Tighter bands, bigger crowds and less spots to advance as the semi-final rounds begin at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Pittsburgh.  Twenty-four bands battled it out the first weekend at a venue that should be on everyone's wish list of places to play.  Mr. Smalls, a reformed old catholic church, has got to be one of the best set-ups in the country as far as mid-size venues go and it was packed to near capacity for the first three shows of the semi-final round. On Thursday, SLIT SCREEN got the honor of being the first band to take the stage and get the crowd behind them enough to move them on to the finals.  They put on a set with lots of enery and great melodies that went well over the seering guitar riffs and really had the crowd going along for the ride.  LIFE'S LIKE THIS came on to stage to a huge part of the crowd chanting their names in a frenzy to get the chance to help propel them into the finals.  They had a funky groove obviously influenced by one of their favorites, 311, but had an originality to their songs that made them stand out on a night of great music. Friday brought enough people out that the backstage toilet that wouldn't flush had to be used anyway because none of us were going to go wait in line out in the auditorium.  When LIFTED took the stage, the entire shoulder-to-shoulder crowd began swaying together to the acoustic soul rhythms the they were laying down.  The lyrics were pouring out and the groove didn't stop til the set was over.  Hell, I even caught myself tapping my feet occassionally.  The band SEGUE finished off the night with two tracks.  You know you have to be good to play two songs for 25 minutes and still have enough people left in the crowd to vote you on.  They have some great musicians and they continue to progress in the songs to keep you hooked on where they are going. Saturday night started off with THE VAULT who brought three bus loads of people with them to hear their southern/folk rock sound.  They have good songs and solid musicians and they had the crowd dancin' the whole set.  The story of the weekend, though, was a band by the name of ROYAL JELLY.  They got the most votes the three shows and were indeed, the best band of the three nights.  A no-frills blues based rock band, these guys are simply just good.  They have a solid rhythm section, they have good songs, and a front man that with good vocals and great guitar licks.  He knows when to play a bunch of notes and he knows when to make one note sing.  They really enjoy themselves on stage and they just have that aura of being something special without acting like they are something special. The live music scene in Pittsburgh is alive and well and contrary to popular belief, the fans of live music are as well.