The final weekend at the Velvet Lounge came too soon. A ton of great acts graced the stage over the past couple of months, and these four days were no exception. DOWNFALL opened up Thursday night. Everybody in the building ran up the stage to take a closer listen to their metal stylings. BARAKUS was feeling the vibe of the VELVET LOUNGE so hard that their final song was sung while the lead singer stared directly into the eyes of the MC, Sean Robinson, from CHUCK LEVIN'S MUSIC. SOULYS did an awesome cover of Big Head Todd's "Resignation Superman." Emergenza vets EDDIE STONE came back for their 2nd year of the festival, and closed their set with an ode to everyone's favorite super-hero... Batman. JEZEBEL'S CURE threw some awesome female vocals on stage and bluesed out their rock for the DC crowd. ILLUMINATI came back for their 2nd year, and made it on to the 2nd round. THE BONAPARTES put an indie spin on the night, and REZIN closed out Thursday with a bang. BIG BLACK CAT and INSHALLA started off Friday night by letting everyone know that rock sees no age. They both came out and proved themselves to the Emergenza crowd. MASON BARON came through with some Keller Williams-esque loop work, and hit the crowd with his version of the classic "Maneater." ALAN SCOTT joined up with FATSKEYS and displayed some of the best guitar work EMERGENZA has ever seen. Even though ADHD's last song was called Train Wreck, their set was anything but. THE ALPHABETICAL ORDER brought us back to the early 90s when rock was pure, and unadulterated. Go dig out your copy of Siamese Dream, and throw it in the deck on your way to their next show. CAYDENCE kicked off Saturday night with their straight-from-the-islands sound. They mixed a little 311 with a little Sublime, and had the crowd swaying back and forth like a palm tree in the wind. SOMETHING LESS threw some pop punk at the Velvet Lounge, and LONG SINCE DRIVEN was a "Cut Above" the rest. Jager sponsored ANAMIDE delivered a rockin'' version of the pop hit "Cry Me A River," and NAUGHTY LITTLE MONKEY came all the way from River City, VA to hit us with the Bill Whithers classic "Use Me." BROKEN THOUGHT epitomized the spirit of Emergenza by giving props to their fellow musicians every chance they got. JABALI AFRIKA brought energy that Emergenza had yet to see in DC. They came all the way from Kenya, and brought more hand drums than Velvet''s stage had ever seen. They brought the crowd up to dance on stage with them, and left the audience grooving to their international sound. Easter Sunday may not seem like the best day to throw a concert, but neither the bands, nor the fans seemed to notice. After all the eggs were found, BROKEN STIGMA took the stage. They reminded everyone of the age-old relationship ultimatum... "you can go home when breakfast''s on the table." SKINDEEP made everyone in the crowd do the "Demon''s Mariachi." LUCKY SO FAR took DC back to it''s punk rock musical roots, and JASON MEZA & THE JUST WAIT BAND hit the crowd with some great Hendrix covers. 23 SKADOO closed out the night with some good ol' high energy ska. The last weekend at THE VELVET LOUNGE left everyone hungry for more. Be sure to get your fill during the semifinals at THE STATE THEATER.