Thursday, January 11th The first band to kick off this week of shows at The Underground was Mossleigh, a young 3-piece punk band with no inhibitions at all. Though not the most polished or technical band, this band has so much fun playing that you can’t help but have fun watching. The Sophomore Jakes followed with a very upbeat and melodic indie set. They were all fairly young, but showed quite a lot of maturity and discipline in their music, with simple but catchy hooks and well thought out vocal harmonies. Glory Underground kept it rolling with an energetic set of what they describe as “pussy punk”. Bleached Orchid followed with a raw and dirty sound deeply rooted in the late 80’s Seattle scene (not to be confused with the more widely known but much lamer mid 90’s Seattle scene). Though their set was plagued by technical problems, they powered through regardless, setting an example of stage etiquette and personal philosophy that translates something like this: when a string breaks, you play as if the song never needed it, when all your tuning pegs start flying off your guitar, smash that fucker into the ground, grab the mic, and belt it out like the rock gods intended it to be, raw and loud. The Marquee Crisis rounded it out with an experimental and energetic mix of sonic textures, showing a mastery of dynamics and use of negative space in their music. Friday, January 12th The Mannequin Depressives were by far the most theatrical performance of the weekend. This synth-pop act really demonstrated the difference between a show and a well arranged production. Life After followed up with a sound that made me feel right at home in the Southwest US, where post-hardcore bands are the name of the game. Dr. Rockstar and the Gypsy Bears, a drummerless 3-piece punk outfit, though burdened with a few technical issues throughout their set, more than made up for it with their energy on stage. Reborn Pariah closed it out with a set, and a sound that really set them apart from the average metal band. The singer’s All/Descendents-esque vocal qualities were something that really worked well and complimented their music. Saturday, January 13th Saturday started off with Jimmy K and the Lady Killers, a 3-piece post-punk trio. Though young, and not completely polished, this band showed great songwriting skill and a confidence on stage that eludes most musicians their age. Illicit Business followed up with a much more blues oriented sound. Despite a medical complication that forced them to replace the lead vocals a week before the show, they were still able to pull it off, and impress the crowd enough to secure themselves a spot in the second round. United We Fall were one of the heaviest bands that I saw in Calgary, and contained one of the most angry and cynical Canadians I met this week. However, this energy translates well into their music, projecting and aggressive and memorable sound and stage performance. Blacked Out definitely threw me for a loop. While I had expected a pretty stock metal band, they had deep punk roots (a la Zeke or Turbonegro) paired with the enormous technical skill usually associated with metal bands. If you’re into fast balls-out rock, check these guys out for sure. Sunday, January 14th The Paperback Arson were definitely the crowd pleasers of the night: though quite young, they possess great technical skills, and a good grasp on quality songwriting. Entropy of Earth, though seemingly uncomfortable on stage, possessed amazing technical instrumentation skills, coupled with a raspy Skinny Puppy-esque vocal quality. Desmadre! and Lothian, closed out the evening: Lothian a straight ahead punk rock outfit, and Desmadre! a Spanish-singing rockabilly band. While both rockabilly music, and the use of<