IT began with 48 runners and riders on February 10. Now only five are still standing, and on Tuesday they will compete in the Grand Final of the Fibbers/Evening Press Battle of the Bands 2004, the Grand National of rock talent contests in York.

The bookies could not separate Sixty 6 and Scassa Monakee before the first heat, installing them as joint favourites in the unofficial betting at 2/1, and still they cannot be divided, despite Scassa Monakee finishing only second behind Dustbowl Central in this week's semi-final.

The bookies are posting odds of 2/1 for Sixty 6, winners of the second semi last week, and Scassa Monakee, who qualified for the final as one of the two highest-scoring runners-up. Next come first semi victors New Legends and Dustbowl Central and outsiders Vanacutt, runners-up in the first semi, at 8/1.

Mike Wilson's trio Sixty 6, who defied illness to win their semi, play American-soaked indie rock for the Dawson's Creek generation, their hair scruffily styled to within an inch of its life.

Scassa Monakee, from York and Leeds, lace their drum & bass with a measure of funk and jazz and they are that rarity in this male-dominated competition: a band with a female lead singer. Lucy Taylor-Gee blends her siren vocals with the slick rapping of MC Gusto in a pairing that has drawn comparison with Eminem and Dido.

James Plummer's four-piece New Legends describe their Knaresborough mesh of metal as "dark Muse". Set highlights on Tuesday should be should be the bouncing energy of Stranger Than Fiction and the pounding, eardrum-shredding beats of Tawaitabas.

Dan 'Sick Boy' Gott, former totem of the defunct Duck Sick, had two bites at the cherry this year, fronting both Tip The Balance and Vanacutt. (Imagine if they were both on stage at the same time; that really would be a battle of the bands.) Tip The Balance fell at the semi-final stage but Vanacutt will be there on Wednesday, parading their scary brand of Slipknot mayhem with co-vocalist Karl Banks alongside Sick Boy.

York three-piece Dustbowl Central favour an electronic sound, citing New Order, Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk as influences. Lead singer Andy Curry's voice is a distant relative to the vocal mannerisms of former Suede frontman Brett Anderson and he panders to bygone Britpop days with his Jarvis Cocker-style posturing.

On Tuesday, in the sweltering subterranean heat of Fibbers in Stonebow, the finalists come under starter's orders at 7.30pm. Tickets are available in advance from Fibbers at £5.

See Wednesday's Evening Press for David Martin's report and Anthony Chappel-Ross's ringside photographs from Fibbers/Evening Press Battle of the Bands final battleground.

Updated: 16:00 Thursday, June 24, 2004