Hundreds of students flocked to Paine Hall Saturday night for a three-hour "Battle of the Bands," featuring performances by eight all-student rock groups.

The event, sponsored by The Crimson and free to all students, provided the bands with a chance to play music ranging in style from ska to heavy metal. Each band played a 20-minute set.

"We were thrilled with the attendance. It's rare to have that many people attend such an event on such an otherwise busy night at Harvard," said concert organizer Marios V. Broustas '97, who is a Crimson editor.

"The event was staged in the hopes of giving Harvard bands who have not had a great deal of exposure around campus a forum to perform in a larger auditorium setting with professionally-done sound," Broustas said.

"I think the bands were generally pleased and enthused that they had the chance to perform before so many of their peers," he said.

In a close 3-2 vote, the panel of student judges--which included Georg S. Dukas '97, the editor-in-chief of the International Review, Jonathan P. Feeney '98, Undergraduate Council President Robert M. Hyman '98-'97, Crimson editor Ben J. Lima '98 and Crimson President Andrew L. Wright '96--picked the group Daily Planet as the winner.

The all first-year band Flubber, a late entry into the show, was named as a close runner-up.

Other bands included Ground Zero, Spatula, Chickita, Steamship of Beef, Blanket Envy, Three Asians and a Turk and Megasnake (which did not compete for the first-place prize because it included a non-Harvard student member).

Steamship of Beef incorporated an overhead projector into its performance, while the band Chickita inspired many audience members to dance in front of the stage.

"I thought we played a good show," said Glenn A. Nano '98, Daily Planet's lead singer. "I think it's important for Harvard bands to get together and play together. It's important for our fans to get together and watch the other bands. I was glad to see so many people come out and support the music scene at Harvard."

David R. Capiola '97, the vocalist of competing band Steamship of Beef, said he "had a great time. We played pretty well considering we were down one guitarist."

"It seemed as if [the event] was really well organized. It was a good idea to get all the bands together," Capiola said