Six months of blood, sweat and tears finally rose to the boiling point for 12 bands on Saturday at The Firestone in Orlando. The anticipation surrounding the Emergenza Final was evident to me as soon as I got into town, as the Emergenza staff prepped me for what was to come. SMILIN'' MCGEE started off the show with a very melodic set of acoustic based rock. With fantastic vocals and catchy melodies they got the night off to a great start. THERE FOR TOMORROW, a four-piece of very energetic youngsters, had me expecting some of the pop/punk stuff you here everywhere these days but I was surprised to get some raw, powerful hard rock that really filled the room with electricity. The biggest disappointment of the night was the fact that the RAWTONES set was cut short in time and in number of musicians on stage since they didn''t all make it to the show. The ten minutes they played without bass left me wanting more to fill my punk deficiency for the night. RUNNIN BLIND impressed a lot people in the crowd with their progressive rock. A great mix of keyboards and guitars, these guys had one of the most original sounds of the night. Good musicians, everyone of them and very solid vocals out front leading the way. DESYPHA gave the metal heads in the crowd something to scream about as they put on an extremely exciting set. It was a challenge to keep up with lead singer, who spent more time wading through the packed house than he did on stage, occasionally appearing up on ledges and railings around the club. ROOM 90 brought the only female to the stage in Orlando, which is a shame, but she represented the softer side well. By softer side I mean her demeanor, not her voice or the bands sound. A very solid melodic rock group with good songs and a very powerful voice out front that steals the show. According to one of the guys in the band, “Its her show, we''re just along for the ride.” Although that might not be quite accurate as the guy that made that statement took home the 2nd Best Bassist Award. Taking 6th place Saturday night was a band by the name of MOURNING YESTERDAY. The siren coming from a megaphone at the onset of their performance grabbed the crowds attention which they did not relinquish until the last note. Great guitar tones led this band through a tremendous set with a heart-felt tribute to a friend of the band in the song, “Looking Down” that was delivered with great emotion by their singer. The band ECHO THIEVES finished off the show on Saturday and took the 5th place spot as they rocked the packed room and made sure that none of the crowd went home early. This band was just solid in everyway possible. They are all good technically and have songs that were well put together. They put on a genuine rock show with no frills, as they just got up on stage and played their hearts out and earned a bunch of new fans that night. The 4th place band of the night was 7 BLUE SKIES. One of the favorites of many of the musicians, these guys put on a fantastic show with great guitar work, a powerful rhythm section and excellent song writing. Their singer was captivating and his voice is a perfect fit for the hard rock that these guys brought to The Firestones'' stage. A band I''m sure to keep on eye on in the future. FALLING SHORT took 3rd place Saturday despite the fact that they wouldn''t have been able to pass the 18 and up age restriction for the show had they not been on stage. Starting the set in style, with guitars off stage and the lights down low, they played through a minute and a half intro with two-part guitar harmonies that had the expectation in the crowd building to a frenzy. When the first note of the song “Needle through the Origin” hit, the amount of energy that came from the stage was something I''ve rarely seen. Lots of bands jump around and act crazy on stage but that''s all it is. These guys honestly just had the energy of their music flowing through them and they went where