Austin''s New Year''s resolution was to rock the first weekend of the year in style, and this was one that was easily kept. Perfect weather surrounded 6th Street and Momo''s was warmed up and ready for the second and final week of first round shows. The weekend fired off Thursday night with Those Meddling Kids, bringing their original blend of ska-punk. Strong vocals with a political overtone stood out over a steady rhythm section. Tastydactyls'' indie pop rock was led by active vocals and nice work from the keys. The next band, Oceanus, brought face-melting metal with powerful vocals and a great stage presence. Emura took the stage like lions and brought their blend of alternative metal to the forefront. Devola came with a very mature sound, able to change styles like a chameleon, all the while never straying from the good, solid, hard rock mix. The final band of the night, Love Buck-It, had a very unique, original sound. The female vocalist, while talented on the keys, is very talented vocally and had some very interesting lyrics. Friday night started with A Case of Mondays, led by lyrical and soulful vocals over driving rock with intricate time signatures. Unspoken Tragedy was a good, tight band with intense vocals. Teabag, once they got started, did not disappoint. An energetic stage presence let a tight blend of modern rock. Kiwi was a mix of interesting controversial hard-core mind-blowing neck-snapping cage-fighting cool shit. The next band, Bletzung, came with strong, passionate alternative rock, with wonderful vocals and an all-around exciting sound. Teague''s pop/rock/jazz mixture was full of surprises, with great backup vocals and a nice original sound. Stage of Existence wrapped the night with a pensive yet powerful rock sound. Saturday leapt out of the gate with No Such Thing, led by strong guitar skills and a nice all-around sound. Meet on Denali hit us with a great indie sound and strong stage presence for their age. Movin Target''s great original sound was accented by wonderful harmonies and great work from all the players. The heavyweights of Austin''s metal scene, Course of Ruin, earned their stripes by melting faces and ripping incredibly powerful metal. TTL (Turbo Thunder Lizards) came with another powerful metal set, focusing on their strong backline. The Canvas Waiting brought their solid, unadulterated music, which was relaxing to hear yet left me thirsty for so much more. General Boy played very original poppy punchy clever cool music. The Jolly Garogers'' fabulous stage show was cool, but they were also very strong musically, with great rock and well-themed lyrics. Prime Element closed Saturday night with metal-core done right. Nice guest vocals from the kid, by the way. One Trick Monkey started Sunday with a bang. Their sound was meaty but not too metal, led by great vocals and backups from the guitar. Halix had great stage presence and intricate rhythms, but didn''t overuse them. Kinetik powered their way through their set with a solid rock sound. Adept vocal skills from El Charco filled the air next, with their own blend of original music. Speaking of original music, mrandmrsmays'' unique eclectic mix went from pop-rock-driving-major chord stuff to what sounded almost like a requiem. They had a very broad spectrum of sounds. Live Oak Decline wrapped the weekend with a great, pure sound led by pining vocals and a great all-around band. I saw a lot of talented musicians this weekend, probably some of the best that Austin has to offer. I can''t wait until the second round at Antone''s in May!