In The final weekend of elimination''s, bands from all over Florida made their way to Orlando''s Back Booth to take a shot at the final slots in the Semi''s. Diversity was on the menu once again as we ran through a full course of musical tastes. Salty Emo tears, Salsa flavored Metal, and full dose of cheese flavored American pride. . Taking the top seeds all weekend where the more polished and practiced performers. Sundown Haze, Echo Thieves and Gas Works, each with solid songwriting and great crowd interactions, made it look easy. While some of the younger groups like Falling Short won people over with pure youthful energy. Then came the metal. It was unknown to me until my arrival how big the Metal scene in Florida was. So I''m thinking, “Great, same song all night long.” But then, each group had it''s own spin, which made all the difference in the world. Raza sang every song in Spanish and had beats that still wanted to make you dance, while Overlord was of the Old School Iron Maiden variety. On Sunday the top three slots went to Metal performances with Rigid, Flash Over, and Etheric Plague moving on to the semi''s. Finally, there was lots of support for our troops over sea''s with songs like “Re-Retaliation” and “These Colors Don''t Run”. How can you not be moved with lines like that. Stand Out Rock Performance Award went to Lybian Hitsquad who was not on time, was not sober, did not advance, but played straight up rock and roll and truly entertained the audience. Yes, it was a smorgush of board sounds leaving some sick and others ready for seconds and they will get their chance to dine once more at the Firestone in April.