Over the past two weekends, Emergenza and The North Star Bar proved to be an amazing combination. Nestled on a quiet street corner in the Fairmount Park area of Philadelphia, the North Star proved to be the perfect spot for the barrage of different styles that the festival brings. We started off the weekend with an amazing array of artists. The 5% had an awesome acoustic-style set with stunning vocals and songwriting. Sauerwine played sans-bass, but the keys filled in the gaps quite nicely. The Teet Divine stole the show though, throwing down with some backcountry funk that left the taste of tumbleweed in everyone's mouth. We'll be seeing them again at the final round. Thursdays show was nothing short of spectacular. Regardless of your taste in music, With Immortality's powerful sound cannot go unnoticed... congrats Dave. Devious Cure's frontman continues to amaze everyone who has the honor of seeing them put on a show. This time around he traded in his sleeveless jean jacket for an authentic WWII army coat. Wardrobe aside, this kid RIPS. Modern Bliss donned dreadlocks and sparked a "spliff" on his way to the final round at the TLA. Mouth of Wilson took the top prize on Friday night in a close race. Failsafe Nation continues to put out some of the most authentic rock around, and HEAD never ceases to amaze everyone within earshot. David Zee hit it big on Saturday, packing the room with fans from here to Conshohocken, and advancing on. 20 Amps had a flawless set, and even brought out their own pedalboard operator to add to the fun. Ordained had one of the most amazing sets of the entire weekend... what intensity The Reverend brings to the stage! The Fame brought a big sound on Sunday night... not your average rock band by any means. S.D.S. puts all other punk/ska blending bands to shame... coming through with amazing vocals, and an original sound. The Levelheads walks away with the crown at this show, though... damn that bassist is good. A relatively new outfit, Mortalis, got their start in Emergenza this year. Having never played a gig prior to the festival, now they find themselves in the finals... what a cinderella story! Poker Face, "America's house band" brought their politirockin' style to the NorthStar, and The Superspecs seem to get tighter every time I see them. It's hard to get that many people on stage to play with such harmony... but they pull it off, with style. Mourning Electra had a stand-out performance as well. Another relatively new project, their search for a full-time drummer continues. Thursday the 19th proved to be the biggest night of the entire two weekends... over 600 people through the door! Subliminal Orphans had a new trick up their sleeves this time around, bringing out a breakdance troupe to spice up their set. Downspell's guitarist-in-training, "Monkey-Man" graced the stage again, and helped them clinch the wild card slot in the finals. Drexel's own Common Crave dropped the sampler, and secured their wild card slot in the finals as well. Top dog of the night was Defiance Road. They've got a great combination of superb vocals and and not-too-hard rockin' sound that helped catapult them into the final round. Friday had more great music in store for Philly. The Vanities walked away with 1st place, Original Sinz and Juliet put on a hell of a show, and not to be forgotten, ...But Not Forgotten's frontwoman, Vanessa, stole the show with her amazingly powerful presence on stage. Shock Rocker's The Hixon have perfected their live show sonically, and visually, and The New Kings of Rhythm tighter than the head on a timbale. Headkick Rodeo's tru-school punk flavor walked away with the victory on this night. Special guests Best of Emergenza Seasonal Tour articipants The Nodd came through to show the new crop of bands how the old-school Emergenza guys rock it... check out their newly redone site for video of the experience on tour with the Emergenza Festival. The<