The crowd that had been sitting sedately in the HUB Ballroom munching on stale potato chips was soon pushing chairs to the middle of the floor and gathering near the stage.

This 180-degree turn occurred about an hour into The Asylum's annual Battle of the Bands last weekend, which featured six local "garage bands." The amateur bands competed for four cash prizes and employed a wide variety of styles ranging from dance music to hard rock.

"It's a chance for frustrated musicians to play," said Dan Burns, president of The Asylum, a non-alcoholic dance club sponsored by the University's programming department.

Of the six bands which played, Little Evil and the Rhythm Saints won first place and $100 from the Asylum staff, The Pinch captured both the audience favorite award worth $25 and tied with Funk You for the $75 second place performance.

Each band was allowed 20 minutes to perform, with 15-minute intermissions for equipment changes. Burns said he received a total of twelve entries accompanied by demonstration tapes, and six bands were selected by The Asylum staff to compete.

The first band to perform, Dreams in Motion, played post-modern and dance music. "We know people are tired of classic and hard rock. We play dance music -- it's an alternative," band member David Hall (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said.

Most of the bands' members agreed that they entered the contest for exposure as well as experience.

"You can never play out enough," said Scott Sensebaugh (senior-geography), a member of the garage rock band Profyle. "It gets rid of the butterflies."

"I'm nervous as hell," said Sensebaugh shortly before performing.

The 150 or so people who gathered at The Asylum's Battle of the Bands remained lifeless until the second band, Profyle, played its last song: a cover of Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69." Soon a handful of dancers turned into a crowd, as more brave souls ventured onto the dance floor.

At times the audience nearly stole the show. During Funk You's rendition of Kansas' "Dust in the Wind," three audience members took to the center of the floor, flailing wildly and throwing themselves on the floor as they danced.

"I'm exercising my license to be weird," said Chris Linn (sophomore-liberal arts), one of the dancers.

Although Funk You's lead singer, Danielle Dryzga (junior-psychology) said the trio's dancing was a little distracting at times, she also said it definitely added something and generated audience response.

Audience support peaked when the alternative band, The Pinch, came onstage. Jesse Ebaugh of The Pinch said the band has a following of both high school and college students and has previously performed at State College Area High School and the HUB.

"They're cool guys, and they play their instruments well," said Dean Brubaker, a senior at State College High School.

After The Pinch played five originals and two covers, a large part of the audience left without waiting for the awards that The Pinch swept.

"At least we got our (entry) fee back," said The Pinch's John McNavity (freshman-electrical engineering) as his band's name was announced.

Despite the hasty exodus, a good-sized crowd did remain for the final two bands.

"It was our misfortune to play after them (The Pinch)," said Sam Anderson, guitarist for the hard rock band, Problem Child.

However, he said he still found the event thrilling. "Everybody has a little desire to be a ham, and I finally got my 20 minutes of it," he said.

Audience response picked up again as the final band, Little Evil and the Rhythm Saints, hit the stage. Backed with instruments including a flute, saxophone, trombone and harmonica, singer Leigh Melander belted out lyrics while an enthusiastic audience danced below the stage.

"They're different -- and they're good," Mike Hardin (sophomore-engineering) said of Little Evil's mix of R&B and Motown.