The first Emergenza show in the history of San Francisco went off with a huge bang. The crowd was amazing, the music was amazing, and the Red Devil Lounge proved to be the perfect 1st stop for the festival. With the help of Haight-Ashbury Music Center, Russian Hill was rockin'' with unsigned sounds. PLUM stole the show with their color coordinated blend of moody keys and cello work. The New Hampshire power trio THE REAL rocked their way into the quarterfinals with a balls to the wall performance. AUSTIN WILLACY and his band wowed the audience with his amazing vocal stylings, and GROOVY JUDY channelled the spirit of Jimi himself in her awesomely fun performance. CUESTA DRIVE and BONFIRE, both from Sactown, had a little Sublime and Jack Johnson thing going on respectively, and Panic Button, a last minute addition to the lineup closed out the show with a hard rockin'' set. All in all, an amazing way to kick off the season. Friday night, although it had a shortage of bands, had no shortage of mind-blowing heavy rock music. POTENTIAL THREAT had an awesome hybrid of punk infused metal, and ALTER EGO brought us back to the good ''ol days of Rockin'' ''N'' Rollin''. BATTLEFIELD ENEMY had a great new school hardcore sound that impressed the heck out of the crowd, especially for such a young band. The greatest thing about Friday though is that the crowd hung around from start to finish, saw some great bands, and allowed for 3 true San Francisco bands to come together as one. Five amazing bands hit the stage on Saturday night. THE SEVENTH SEASON kicked off the night with some musicianship from Mother Russia. CASTLES IN SPAIN had a beautifully moody ambient rock thing going on. UNFORGOTTEN HERO definitely has the emo thing down. Great stage presence and hard rocking abound during their set. AFTER EFFECT and FALLEN SLEEPLESS killed it as well... both bands moving on to the next show. The most eclectic night of the weekend had everything from hip-hop to rock to world music... all creative, and all very exciting. ASIAGO, although named after a cheese, was everything but cheesey. They had a great vibe on stage, truly having more fun up there than any other band of the weekend. OMEYOCAN had an amazing set laden with dancing, and chanting, and a double-necked guitar... definitely a sight to see. AMAYA''s lead vocal was stunning. Great musicianship, and probably the most beautiful voice of the weekend. With some songs in Spanish, and some in English, this band is definitely one to keep an eye out for. DUSTED PHONIKS will be opening for none other than Guru of Gangstarr at the Red Devil Lounge in the coming weeks. THE INSTANT MESSENGERS were the hip-hop pinnacle of the night, however. Awesome brooding lyrics reminiscent of early Atmosphere, and a great foundation of beats. The crowd loved these guys, and it''s that type of performance that''s get you a return invite. Thank you to the Red Devil Lounge, Haight-Ashbury Music Center, and all the artists and fans who made our first weekend an amazing one. Keep checking back for more info on the 2005-2006 season.