Put simply, last Friday night's band showcase at Needham High School rocked.

Eight bands, all composed of NHS students, tore up the stage in the school auditorium and ranged in style from funk to straight up rock 'n' roll.

The show, which was run through the school's Rock Club, benefited the Needham Food Pantry. Students collected $740 for the organization, plus an arsenal of canned food, according to club adviser David Smokler.

"This was a way for different student bands to have a forum to communicate with each other," said Smokler, who is in his first year of teaching at NHS. "It was not a battle of the bands."

Instead, this showcase let the young musicians do what they do best - play to a receptive audience.

"I think the show went pretty well," said NHS sophomore Tom Janowski, a guitarist in the band Pandafied. "It was one of our - my band's - best shows, I think."

Plus, added Janowski, it's always good to see some of the new acts that are kicking around NHS.

For Alicia Droney, a senior who is the club president, the event was organized to give opportunities for bands to shine in front of their peers.

Said Droney, the Rock Club was alive and kicking when she first came to the high school, but it subsequently declined in popularity. This year, she was determined to put on a show.

"When it happened, I was very surprised," she said with a laugh. "There were so many odds going against us."

Droney hopes to motivate the club to put on a second show in the spring, possibly in the gazebo at Memorial Park.

Aside from Pandafied, Friday's show featured the bands Sudden Epiphany, Banshee's Reverb, Squizzard, The Hosiers, the Alex Kobzik Experience, Nesta and Gepetto's Workshop.

Though Droney plays guitar and sings, she didn't perform at the show.

"I've always been into music," she admitted. "I'm not in a band right now ... I haven't had the time lately to put something together."

Droney said her music tastes have evolved significantly, from the Spice Girls in middle school to Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana and punk in high school. These days, her tastes have mellowed out; Droney's current favorite is the band Saves the Day.

Droney, who will graduate this June, has plans to study communications in college.

"I still want to pursue music, of course," she said. "I always wanted to be a singer when I was younger."

Janowski said the style of his band is indescribable, as it incorporates different musical genres into its original material. Some of Janowski's biggest influences are Jimi Hendrix, 311, Incubus, the Grateful Dead and Phish.

While he considers Friday night's gig as one of the group's best, the five-piece Pandafied played its biggest show at a battle of the bands at the Worcester Pallidium. The band won recording time after that competition.

The result is the band's eponymous five-song EP, recorded at Black Hill Recording Studios in Framingham.

"I was completely thrilled," said Janowski of the experience. "We spent two whole days in the recording studio."

The Rock Club and live performances let students showcase talents that may go unrecognized, said Smokler.

"Some of these kids are alienated," he said. "This music is what they do."

Heather Davis can be reached at hdavis@cnc.com.