Tuesday, October 17 The Festival kicked off last Tuesday at The Middle East in Cambridge. It’s the fourth year in Boston and we have a huge group in the city participating this year so I’ll get right to it. Tuesday night was as good a start as any, except for the fact that a couple bands didn’t show for a few reasons, but I can assure you, if MY grandmother had spontaneously combusted, she would have wanted me to play the show. Keep the Edge opened up the night with their energetic brand of pop, and their overall sound reminded me of too many bands to list here, but for their tender ages, they certainly kicked it like pros. Hillblock took the stage and the transition musically was flawless. They slipped into songs with picky winding guitar riffs laden with effects then rammed a hard rock chorus down your gullet intertwined with ballad style vocals. The Worst were anything but, pumping out old school metal with a witty, witty front-man who said shit that made me blush. Heretic Hybrid, the veterans of last years’ festival, came back for more, and I must say the evolution of this band has been fantastic. They started as a somewhat predictable metal-core act, but brought it up to something vastly deeper and intelligent. They’ve become something more, and I was seriously impressed. Scourge closed out the night with a little Death Metal for the kids. After taking care of my melted face and taking a final vote count, I discovered a tie, and what was supposed to be four bands moving on became five! Hooray! Thursday, October 19 Thursday rolled around and another mysterious plague only effecting musicians wiped out four more of my bands. I was getting a little down until I finished sound-check, and all of the bands left were really, really good. Ellis Ashbrook is a band that given a chance, I would send them back through time to play with Jefferson Airplane. That’s not to say that they are a dated sounding band. It was plenty fresh sounding with the amazingly technical time signatures and modern effects and samples, they just tripped my out like a hippy who’s “seen” Jefferson Airplane one too many times. Humongous Maximus was just what the name implies. Fitting nine guys onto a stage the size of a postage stamp is always an exciting prospect, and it worked out just fine. This hip hop act born out of the rock quartet Stilfro bended the two styles in a way that made me never think of Kid Rock or Vanilla, and that’s a good thing. Woodland Creatures, another rap rock band, mixed in a DJ that was probably one of the best I’ve seen. Put together with a solid drummer, it was no surprise to me that they draw hundreds on a Cape summer night, and they swung several votes in the audience as well. Full Tilt closed out the night brandishing a polished and sharp heavy rock ax. Bands like this need a good front-man, and they got one. Everyone on stage was gelling in a way that makes you think Solid! The prog rockster Brake for Moose certainly had the crowd this night however. Crazy time signatures and licks that slick back your hair filled the vibrant crowd and you could easily tell that this was a seriously awesome band to party to. Their technical skill makes me think Rush…no, Yes…no, Dream Theatre…no, Brake for Moose. Yeah, that’s it. Unfortunately, only four bands move in and Woodland Creatures were eliminated. Saturday, October 21 Saturday was HUGE. Over 400 showed over the night and the bands reaped all the benefits. Now Up With Us opened with a poppy alternative indie sound with dueling vocals and theatrical pizzazz. 8 Symphony had a real nice acoustic songwriter sound. It was more like listening to five good stories. Beautiful Lies and an eclectic sound for a rock band mixing in synth and violin to their tunes, giving it a rich full sound. Make it Bleed featured a decided