Thursday, January 25th The last week of first round shows in the capital of Colorado was short but vibrant. The music was diverse and here is a quick recap of the bands that participated. Thursday opened with 8 Track All Stars. Lots of talent from the vocals to the players. These guys were tight and their rhythm section was definitely one of the best over the weekend. 8 Track mixed a little acoustic rock, with some funky riffs that proved very solid, unique and booked them a spot in the semi-finals. Next to the stage was Vanadium. A mix of old and new school hard-rock. I wanted to get a little more from them on stage, but with two months before the semis these guys are sure to bring a solid performance for all of their fans. The Emerson Project had a great sound, and probably one of the best bass players I’ve seen in sometime. A blend of hard-rock and alternative metal, a fairly new band seemed to have already found a great sound. Hopefully, these guys can find some good shows to showcase for the Denver market. Friday, January 26th Our longest night in Denver went a little something like this… Acousma started the night off with a mix of old and new school metal that was a little more melodic then most. A little timid at first, and a little slow between songs, this group did give their all. Acousma is a young band still in school that does have a unique sound that just needs some refining. Good job guys. The took the stage Sol Villa. One word comes to mind when you see these young guys live…explosive! A mix of punk and rock and some progressive riffs raised the bar for the rest of the bands when it came to stage performance. There is a great deal amount of potential for these guys to tackle in the next year, but if they can get some more diverse sounding songs with their energy, look out. Sudden Epidemic hit the stage next: a pop-punk band that was very powerful. Unique vocals that incorporated some violin…think Yellowcard, their set was very different from everyone else. Every Last Word was the most polished band of the night: these guys have been playing lots of shows in the Denver scene. Lots of energy, lots of catchy hooks and lots of confidence had their crowd begging for more. They picked up some new fans for sure and it is always cool to see other fans supporting other local musicians. Then took the stage Dead September/Decaying Process: a new band name but the same energy for these guys. A hard grind-core band that had two good guitar players and a lead singer that wasn’t too shabby either. The Wandering: the crowd accepted a departure from the loud rock because The Wandering is a very talented band with each part of the trio very smart in their playing. Great rhythm section and a very clever guitar player kept all eyes on the stage. They just need better stage presence and little more “rock star” mentality and these guys have a great show for all of Denver to see. Our final band of the night was Transient Sound. Not to be outdone by The Wandering these guys pretty much were the crowd favorite and surprise of the night. Some young kids still in high school, they have a good sound and everyone could see these guys have room for growth but a very solid foundation to work off. Saturday, January 27th We fired things off with Unassociated, a young punk band that started off a little slow and ended a little early also showed the crowd what some old school punk was all about. These guys need to continue to develop on their dynamics and presence on stage, but their effort did not go unappreciated. Check them out in the semi finals. Ashfield hit the stage next: an up and coming band for sure in the Denver scene, these guys had two of the best songs all weekend. They had fun with the crowd and stayed for all the other bands. Kudos and good luck to these guys in the semi’s and beyond. Strange<