IT WAS the night of the underdogs in York's Battle Of Tthe Bands competition.

Astonishingly, three out of the four acts had only made it this far by virtue of being the highest-scoring losers.

But you never would have guessed it from their quality performances, which enthused even the understandably-subdued crowd at Fibbers last night.

With two places in next week's final up for grabs, there was everything to play for in the last of the semi-final rounds.

First on stage were Bad Shots Reunion, with their trademark morass of noisy, noisy, aggressive punk.

A stunned audience hardly knew where to look as Tom Daker led the four-piece through an overwhelmingly loud set.

Following them, A Dog Named Hero were the only band to actually win their last heat, and it quickly became obvious that they were the crowd's firm favourites.

Compre Alexander King introduced them as "the best emo band in the competition", and as the Evening Press scrabbled for its dictionary, the five Dogs blasted out song after song of energetic, disorderly, populist punk.

It all sounded pretty similar, but of course that was exactly what was wanted.

Oh, and it turns out that "emo" is a contraction of "emotional hardcore" - which sounds just about right.

Cue four-piece The Federals, who only formed in November last year, but have already perfected the art of effortless geek chic.

Their set could only be described as eclectic, at times lifting fuzzy garage to soaring new heights.

Indeed, there's something great germinating here - so when the revolution finally comes, it might just be these guys' flag we'll be rallying round.Last up were Calvo Contract, a welcome melodic end to the evening.

Just to prove that the nightmarish events in London cast something of a pall over the gig, one of their number was stuck in the capital, with no way of getting to York in time.

Happily an eleventh-hour replacement had been found, and the Contract signed, sealed and delivered a pensive, atmospheric collection of songs. Charismatic frontman Chris Carter even managed to blag his way through technical difficulties with ease.

In the end, A Dog Named Hero easily came out on top, securing vast swathes of the audience's vote.

But to the delight of many, The Federals made it through too, just securing a big enough share to go on to the final as the highest-scoring runners-up in the semis.

The line-up for Tuesday's final is: The Stimulagos, Idle Jack And The Big Sleep, Cardboard Radio, A Dog Named Hero, and The Federals.