Paging Brian Orce (see bangs)

Healthy, but not startling averages for today’s winners, all of whom averaged in the 6s.  Voter turn out was pretty weak, to say the least.

Congrats to Metallica, who have not caught on in previous tournaments.  Their cover of “Turn the Page” toppled Bad Plus’s “Tom Sawyer,” 69.9-57.5.

Not the most exciting looking band in the world.

Poor Eddie Vedder lost for the second day in a row, and has been eliminated from the tournament.  This time,  Mercy Mercy Me was vanquished by Cake, who Will Survive, 68.3-53.3.

Jenny Lewis pleased the crowd with her delightful cover of “Handle with Care” (though no one is quite sure who was backing her up), taking out Yo La Tengo’s “You Can Have It All,”   74.3-52.3, earning the high score of the day.   Yo La Tengo makes great albums, but they have simply not broken through in this tournament setting.

Venus in Furs’ ballad, “Tumbling Down”, looked smooth taking out Linkin Park’s “Rollin in the Deep,” 73.2-57.3.  It even made the Wall of 10s, thanks to Aiko and Astrid.

Let’s shake the dust off this weekend and end the first round with a bang.