The area’s best cover bands will be coming together to help you forget how freakin’ hot it is outside and, on the flipside, with a little help from trusty friends Les Paul, Jim Marshall, Bill and Ted Ludwig, Leo Fender, et. al, they will remind you just how hot it can get inside.

The Kansan Grill in beautiful downtown Topeka is planning to play host to the 2nd edition of the Topeka Music Scene’s Band Battle, with the presentation of Cover Bands Gone Wild!, Saturday, July 17. Situated in the former Pore Richards location, at 7th and Kansas, the Kansan is “Topeka’s best kept secret,” and is “preparing to become T-Town’s number one live music venue,” says Les Roediger, the organizer of this event.

Ten bands will vie for a $500 cash prize, and the series finalists will move on to the next round with a chance to win 6 hours of studio time at Topeka’s Rundown Studios.

Starting at 2 p.m. and continuing till 1 a.m., here is your chance to get out and support local music and catch some out-of-town bands you might normally miss out on. You’ll hear, among others,  classic blues rock from the Brandon Miller Band, Christian Rock from the Reach, classic rock from Three of a Kind, hard rock from Bloodshed, and a mix of current and classic tunes from one of my favorite bands, Modern Prophets, making a rare Topeka appearance.

Admission is just five bucks to hear ten bands. If you do the math, this breaks down to fifty cents a band, and in today’s economy that’s a bargain that would be a shame to miss.

The organizers want to stress that this is a family oriented event, so “bring the kids if you can’t get a sitter, this is an all ages event till close.” The kitchen at the Kansan also cooks up a pretty awesome steak, from what I hear and food will be offered for sale till 9 p.m. for those who want to make a full night of it.

Round 3 will be held at the end of July with the Boobie Trap being the selected location. Local area bands playing original music will be competing at this time. Check back here for more info or visit the event’s Facebook page.

Robin is attending his 35th high school reunion this weekend and missing out on a whole lot of cool things to do in the city. Let’s hope he doesn’t get crazy and throw his back out dancing to the Blues Magoos, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Electric Prunes, or some other popular group with a weird name from that era!

If you have Top City music info to share with Robin, email him at bluesfan_69@yahoo.com

[ July 2010 | Robin Cremer | photos courtesy bands' Facebook pages (Top photo: Brandon Miller) ]