Houston was on fire this weekend, with excellent bands and diverse styles. The crowd came and went, but the music lingered throughout the three days of shows. The weather was warm and the beer was cold… The fire was sparked on Thursday night with Sin Sombra. This was the first Spanish metal band I had seen in Texas, and they didn’t disappoint. Aggressive vocals topped a short but powerful set, and the new bass player did an excellent job. Sevenfold hit the stage next, and brought a great set of original material of passionate rock. The third band of the night, Monsters on the Wall was a versatile group with superb musicianship and great vocals. As We Speak brought a strong set, led by a tight sound and a great trio of powerful vocals. School Girl Knife Fight wrapped the night. Young and strong is a great way to describe their style of aggressive guitar and versatile vocals. Friday night was our biggest night of versatility. We kicked things off with The Anointed Voicez. What a great performance! Amazing vocals and harmonies, and a really fat sound from the band capped off their unabashed energy on stage. Brothers From Another Mother hit the stage next with good original jam rock. The vocalist was accented with great range and versatility. Under the Green had a strong, aggressive sound over a solid backbone from the bass and drummer. The Deadend Cowboys, a.k.a. the Brokeback Mountain Band, played an energetic original country rock set. Their stage presence and excellent harmonies made for an exciting show. Sarah Golden wrapped the night of diversity up with her folk rock set. Her electric guitar player did some incredible accent work, and everything was held together nicely by her bongo player. The final night of the week, Saturday, started with the great American rock ‘n’ roll sounds of Escape Plan. They played solid rock with strong vocals and harmonies. The Unknown Locals brought punk rock and roll to the scene with a tight set of original material and nice effect usage on the guitar. KB Free & MOG hit the stage with force, knocking out strong lyrics and big sound from the backing band. The guest MCs were a nice touch, as well. Our fourth band of the night, Regressive Memory did some great original post-hardcore stuff. Talented vocalist and a great band! Yesterday’s Portraits hit the stage next. Effin’ SICK! Crazy stage presence and passionate sound led the way for them. The weekend closed with Somber, taunting the crowd with aggressive metal rock. They definitely gave us a solid performance and closed the weekend in style! This wrapped up the first round in Houston. I can’t wait to see the bands at Fitzgerald’s for round two! Postscript: We remember Charlie, employee of F.B.I. Too, who passed away the week before our shows. Our sincerest condolences to his friends and family. One Love,