In the heart of the Ottawa market is The Rainbow where the second season of this year''s Emergenza festival took place this past Thursday, January 29, 2004. With the two floors drenched in pictures of legendary blues greats, the atmosphere was thick with musical genre and I was glad to be back in Ottawa with the friendly faces I''d encountered just a few weeks before. Professionally, it was more than I had imagined it could be and during the four-day event showcasing thirty emerging bands, the standards were set higher than ever before and the talent that blew across the stage left the audience, myself included, wanting more! Both bands UKKO and No Time truly pushed the limits of punk-rock and A Legend Falls and Last Project gave the metal fans something to look forward to. A common thread bound The Release, Stefani Jaxsn & The Government, that is their amazing female vocalists. Crooked Horn showed the crowd what it was like to have a good time with a tireless Celtic set and Rudeboy amazed us all with some ska music and their fantastic drummer, Matt. Last Project and Midday Blackout brought our show to the 11 O''clock news when they rocked hard enough to be heard by The New RO news crew! Thanks again to all the bands who participated and here''s an all out congratulation to all our winners: No Time, Leave it Blank, Best Before Never, Lakeview, The Wanderlust, Stefani Jaxsn & The Government, Decitone, Maydey, The Release, A Legend Falls, Crooked Horn, Night Shift Devils, Blacksheet, UKKO, Nameless Shame, Last Project, Midday Blackout and Springfield. See you all at Barrymore''s. Click here for a complete schedule of the festival, the concert dates and the order of the bands playing each night in Ottawa