INDIE EAR MADNESS: 2nd Round (East Region)

Sunday, March 23, 2008 | 11:14 AM

11 Tim Fite vs. 3 Moby
Maybe underestimating Tim Fite, Moby came into this contest with just two turntables (telling his full-on band to stay home). What was also a little confusing was that Moby began spinning slow-tempo chill-out music. Apparently he had stayed out late the night before and didn't even realize what time it was--he thought he was spinning an early-morning after-party instead of competing in the Second Round of Indie Ear Madness. Tim Fite was on-point as usual and managed to score his second upset victory of the tournament.

(above: Tim Fite upsets Moby in the Second Round of Indie Ear Madness.)

1 Vampire Weekend vs. 8 Thurston Moore
Despite their young age and "lack of experience", the Ivy Leaguers from Vampire Weekend are sounding amazingly tight in this tournament. In their Second Round match-up against Thurston Moore, they were even backed by a live string section. Thurston Moore's acoustic ballads lost out to the happy African beats of Vampire Weekend.

12 Strike Anywhere vs. 4 Nada Surf
Richmond, VA's punk-rock stalwarts looked very impressive, but the experience and chemistry of Nada Surf was a little too much for them to handle. When Nada Surf needs to, they can really rock out. What surprised everyone, especially Strike Anywhere, is when Nada Surf busted out some Ramones cover songs.

7 The Last Shadow Puppets vs. 2 Gnarls Barkley
One of the more intriguing match-ups of the Second Round, since both groups are technically side-projects (although Gnarls Barkley isn't feeling much like a side-project these days). The chemistry between Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo seemed to be more fluid than that of Alex Turner (Artic Monekys) and Miles Kane (The Rascals). The Last Shadow Puppets showed a lot of promise, but the "round mound of rebound", Gnarls Barkley, was just too strong on the boards today.