Judges' pick Lions Ambition performs Thursday night at the Xconomy Battle of the Tech Bands during the WTIA Summer Celebration. (Kevin Pedraja photo)

GENE STOUT: At Seattle's first "Battle of the Tech Bands," a hip-hop group with links to Boeing beat out bands representing Microsoft, Adobe, Hewlett-Packard and other high-tech companies for "most innovative band" -- at least in the judges' view.

As for the audience favorite, it was a Microsoft-Adobe alliance that won the day with its bluesy, classic rock. And in case you're wondering, yes, tech geeks can rock. And rock hard. And don't call them geeks, especially the hair-swinging dudes from metal power trio Juda's Wake.

What started in Boston as an Xconomy networking event for music-minded techies made its Seattle debut Thursday night at the Pyramid Alehouse on First Avenue South across from Safeco Field. Co-host and organizer of the event was the Washington Technology Industry Assocation, which dubbed the rock 'n' roll party a "WTIA Summer Celebration."

A panel of judges -- music historian Peter Blecha, Vulcan Capital managing director Steve Hall and Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D program manager Jeff J. Lin, among others -- had winnowed a field of nearly two dozen entrants to five bands of widely varying styles, from fun-loving pop-rock group Afraid of Figs to hip-hop band Lions Ambition.

There was no dreck in this tech lineup.

Bands played spirited sets on a massive Car Toys portable stage hauled in on an 18-wheeler and set up in the parking lot.

The audience included hundreds of professionals from Seattle's high-tech sector, enjoying pints of Pyramid beer and hours of live music on a hot summer evening. Xconomy Seattle editor Greg Huang was pleased with the turnout, but envisioned a bigger event in 2010.

"Hopefully we can get more hard-core music fans next year," he said. Beneficiaries of the ticketed event included Jack Straw Productions and the Technology Access Foundation.

In many ways, "Battle of the Tech Bands" resembled Lawyerpalooza, a law-firm band competition that raises money for music education (the event wasn't held this year unfortunately). Each competing group in the "Tech Bands" showdown had at least one member from a Northwest technology firm.

And judging by the number of T-shirts, khaki shorts, tattoos and shaggy hairdos among contestants, dress codes are fairly lax at local technology companies.

Speaking of judging, the task of picking "most innovative band" fell to Huang, Blecha, WTIA CEO and president Ken Myer, Xconomy founder and editor-in-chief Bob Buderi and -- in the interest of full disclosure -- myself. (You can listen to clips from each of the bands here.)

Afraid of Figs took the stage first, and clearly had the wittiest songs of the five contenders.

The standout was "I Ate a Vegan," which made light of Seattle's political correctness and green-leaning lifestyles.

Also hilarious were "Rap Song," a parody of the rap idiom, and "Ritalin Barbie," an ode to an ex-girlfriend.

With ties to Morpho Trak and Robert Half Technology, the band drew comparisons to such fun-loving, hyper-kinetic bands as Barenaked Ladies and the Presidents of the United States of America.

Indigo Soul, a hard-charging band with a love of classic rock, featured vocalist Jerri Roberts, who added plenty of soulful energy to the band's 25-minute set. (Editor's note: The vocalist's name has been corrected).

Indigo Soul

The group, with links to Microsoft and Adobe, was led by singer-songwriter Mark Protus, a veteran of the bands Soup, Rope, Gun and Upstanding Members. Indigo Soul easily connected with the crowd, winning the "audience favorite" award (votes were cast via SMS text messaging from SinglePoint).

The prizes included one year of band promotional services donated by Boston-based Nimbit and two press releases from Marketwire.

Lions Ambition, representing Boeing in the high-tech pantheon, took flight with a powerful, melodic set marked by skillful, soulful rapping (the group plays Friday night, July 31, at El Corazon).

The group's cohesive sound, high energy level and beautifully intertwined vocals (oh, and cool plaid shorts) won over the five event judges, who annoited them "most innovative band."

Learning of their victory at the close of the evening, band members exploded in a frenzy of high-fives and big grins.

Juda's Wake, a trio of metal-loving brothers with Microsoft connections, was tremendously entertaining.

It was easy to imagine the band on the Ozzfest tour, headbanging its way across North America with a thunderous repertoire of ear-clobbering tunes.

Xconomy's Timmerman and Huang

The siblings looked the part as well, with long black hair, kilt-like shorts and rock-crushing boots.

The final band was Between These Lines, representing Hewlett-Packard. Last year, the group recorded its debut EP, "Familiar Places," with producer Brandon Bee in Tacoma.

The melodic alternative-rock band quickly tightened up after a somewhat sloppy start. And once it did, Between These Lines was a formidable live band, with a sound reflecting today's modern-rock radio formats.

The band closed its set with the catchy "Confess to Impress."

Gene Stout is a Seattle music critic who has reviewed thousands of bands in the past 25 years. Check out his blog here.