She was jet lagged and I was, well, suddenly in the home town of Berklee School of Music and Aerosmith, for the first time. My handler (agent 36-22-34)… a sexy, mod rocker from Pisa, Italy briefed me upon touching down in ‘Beantown’- we’d have 50 total meetings and 32 bands playing Emergenza from March 25th to the 28th at club Lido. Twenty minutes north of Boston. The town… Revere, named for Paul Revere, the 18th Century American Revolutionary who tore ass through the villages, YELLING (with his snares rattling), the ‘British are Coming!! The British are coming!!!’ would be the site of this 21st century Emergenza battle. Stationed at Matt’s Music and Adrums, we arranged some of the logistics for the week of revelry. Armed with two duty free 1/5ths of Wild Turkey, a Dell, 3 knawed bics (stolen from Kinko’s), and a set of ‘Real Quiet’ hazard orange earplugs (borrowed from my grandmother to shield her from GrandPappy Shugs’ snoring), we planned our assault carefully. Thank God the fans are judge & jury during the early rounds in the Emergenza Festival. And while I’ve often had problems reading to 10 or counting to Z, I could always trust on my ears… Like when, when John Sao told me he slept with my girlfriend at graduation… I listened. And only a minutes late…r… I thought, ‘my relationship may be in jeopardy.’ My ears were right on then. On Thursday night… while a shitload of bands did their thing (SUN 5, AMUN RA, SUDDEN TRIP, REBECCA NURSE, DEFAULT OUTFIT, ) the raw rhythm and technical aptitude of ‘ONE OF US’ guitarist, John Eye blew me way... distant. But the overall energy, stage presence, song composition and fan base was owned by rock and rollers ‘LOOSE MONKEY.’ Friday saw EVERYDAY DECOY, RICH GIRL METHOD, PARKER HOUSE THEORY, SAVIN ILL, and ALMOST HOMELESS present a barrage of vocals, beats and licks. The blue collar Rock & Blues of ‘LONE WOLF JAMES set the tone for the evening. FIGHT THE NOTHING sign, sealed and delivered Saturday night with a full on speedy, punked out assault. HUMAN X, FAT CAN, THE PHEROMONES, LEMONSTONE, BUCKY SPINS and NEPTUNE BAY rounded out this raucous. Sunday saw the strong vocals of SAY WHEN and REDLETTER’s tight composition rule atop the SPIKE EMERSON SOCIETY, FAMOUS, DROP, ODDWAY, AWAKENING STICK, THE PUSH and SHADES OF LATE. Well that’s how my ear heard the Emergenza Festival unfold. If you’d like to listen for yourself, most of the bands have generous web sites. Hell, I’m simply a foot soldier in Emergenza’s army of Live Music…both my weak wallet and ears can attest to this. Even still, I’ve got my ethics, for instance, when a Band or roadie offers to buy me a drink, I frown expressing concern and uncertainty, before objecting, feebly… I wait exactly 3 seconds or two pats on the back, before accepting… Do I guzzle the booze like a desert thirsty Zombie? No, I’ve been hammered, since sunset.. And the only tab I have is the silver one near the pocket of my jeans ; ) What I do is, I take that drink to the homeliest girl in the room. After discreetly pointing out the guy who bought me the drink, I tell her that it’s complimentary of that guy. Then I sit back. Take out my earplugs. And watch the scene play along with the next track.