The fierce tidings of January''s wintery veracity hit first and hit hard just two short weeks ago. Buried in snow taller than our Ampeg SVT Classic, Brew City looked locked in for the season. Call it coincidence, call it fate but all that irksome ice didn''t last long after bands and fans fought back and came out in masses to Vnuk''s Lounge for the first two weekends of Emergenza festival. Marashino started the battle out right with their rock star presence and solid vocals. They were joined by One Shot Mickey, TSMS and Edgerton to offer a quadruple injection of energy and talent to a sub zero Thursday night. The sky looked grim and the snow-laden wind began to rattle the neon signs against the windows at Vnuk''s, but the bands played on and the fans came on that Friday and Saturday. While 9mm Solution and Defacit heated up the room to scorching levels, bands like Stereo Theory and Spiral Trance were busy grinding out their sets in strength and form. The bitter blusters outside were overpowered by the warm sounds of Neverstatic on Saturday. Their tall and talented vocalist won over the ears and eyes of the crowd while the band''s acoustic rock lured more in from the frosty outsides. Milwaukee favorite Forty One Twin and Way to Fall kept the mercury rising as well with surprises like Ka-Tet this first weekend. Two weeks later, it was clear the Emergenza festival had melted winter into submission in Milwaukee. Wet streets and sunny skies welcomed in the first weekend of February for our latest shows at Vnuk''s. The stern melodies of Downrazor and the punk power of Crib Nibula celebrated the new balmy temperatures. There was no doubt that Ill Groove Movement took the crowd by storm with their talented rhymes by the end of the night. By Friday, the swelter was no longer just melting snow-it was threatening to melt metal as bands like Shallow Ground, Livid and the Ottoman Empire rocked Vnuk''s with their heavy metal abilities. The aptitude of Milwaukee''s musical talent continued with bands like Strange Brew and Denova taking the stage. The Saturday crowd, invoked by the stylings of The MAHP stuck around for a special treat that night. Early exiters, literally walking out the door, stopped in their tracks and were charmed back into Vnuk''s Lounge when Evibe took the stage as the last band and treated the audience to their unique blend of electric violin and saxophone funk rock. By Sunday evening, it was clear that Milwaukee, a town sometimes obsessed with American football, would gladly distract themselves from the Super Bowl and enjoy the live entertainment music of seven more bands that night. With a steady dose of Milwaukee''s heavy rock bands Rites and Cicero Yard, sports certainly didn''t matter sundown on Sunday. Reflecting the temperate conditions outside, the band appropriately named Fever took stage and enthused fans with dexterity and command. In similar Evibe fashion, The Pipe Circus threatened to steal the show by wooing over new Milwaukee fans with their unique percussion and fun funk. The shows continue this weekend, Feb 10-13 and promise to raise the temperatures by an even greater margin. If this fervor keeps up, Vnuk''s may have to turn on the air conditioning five months earlier than usual.