The first of two semi-finals for the 2006 Battle Of The Bands passed off yesterday with Kickstart, Top Down Mafia, Blue Meryl, Necromancer and Bad Mothers Union all on the bill for the day.

Five good bands, five great performances with Blue Meryl slightly edging out in the crowd reaction factor, The Zoo literally shaking to its foundations even before the young band took to the stage midway through the evening - a serious moshpit, crowd surfing, the whole nine yards.

We’ve got some photo coverage going up live on KilkennyMusic.com in the photo gallery (open to members only, so if you’re not registered then sign up for free today) and we’ve got the second semi final on next weekend, Sunday October 15th.

Each band got to play five songs with original material stressed on the day and each band in turn gave it their all. Kickstart opened the proceedings, the band wearing matching t-shirts for the occasion and gave a solid performance. Top Down Mafia followed next with a very Red Hot Chili Peppers sound before Blue Meryl took to the stage, Spanky (lead vocal) giving it his all on the day. Fourth on the bill were Necromancer, all the way from Ballyragget, who gave it socks on day and had a good portion of the crowd behind them. Last, but not least, were Bad Mothers Union who put on another good performance, Sean opting to wear a mask for his performance!

Fair play to everyone involved on the day, the crowd was as big as ever and we’ve got five bands on next weekend before the finalists are announced on the day.