late, delivered an exciting set, with a mixed medley of ska, jazz, electronica and rock and roll, clearly showing off talents throughout their 20 minute set. The band left no doubt of their star quality among audience and judges alike; their swinging rhythms had the pit dancing halfway through the first tune. It would be fun to see The Brow grow as a band, and also perform a full set instead of being limited to twenty minutes, as their performance was a little too short to get the scope of the different six talents that were up on the stage. They should be seen live by everyone. Again and again and again.

Second up was southern rockers Homebrewe, who had a rough Saturday, starting off with warming up for 80s Aussie legends Choirboys in Fremantle before throwing themselves in the car and busting a few speed limits on the way to Rosemount Hotel – and the NCBC final. The boys have the sound down, it’s flowing, it’s magnificent, but last night there was just a few things missing. Drummer Rory Keys delivered an explosive, mind-blowing solo, but when the audience have seen the explicit talents of one band member, they want to see everyone, especially bass player Dylan Grogan, who was nearly invisible on stage compared to his brothers Casey and Kohen. They are all extremely talented guys, there is no shame in showing it!

Homebrewe was probably the only band who did not fit in properly in the band-comp frame last night. They have already landed a good crowd who support their gigs, buy their cds, give them decent reviews and have received even more acknowledgement overseas. One of their tracks is the current no. 10 on the biggest alternative rock online chart in the US. They do not need to go to Sea World to make a name for themselves, as the job is half done already with a full Rocket Room at their single launch, and warm up gigs over the last few months like Children Collide and Choirboys.

Third band was instrumental rockers The Silent World. Their sound was really good, but they might be too heavily inspired by the amazing Scottish band Mogwai to get away with making “original Australian music”. Apparently, others in the crowd shared this opinion, since a small group in the audience cheered for Mogwai when the host read the judges’ final decision.

Fourth on was Alec Ducak who played a somewhat enthralling electronica/experimental fusion that took the audience by surprise, starting rather tamely, then escalating into a mix between music and mere noise that was fascinating in its own way.

Sounding like something out of New Orleans, Louis and the Honky-tonk blew away with seductive blues and rhythm. Being the most original and the easiest to appreciate in the latter batch of the night’ bands, Louis and the Honky-tonk have an original concept going for them, being comfortably easy-listening music with a side of being special, they are dish well served.

Down to the final two, The Kirbens, named after band members Kirsty Hulka and Ben Mauri were on next. The band describes themselves as a mix of everything, which they truly were. Missing is a definition of style, because when you put orange and tuna together you do not get a tasty mix. The singer, was the definite spice of the band, and she did not blend properly with the rest of the band, who were rather bland in comparison. This is often a case in new bands, who have yet to find a proper dynamic working for them, but in the future, we would rather see the rest of the band rise to Hulka’s level than down to what the rest are doing at the moment.

Last band Sugarpuss was just straight up horrible. There should be a requirement that if you are going to scream on stage, you scream in key. Their singer hurt the ears, their sound was flat and boring and it is astonishing that they made it so far in the competition.

All in all this was a good night. Nice people, nice music with few annoying exceptions. And a huge congratulations from Fasterlouder WA to our own writer Nic Owen, member of winning band; The Brow Horn Orchestra – have a nice trip to QLD!