After the second week of semifinals at The Way Out Club in St. Louis, everyone is set and ready for the finals. Pop''s is around the corner and promises to be one hell of a show. Last Thursday brought out a couple of the big guns in town as well as a heavy hitter from Chicago. The GHETTOBILLIES made the trip down from up north and gave the crowd their monies worth. Even the regulars at the bar that could care less about what was going on outside their Pabst bottles raised their heads up to see what the craziness was all about. Earlier in the night BIG FAT EVERYTHING had warmed the crowd up with their blue collar rock. They were a good stage setter for the boys from Chicago, with a similar attitude of not taking themselves too seriously, they play simple rock music that''s entertaining and they have fun doing it. ULTRA BLUE also performed that night bringing with them their usual crowd of loyal fans. A great mix of keys and guitar drive this melodic band with a very charismatic singer and solid rhythm section. Most impressive is the originality of their music as they have similarities to several bands that come to mind but sound like no one but themselves. Friday night brought one of the best songwriting bands in the area to the stage. TEAM TOMATO has one several awards already for their last album in St. Louis and other parts of the country but are looking to add more acclamations to their resume. Great melodies and harmonies are the back bone of this group. They are all solid musicians but write their songs based on the lyrics and melodies and use instrumentation to support the songs not the other way around, where so many bands make their mistake. Saturday was a battle of metal with most of the bands bringing a steady dose of the hard stuff. Two bands in particular stood out from the rest and will go against each other again in the final. Spatik, which has a very large following in the area brought their high energy show with them and turned the crowd on their head. With the human version of Animal from the Muppets on drums driving the beat, this bands intensity is through the roof. They have great songs, a very solid singer and really nice guitar lines, although one member of the band definitely needs to cut back on his use of duct tape, I mean come on, you practically built a pedal board out of only tape. ELI-STONE also had something to offer in the way of intensity on stage. Between Scott and Scott it was a battle of who could make the most gruesome rock faces while belting out vocals, although I would have to give to Scott. Despite bringing a smaller than average crowd out to the show, several musicians already in the final that were in attendance that night mentioned being a little worried about this band. Great songs, great musicians and great show. Sunday, the story was all about STEREOTYPE. I don''t know if this is where the name comes from but its fitting that the band breaks stereotypes with its music. It seems like a mix of guys with very different backgrounds and very different personalities that come together to make an original style that appeals to a lot of people. Nothing in particular sticks out from the rest, these guys are just a tight band that play some really good music that everyone can enjoy.