L.A. Red Bull Soundclash: Kid Sister vs. Moving Units

It’s probably been a while since Los Angelenos witnessed a good old-fashioned battle of the bands, arena-style and between two worthwhile opponents who’ve had years to hone their craft. But on December 16th, Red Bull Soundclash moved Kid Sister and Moving Units into their own Colosseum (read: hotel) to entertain the bloodthirsty crowd with a two-hour duel, filled with a variety of exchanged musical parries and thrusts. The weapons: guitar, bass, synth, turntables, and lots — and LOTS– of loud drums. And here’s two groups that, at first, couldn’t sound more unlike, yet still had two very common aspirations: a) get yer booty shakin’, and b) wipe the floor with the other.

If you haven’t attended a Red Bull Soundclash before, it’s a bit far from your usual high school gymnasium BOTB antics–two big-name bands are moved into a club or soundstage, and take audial swipes at one another, at increasing degrees of peril. After a brief warm-up, in which each band plays their own respective songs, the battle is divided into four rounds:

First is The Cover — a chance for both bands to be unique in their own ways through their own unique interpretation of a song, in this case The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me.” An interesting variation this time was the duet between Kid Sister and Moving Units on the song, a rare display of sportsmanship considering the battle had only just begun. Moving Units won with 136 decibels of applause, with Kid Sister at 135. A close one — worth only 1 point — with plenty of show to go.

Pay attention: Round 2 was “The Takeover,” in which both bands would play one of their own songs, then stop halfway through to let the opposing band finish the song for them. This time Kid Sister owned, with her own 136 decibels to Moving Units’ 135 for 2 points.

The gloves come off: Round 3 is the official “clash”, and arguably the hardest part of the face-off — each band is is given a different genre of music to play, and the bands must do their best to copy the respective styles. Tonight it was dance, funk, and punk. Moving Units won again, 135 to 134. Value: 3 points.

Round 4, The Wildcard/The Joker: each band brought out their respective musical pals to help them sqaure off against one another. Moving Units was backed up with Drake from Nickelodeon’s Josh and Drake, and Kid Sister, with DJ Steve Aoki. Kid Sister took it back, winning this round 137-136. Value : 1 point.

And so The Moving Units left the battle blood-stained and victorious, before asking Kid Sister to join them in an anarchic jam on the stage, which really gave a cool ending to a unique confrontation between different musical acts.