The second weekend of the Emergenza festival kept up a steady pace of rocking and rolling with various different acts from all over the state. Almost every genre was represented, and certainly all there were impressive to behold. Thursday the 1st of December had a great turnout despite the bitter cold of the Boston streets. The Ricecookers, a jazzy rock band, started the night off with a great mix of smooth guitar riffs and sizzling vocal harmonies. They were followed closely by Carmen''s Condition, fronted by a boisterously active front man playing solid acoustic rock. Changing it up to the heavier side of things was Escape to Everything. There was certainly enough metal on the stage during their set to build a small automobile. Sunchunck, hailing from New Hampshire, had driving double bass rhythms and catchy Americana rock songs throughout. Fly Upright Kite, one of my favorites of the night, lit up the pop end of the musical spectrum with softened vocals and excellent melodies rounded out by a violin; an interesting addition to the traditional guitars, bass, and drums lineup. Bell Nell Dogs brought their newer rock sound to the stage pulling from styles akin to Matchbox 20 and Three Doors Down. Rounding out the night with the darker side of country was Reverend Bob and the Darkness. Their eerily harmonized vocals and moody song style left me with chills. In the end The Ricecookers, Escape to Everything, Sunchunck, and Fly Upright Kite pulled into the second round. Friday the 2nd of December was about as eclectic as it gets in the span of a single show. Alto-Sound Fiasco put me in a time warp with their ska punk straight out of the Fat Wreck Chords dominated 90''s. Red Square played all revamped covers one could sing along too, but man, what a tough audience. The Art of All was a duo of guitar and drums that brought to mind the Deftones and Isis, with heavy delayed distortions and thick beats in odd time signatures. 4 Degrees Warmer, referencing the difference in temperature between the mouth and rectum, certainly didn''t remind me of rectums with their stoner rock set. The Product, ''the product of what'' I wondered, was everything good that every came of 80''s music, with awesome vocals and great stage presence. Fistagon turned out a Korn-like sound with vocals bordering on rap-metal. Wrapping up the night was a group of Aussie boys called Tracksuit. It has there picture in the dictionary under “Rock and Roll”. In the end it was 4 Degrees Warmer, The Product, Fistagon, and Tracksuit who pulled in to the next round. Saturday the 3rd of December started a little rough with a couple of bands dropping out, but the overall quality of music was unaffected. Force the Fallen overcame technical difficulties and pulled off a strong punk rocking set. Arrogant Bastard certainly knew their influences inside and out pulling styles from Iron Maiden and earlier (better) Metallica. They were entertaining as hell too. El Gringo reminded me of an alternative rock locomotive with strong staccato rhythms on the snare with fronting vocals by the drummer. Sunday Girl came all the way out from Western Massachusetts bringing with them heavy, political rock with metal undertones coupled with searing vocal harmonies. Incus could only be described as a tribal writhing snake monster that rocked your ass. I was left befuddled and in awe after their complex and winding set. Eye of the Sun didn''t have the crowd, but they had the down-tempo, Type-O Negative drone in their gothic melodies. In the end it was Force the Fallen, Arrogant Bastard, Sunday Girl, and Incus that made the Quarter Finals. Goodbye from Boston and keep the Music playing!