The first week of Emergenza Festival 2005 went off in Boston with only a few pint size hitches as bands from all over New England came to the Middle East to play their hearts out for four nights. Besides a blown fuze and a broken drum head it''s safe to say that week 1 was an overwhelming success. We had strong crowds for each night, especially friday, audience response was fantastic and the band support shown for each other made it all worth while. While only four bands of eight from each night of shows were given the opportunity to move on to play the Paradise Rock CLub, every single band expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to play the Middle East (one of Boston''s best venues) and that no matter what, playing to a packed house in Boston was an experience they wouldn''t soon forget. The energy was high, the music was loud, and although every band playing commanded attention, there were few bands who, in the next few months, are going to get a lot of it during the festival. As night 1 was coming to a close, a quiet, mellow group of guys known as Brookfield took the stage. Jaws slowly dropped lower and lower as their set moved along. Their energy level was insurmountable and the band itself, technically, was tighter than Bon Jovi''s leather pants on a hot night. Mellow must be a common theme here, because the three guys from Silencio are probably the most light-hearted, nicest guys you could ever meet; until they get on stage that is. You cant help but stare as this band rips though their heavy metal set with an early 80''s feel. They are commanding; especially their guitar player standing 9'' 6'''' on stage. It was also fantastic to see Silencio at every show during the first week supporting and voting for every band that went on stage. A few other bands to look out for over the next few months are Beantown Project with their soulful, funky sound; The Life of Boys with an old school, entertaining punk style that reels you right in; and Tunnel Drill, a straight up solid rock band with endless stage presence that will throw in a solid Genesis cover, while making you think you''re at a Faith No More show. Needless to say, Week 1 was a thrill. The diversity in musical genres, song style, image, and virtually every aspect of each night was very apparent, and although important, it was even more impressive to see these different groups coming together to form a solid, strong community of musicians making up the 1st week of Emergenza''s 2005 Festival in Boston.