The 2006 Emergenza season started off in Boston with a bang. Good turn-outs all three nights and high energy performances from all the bands were key to successful shows. A variety of different styles were showcased ensuring a little bit of something for everyone that attended. 11-17-05 Thursday night started off with a strong set from The Hook Ups. This five-piece reeked of influences from Sublime and 311, with solid rhythms and catchy melodies. Bird Mancini, a duo reinventing the format of a rock band, switched gears bringing out acoustic guitars and accordions lead by bluesy, heartfelt vocals. Michael Moushon was a throwback to the front-man format, featuring a fully solid backup band and a strong songwriter''s style. Stilfro upped the ante with a hard funk rock sound that got the audience really cheering. Isotope had a simpler sound that was direct with good hooks and just technical enough to keep you on your toes. Nowhere USA had a good punk rock sound with great stage presence and classic format. Last of the night we had Last Born that had a more modern sound that was rooted in metal. All in all, the bands were each strong respectively, however, it was The Hook Ups, Michael Moushon, Stilfro, and Nowhere USA that pulled into the second round. 11-18-05 Friday night was the peak of the weekend in my opinion, as it featured the strongest and most eclectic line up. 26 Beers was a strong contender pushing their street punk style. Who says punk rockers can''t play music, the bass player warmed up with “Flight of the Bumble Bee” during sound check. Tim Heroux Trio were one of my favorites of the night playing solid rockabilly suitable for radio. Preciphist had a good new metal sound, and reminded me of arena rock sans the arena. Scharisma was thickly progressive and layers fronted by eerily beautiful female vocals. Sleeprunner reminded me of an accessible version of dream theatre with a killer rhythm section. Seven Sunless Days, besides being some of the nicest people I''ve ever met, killed it with their industrial beats, awesome female vocals, and grossly distorted guitar riffs. The best of the night was certainly Captain Cutthroat. They were wildly entertaining on and off stage and reminded me of Mr. Bungle on meth. Halo of Thorns was great in the Gothic Metal department until they started a mosh pit and were disqualified. Dance kindly people! In the end it was Tim Heroux Trio, Scharisma, Seven Sunless Days, and Captain Cutthroat that proceeded to the next round. 11-19-05 Saturday night was the most diverse of the weekends as far as varying musical styles went. Faraway opened the night with a strong set of Emo Rock that had good time changes and compostion. Accurate Enemy accurately nailed a hard rocking sound, and left me glad that they opted not to play the covers they did during sound check. Millis Pride grooved a great jammy set and were among the most solid of the evening. Sorry about the “hippy comment” to the guitarist when I saw he was playing barefoot, but I was worried about splinters. Seriously! Karyshma blew me away in every aspect. Regardless of the stage difficulties, (D.I. boxes can go to hell) they played one hell of a good show in the Ethno Fusion category, showing their Hindi roots and mixing them with progressive rock. 6S (“success” for those of you who are slow like me) proved that 80''s metal rock is still alive. They were solid on stage and you should have seen their suits, Holy Crap! Liquid Mint rocked a good songwriters style, with one of their songs about a tryst between the singer and his disproportionately older lover by about 30 years. I was certainly entertained. Whisper Campaign struck me with similarities to Fugazi and Hot Water Music, but with a more driven tempo and simplistic line-up as a three piece. The Enemy didn''t have the turn out of the other bands, but they certainly had the energy throwing their screamo rock into the mix. When all was said an