The world famous Club Rave set the stage, our amazing sponsors gave us the backline and the Milwaukee scene provided the best back to back nights these eyes have seen in a long time. Much thanks to the entire staff at The Rave and for all the local supporters of the Milwaukee scene. Friday Night Just a shade under 500 people experienced 9 local bands on a great stage with an intimate atmosphere. First up, No Star Apathy with good energy right from the first song. Good guitar work really carried the band. These guys have potential and the more they play the more they will learn. They need better dynamics and more ways to make their band stand out from a lot of other similar sounding, post-hardcore bands. High School Heroes were one of the most impressive bands of the night. Here are the notes I took as they played their set, “Great crowd, cool intro, they separate themselves from the other bands with a good look, pretty tight musically, pretty good transitions, good dynamics, good interaction with the crowd, overall very impressive for their age and development, always having fun on stage, lots of potential, must continue to develop musically and back-up vocals are very solid”. No joke, these kids are that good. Keep an eye for them in the future and at our semi-final show in May. A Postscript Fatality is a hard-rock, dance-punk high energy band. They have strong vocals and a more diverse sound than anticipated. They love their crowd and really made the effort to connect with them. They also continued to get better throughout the set. They need work on their dynamics and more attention to detail, but another band with a bright future depending on how hard they work. Good luck in the future guys. Lucretius is a metal band with some hard rock riffs layered underneath some screaming vocals. Need better energy and more interaction on stage with the crowd. The John Frederick Band by far was the most polished and mature band. A great acoustic/rock/blues band that has dynamic vocals and great players all around. These guys do a lot of the little things well too; such as good dynamics, interaction with the crowd and a dedication to always putting on the best music for the crowd. Loved the back-up vocals too. Great job, one of the best bands in Milwaukee for sure. The Kevin Hammond Band, formerly Ellis has a great acoustic/pop sound. Sounds like a mix of Robin Thicke, Jason Mraz and Maroon 5. With a pop sound sometimes it can get a little boring, but these guys really have a diverse sound that engaged the crowd. Good dynamics, a tight rhythm section and a mainstream band could really get these guys some big exposure. Wait for Yesterday definitely wins the most creative band name award for the night, and their strong performance and music got them into our semi-finals in May. Good job to the female lead vocals for holding the crowd. The music was a little sloppy at times, and the rest of the band needs to step up their look and maturity on stage but the potential is there to grow from Emergenza shows and all the shows in the future. Soul Alive was the most fun band of the night and also had the most talented musicians of the night. Guitar and bass players were trading instruments throughout the set and the drummer had a great energy and good feel during their blues/funk/rock songs. They had a great intro and incorporated a very talented trombone player for that little extra flavor. I would like to see some more harmony vocals from both the vocalists, but they are very sharp and should continue to make new fans with their positive energy and vibe on stage. Great job guys. Anura ended the night as solid as the night began. Seeing them just a couple weeks ago, their set was more energetic and musically more polished than before. Kudos on stepping it up for the quarterfinals guys. I like that they stick to what they love to play