The venue for Portland’s Semifinals was held at Loveland. The start of the weekend began on Thursday where Apollo reached for the heavens and played a set that set them in the stars of the final. Next up was a one man band Phaedrus who played on without his no show band with an acoustic solo, while Wooden Nickel drove on an alternative set. The Unpopular Club had some intellectual stimulation as all were dressed to impress. Cellar Door had lots of energy on stage while they started a revolution of sound, as Dead End Nation had a violent opposition. To end off this night was a female screamo band that had the audience jump with her innocent disposition turned to charred orchids! Friday’s line up consisted of six bands, with the Hornswogglers being first they broke in the stage with a song titled “Along for the Ride”, while Kweshton busted out a neon pink guitar and played the cover song “Tainted Love” that had the 80’s vibe on full boar leaving the audience with a feeling that Mohawks are cooler than the new Faux Hawks! Stonestill interrupted the crowd with much noise brought on by the song titled “Fade me away”. Spicing things up next was Quivah who broke the hold with a Rock/Hip Hop set that had a wrath of sound that echoed throughout the club. Force Fed Lead were full of adrenaline and rocked out a metal set that slid them into the Finals. While the band Delano finished the night off with a well rounded alternative sound that had some serious drum solos and made a genre all their own. The third night of Semifinals on Saturday kicked things off with some interesting visual effects created by the band Son of Rust. Next up was the Submarine Fleet who were observable from space with their unique crushed velvet and blazer style that put a spin on their displaced sound. Passenger Seat previously known as “From the Bedroom” had an acoustic set that put the audience in awe and played a song titled “Annilee” that had a profound drum beat and harmony solo that definitely deserves radio play to say the least! Another Fine Crisis wrote a song for Emergenza titled “Show of Hands” that had the crowd moving and shouting, while the Brian Copeland band were bound to move to the Final with their tense rock set. Sunday night had Tracy Klas shine on stage with a raw acoustic performance that included a Cello. Mike Miller & Friends played a song titled “Love Me” that won the crowd over. While Dropout Theory brought down the house with their extreme drummer who was on vocals and played a very active role in the crowd participation throughout their show . Blood Alley were living for the moment and rolled out some heavy metal, and Black Tangerine put up a fight that dove them into the Final rounds. Well that’s it that’s all for this weekend of sound!