Perhaps because they never actually seem to involve direct combat, Battles of the Bands get a bad rep: too many unknowns, too little practice, too many dudes wearing Stevie Ray Vaughn gear who are still taking lessons. We get all that, but our egalitarian nature has us thinking that the concept - assuming everything is on the up-and-up and no one is sneaking out the club window with the night's door receipts in a duffel bag - still has merit. Evidently, the folks at Lead Alliance Media Group and Alice 105.9 agree, because they are sponsoring a 10-week (!) BotB at Herman's Hideaway titled "Almost Famous," wherein the winner gets a lot of money and help from Lead Alliance with all the stuff that musicians tend not to think about, like marketing and showering. Sounds like a winner to us, so here are 5 Reasons to Check Out Tonight's Installment of "Almost Famous":

1 The bands - this edition of the contest features Forth Yeer Freshman, For Love of Ivy, Four To Go and Des Tours - aren't your typical BotB newbies, having actually played real live shows that people (not their parents) paid actual money to attend.

2 Herman's Hideaway is centrally located along the 0 bus line at 1578 S. Broadway, making your post-concert stumble an easily navigable one. Just stop when you see a bench, and sit on it.

3 You never know, one of these bands might blow up in a year or two, and you'll never be able to annoy your acquaintances by talking about how you saw them back when if you didn't.

4 With tensions running high, there might be an actual battle between bands. Not saying there will be. But maybe.

5 We mentioned them earlier, but Forth Yeer Freshman is really worth it.

Doors open for tonight's "Almost Famous" at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10, 21 and over only.