Clark's Music Review for the March 27th Emergenza Show at Club Lido
This was a first round competition in the Emergenza international battle of
the bands. The night was held way-out in Revere at Club Lido, a very-large semi-seedy
club in the parking lot of the Wonderland T-stop on the
blue-line. Winners of the night are moving on to the semi-finals at The Paradise Rock Club. Emergenza
is a pay-for-play event, which any band can enter by paying $75,
attending two daytime meetings near Berklee, and
showing up for a 4pm sound-check. It's a big investment of time and
money to play a show, especially since most club gigs pay you, give
you a much longer set, have a lower cover-charge, and don't require
you to meet with anybody or blow a day on your sound check. Given this
setup, I was skeptical of what quality we'd encounter, since one might
think that this would draw out desperate bands. I was happily (and
unhappily, given my band was competing too) surprised to experience a
night with many accomplished, high-quality acts from a variety of
genres. In fact, three of the bands have very impressive credentials,
playing nearly non-stop at great local and out-of-town venues. Here are
my brief impressions of the acts:
Neptune
Bay played enjoyable folksy music and included an excellent female
vocalist, a mandolin player, and a harmonica player in their lineup. I
don't think an over-amplified venue like Club Lido is good for their
vibe. I'd rather hear them playing acoustically in the background
while hanging out with friends at a folksy bar. The
Pheromones were not my thing at all. They played Bryan Adams style
music in the foot-on-the-speaker way. Fat Can wasn't
really my thing either. I found their music and stage presence to be a
bit abrasive. I do, however, have great respect for them as a band.
Hell, the guys have their own full greyhound-style party bus, which they use to
tour and bring people out to shows! That's one of the coolest things
I've seen! They also play out a lot at
excellent venues around Boston. It's all very impressive. Human X was a polished and
professional hard rock band. It's not a genre I've ever followed, but
they clearly were on the ball with great stage presence, excellent
musicianship, and well-constructed songs. They are also cool guys that
we enjoyed talking with during the sound check. Lemonstone played an
enjoyable set that had a bit of a Dave Matthew's feel, but with more
edge. Acoustic rock is not a genre I frequent either, but I did enjoy
their show. Apparently Fight
The Nothing (great name! remember the Never
Ending Story?) played a really rocking set. Unfortunately, I was
in the back warming up, so I didn't get to fully appreciate their
show. My brother, who had flown in from Dallas to visit, dug them. He
even bought their demo! Bucky Spins was his favorite, followed by
Fight The Nothing. Of course Bucky Spins was my favorite too.
Created: Sun Mar 28 11:31:47 EST 2004