Friday, February 9th A cold front moving in caused temperatures to drop into the teens, but this didn’t stop the bands that night. It gave them more motivation to rock out hard and keep themselves warm! Neutral Ground kicked off the show with a bass front man. Which is something more I’d like to see, reminds me of the Police. The lead guitarist of Neutral Ground claimed to be the greatest soloist that night, and it showed. Passionate riffs synched with complex melodies reminded the audience, at times, of the Police, and not the NYPD. Next up was A Murder Among Friends. Gracing the stage with outstanding stage presence and attire these guys gave a new definition to hardcore-screamo. Although many listeners find this genre quite narrow, these guys took a new spin and added different elements that break away from typical hardcore-screamo. Myriad then took the stage and rocked out with alternative with a mix of punk. Good vocals and excellent job on drumming. Finally Code 6 took the stage and rocked the venue to the ground. With a female lead singer, which is great to see in rock, Code 6 defined good trash-metal with dark yet melodic vocals and a stage presence unmatched that night. It had the audience eating out of their hands. Saturday, February 10th As the final night of the weekend approached the temperatures stayed well below freezing but inside The Hook in Brooklyn…the competition was heating up. Where Life Takes Us, coming straight from NYC was a 2nd round veteran of the Emergenza Music Festival and the audience could easily tell. This melodic-hardcore band gave the audience 25 minutes of pulse pounding rock. Next up was Necrophilia, from Long Island Suffolk City, this metal band is currently recording their album. The audience was lucky enough to catch a tune here and there of what was going to be on the upcoming CD. Good solid performance and great stage presence: good job guys. Dump Body, hailing from Queens, NYC was one of the night’s most original bands. With the genre of rap’n’core to their name, these guys played incredibly smoothly and together. You can only see this type of seamless playing with seasoned musicians. Another band out of Queens, NYC, Section 8 Cartel made it to the Emergenza finals in 2006. Once again, seeing veterans again in the festival reminds us of how much bands have improved. And all of us, as musicians, are always looking to improve. The band came out with alternative metal which was reminiscent of the hard-rock scene of the 90s. The Jaggery, only labeling themselves as alternative rock were the most original band of the night. The band consisted of only keys, upright bass, and a drummer sitting on a African instrument known as the Cajon. The lead singer, who is female by the way, had absolutely amazing vocals with a great dynamic range. Her lyrics were clever and passionate. The creativity of the bassist and drummer made this band a favorite of the night and a favorite of the venues. Even though this band didn’t move on to the next round, they still have plenty of opportunities and are planning a tour this March. Kudos. Last but not least, Captain to Copilot took the stage. Based out of Long Island, NY, these guys played Emergenza last year. Describing themselves as aggressive rock, Captain to Copilot reminded everyone of good solid rock of the 90s. Copilot compiled strong vocals with catchy riffs donned by the Telecaster. It was quite obvious that these guys weren’t shy on stage and demanded a good closeout to the weekend’s shows at The Hook in Brooklyn, NYC. Congrats to all those who moved on, we’ll see you in the next round…one step closer to the legendary Webster Hall and Germany.