14 bands, 1 plan... the set of a lifetime. 12 bands from Philadelphia, 1 from DC, and 1 from Pittsburgh... all performing at one of the most revered venues in the country. In the midst of an amazing summer evening on South Street, the Emergenza Festival culminated behind the doors of the Theatre of Living Arts. With a line down the block, all within eyeshot knew that there was something special happening on stage that night... and special it was. We had everything from Hip-Hop to thrash metal on stage for the final Philly show. The boy''s of Drexel U., Common Crave started out the night with their rhyme infused party rock. Hence Reverie put on another high-intensity show, and their drummer, Allen, walked away with a full set of Sabian cymbals for his efforts. David Zee added a ton of new elements to his set for the all-important finals, including a dancer, keys, and 2 backup vocalists. Their guitarist, Jon, won a Crate amplifier for his fretwork. Headkick Rodeo started one of the biggest moshpits I''ve seen in years, and played the type of punk Dischord would be proud of. With amazing vocals, and crazy originality, The Teet Devine brought some country-fried funk to the TLA. Modern Bliss put on another great show, the lead vocals coming through like a fighter jet. Kevin, their guitarist, walked away with an Ampeg bass amp for his low-end hijinks. The Vanities ranked very high with the judges, and their lead singer Rob won the award for best vocals of the night, a Sennheiser wireless microphone. Split Screen came all the way over from Pittsburgh to show Philly that they''re not the only game in Pennsylvania. For their backflips, stage dives, powder topped toms, and overall amazing presence as a unit, the Emergenza staff awarded them with the best sound and visual performance, and a subscription to OnlineGigs.com. Pete, the monkey from Downspell, brought a special surprise for the night... a bag of freshly picked Chiquita bananas. I heard a rumor that he might drop the suit, and pick up an axe, so watch out. Defiance Road''s lead singer rose atop the PA speaker for a quick croon, and a glimpse and the ladies in the audience they made swoon.... definitely a stand-out performance. Mortalis donned the shiny mask once again, and ripped it wide open for the shoulder-to-shoulder audience. At one point in the night, there were 200 deep waiting outside for a taste of the Emergenza Finals. As the smoke cleared from Mortalis'' set, the audience filled with the followers of Mouth of Wilson. They put on another stunning performance... great instrumentation, great tunes, and one of the best voices around. Once the dust settled, It all came down to two. The Levelheads and Restoring Poetry in Music. They both won two outstanding awards for the night. Jim, from the Levelheads, won for his work on the bass and the band as a whole was picked by their fellow musicians as the best band of the evening. For that they took home an effects pedal package from Snarling Dogs. The crazy manual manipulation of his effects pedals, in addition to his stellar strumming, won Patrick from RPM an Ernie Ball Music Man axe. What was RPM''s other award you ask? A TRIP TO THE NATIONAL FINALS!!! Yes, Restoring Poetry in Music did it again! They''re making a run up the East Coast. They blew minds in DC, and then swept Pennsylvania''s finest... in their own backyard. They will play against the top 12 bands from Boston, and the winner from the Detroit final for a trip to the Taubertal Festival this August to play in front of 30,000 strong. Many thanks to our judges in Philly: Massimo Scialo from Track 1 Music, International Music Journalist Paolo Masala, LocalMusicNetwork.com founder Bryan Jennings, and Derek Brooks from Ernie Ball Music Man. A big thanks goes out to Spike from WYSP for coming out to co-host the night. The Final round of Emergenza in philly had some of the best music in one of the best venues around. Thanks