Following Everybody Wins, and kicking off the second half of the first semi-final round of the… Following Everybody Wins, and kicking off the second half of the first semi-final round of the Graffiti Rock Challenge, was Top 10 Idols. And, once again, the problems of sameness that plagued Everybody Wins afflicted Top 10 Idols.

The first four songs from this indie-rock four piece all sounded so similar to one another that anyone who wasn’t paying attention might think that the same song had been played slightly differently four different times. And, like with Everybody Wins, this becomes frustrating. The lyricism and musicality of the band are excellent, but they don’t mix it up enough.

How good are they, really? Can they only play one type of song? Can the lead singer only sing one way? Those questions couldn’t be answered, and that made the set difficult to listen to..

Drawing attention to this was the absolute lack of band interaction, both with the audience and among themselves. Throughout their entire set, save for when a band member addressed the crowd to explain the meaning of a song, the band stood static.

That said, though, their sound was crisp and unhindered by the excesses of guitars cranked to 11. Every instrument on stage had a place and they fit together nicely. Unfortunately, they couldn’t be put to good use – the only time anything interesting happened with Top 10 Idols’ set was during their last song. It was much different in sound than the rest of their set, and it got the crowd going a little bit. But it came far too late and couldn’t help wash away the blandness of the rest of their songs.

The final band of the night was Alisium, and the best was certainly saved for last.

The only five piece of the night, Alisium owned the stage as soon as it walked out with its members’ confident rock star swaggers. Their ownership of the stage – and the audience – only increased as their set began.

Playing songs that all sounded different and, while at times familiar, entirely fresh, they mixed up their set with loud rock songs that owe as much to ’70s-era American rock as they do to the work of bands like the Strokes that riff off that ’70s vibe and make it their own. This is echoed in the appearance of Alisium’s lead singer, a guy who owes his look to a combination of Albert Hammond from the Strokes, Ric Ocasek and Joey Ramone.

Alisium threw everything into the mix: awesome guitar solos, mature lyrics, acoustic guitars and even a harmonica. And, throughout the set, the band interacted with one another and got involved with the audience, who was at their most raucous when Alisium began rocking Mr. Small’s.

But the best thing about watching Alisium was that it was like watching an early performance from a band that could do big things, not only in the local scene, but nationally as well. This is a band that has a confidence that was missing from the other bands during this first week of competition, and they’re a band that knows more than one type of song.

When all was said and done, it didn’t come as a shock to find Alisium winning Week One of the Rock Challenge’s semi-finals. While all of the bands were enjoyable to watch, Alisium was the most dynamic and most fun. Here’s to seeing them again on March 13 in the finals.