The PA was cranked up, 14 bands were cranked up for an electrified crowd, all united at Le Dagobert for the unforgettable first Quebec City final on Tuesday night June 14th. All the bands were plugged in and charged up but only one tripped the breakers and came out on top, and that band was LACHAMBRE, and now they will be on their way to play at the Medley in the Canadian final June 25th. It''s surprising that there are so many good bands in a city as small as Quebec, and the audience reaped the benefits. The competition was a tight race between the top 7 bands and in our opinion they were all winners. Even though Jason from BLACK PAGE took home the best singer award, the rest of the bands also had top-notch vocals. HIDDEN SORROW had an amazing hard-core scream, LADY GONZALEZ and MERKABAH had the female rock thang all wrapped up and DENFER ET LES SATANEE VALSEUSES threw down sweet homegrown Québec style three parts harmonies. There must be something in the water because there are so many competent guitar players in the Qc area, but only two had the goodies to take the prizes. Fred from LACHAMBRE brought color and tight rhythm to their brit-rock sound taking the second best guitar award. Hubert from BLACK PAGE won the first best guitar award, nailing it with his inspired solos and his straightforward hard-rock chops. Two Other guitar players worth mentioning were Patrick from MIDSTREAM and Francois from MERKABAH who had sick guitar riffs, tasty solos and represented the true spirit of heavy metal. All fourteen bands were anchored by dynamic meter conscious drummers, all unique in their own way . Olivier from MAD SPIRAL took home the Sabian cymbals that he and all the other drummers have been trying to kill for the last three shows. Patrick from NEVER MORE THAN LESS and Mike from BLACK PAGE did amazing performance worth mentioning. The bassist is often forgotten behind singers or guitarist charisma and/or talent. Even drummers seem to get attention more easily from the crowd than those 4\5 strings players. Every musician knows that bassist is the real heart of the band. Two men stood out from the others by their tightness, groove and presence .The first one is David from ARMON-X and the second one is Mathieu from LACHAMBRE. All those awards were decided by the total of point given by the jury for each and every musician, but one awards was decided by the total of point given by bands to bands! This is what we call BAND AWARD, and the band that was selected this year is IN APPARATUS COMPLACENCY…their unique blend of rock and their low-fi attitude keep them mysterious and respected by their peers. The jury did an amazing job throughout this night and ranked the top 7 bands voted by the public. Lady Gonzalez came 7th , In Apparatus Complacency 6th , Mad Spiral 5th , Merkabah 4th , Never more Than less 3rd , Black Page 2nd and LaChambre 1st .( check out the Canadian final article to see their overall ranking ) All those bands couldn''t get to the final in Montreal but they''ll keep on playing in your region. Keep on supporting them.