The Graduates

Monday’s “Battle of the Bands” at the House of Blues in Harvard Square proved that, despite a reputation for hard work and preppiness, Harvard graduate students can really rock. The Law School’s The Stone Cutters emerged the victors, beating Business School rivals Corporate Whore and D.O.F.C. from the Kennedy School.

A very familiar Harvard-looking crowd of college kids, including many friends and family of the band members assembled, on the second floor of the House of Blues. They ordered vodka tonics at the bar, alongside the musicians ordering bottled water. D.O.F.C., an eight-piece band specializing in soul and funk, were the first group to go on, comprising guitars, drums, harmonica, trumpet and saxophone. The band played classics such as “Jungle Boogie,” as well as a few original songs. The strongest elements of their performance were the two very gifted lead singers, Patrick Parks and Taryn Carter. The group has only been together for a few months, but their funky, syncopated, Parliament-style beats put even Harvard kids in the mood to dance.

Next up were The Stone Cutters, a six-piece, white, t-shirted jam band with three guitars, drums, saxophone, occasional keyboard and tambourine. They jumped and head-banged their way through a set that included many originals, as well as crowd-pleasers like The Cars’ “I Think You’re Just What I Needed” and Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” The drummer and the lead guitarist doubled as singers, displaying the talent that made this band strong vocally and instrumentally. The pair has been together for eight years and released their first album, $14 the Hard Way last year, which contributed to their polished sound. The law students outclassed the other two contenders for originality, songwriting ability and expressiveness.

Corporate Whore, the somewhat controversially titled Business School band, played third. Despite a similar sound to The Stone Cutters, these four guys and two girls tried even harder than their adversaries to excite the audience about their original set, while punctuating it with hits like “Wouldn’t It be Nice?” by George Michael. Their sound had a solid drum beat and was upbeat and poppy and their lyrics easy to sing along with, but they had a tough act to follow, and overall, their vocals and instrumentals were not as strong as those of The Stone Cutters.

The first prize, awarded to The Stone Cutters was $500 cash and a scheduled appearance at Virgin Records on Newbury Street. Second prize, going to Corporate Whore, was a Virgin Records gift voucher. The competition was put on by the Consortium For Global Leadership, a group that brings in speakers and organizes events to “get the three schools to mingle,” says Geraldine Chin, the host of the show from the Law School. The five judges included representatives from the House of Blues, the Boston Phoenix, Virgin Records and a student from the Medical School. Bands were awarded up to five points in each of the following categories: originality, lyrics, songwriting ability, vocals, instrumentation, expressiveness, audience connection and an overall assessment. The race was a close one, with 159 points going to The Stone Cutters, 155 to Corporate Whore, and 151 to D.O.F.C.

After the awards were announced, The Stone Cutters were invited back for an encore to make sure the audience understood why they had won. The diversity of their songs and the band’s musicality and enthusiasm really shone in this last performance, and it was clear to everyone that Harvard graduate students can play just as well as they can work.