31-01-2008 Emergenza Rotterdam

Venue: Exit, Rotterdam (Netherlands)
By: Sabine van Gameren

  Last week I saw 2 nights of Emergenza in Göteborg, Sweden. Tonight I was
  in Exit, Rotterdam to see the first out of three nights.

  The band which was opening the evening was Randy Sheep Ranch. They pleased
  me with music which they describe as Punk Alternative. I would say they have
  some folk influences as well. Besides the basic instruments, they use a violin
  and a trumpet in their music. They did bring an happy atmosphere in Exit. I
  almost felt the need coming up to dance, but since they played first, there
  were not that many people to dance with. I was positively surprised! I voted
  for them!

Second band was Warclash. They make thrash metal and as usual for the harder metal genres they were kind of having bad luck with their genre. Thrash is a genre, you have to like. It is not very likely that a random person seeing this   music for the first time immediately loves it. And that is quite sad, because Warclash showed their incredible great skills. They have very well arranged songs with great rhythms and show that they are able to perform them in such a way that they even get people who did not come for them closer to the stage.� Mostly impressed I was by the fast drummer who had his own moment of glory during the set.   Too bad that not much people voted for them. For what it was worth: I did.

Third was Paralife. They make screamo music. And that actually says it all! The vocals consist of screaming only. I wonder if the vocalist is able to talk tomorrow, because he seems to overuse his voice. Actually, this annoys me in such a way that I escape to the chill area of Exit to see it from a little distance. The band made it even worse when they decided to cover Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. Many, many bands covered this song and I am surely not against covering at all, but this was a total rape of the song. What a disaster! One of the guitars did not work well during the song, but I doubt if it would have made any difference. I have never been so happy that a band left the stage.

Eyes Are Blind is a band making alternative rock. I am very pleased with hearing some decent vocals again. The first song was a little held back and overall I missed the drama of the songs. The band can go deeper in their music and make the music sound a little more dramatic perhaps, but this is definitely not bad! I enjoyed listening to some relaxed music and I am curious what this band can bring me more.

Last band of the evening is Kinkobra. This band plays music which is alternative, but also grunge. I am not exactly a grunge fan, but somehow this band managed to keep my attention. At least it was clear that they already played some gigs  before even though the band still has its first year anniversary coming up.� They have a nice stage attitude, and are very active on stage, which makes their music come alive. I guess, this is mostly why they manage to keep my attention.� I voted for them, like many others did.

Results:
  1. Kinkobra
  2. Paralife
  3. Eyes Are Blind
  4. Randy Sheep Ranch
  5. WarclashFor more pictures: Sabinevangameren.com

Links:
  Randy Sheep Ranch Myspace
  Warclash Myspace
  Paralife Myspace
  Eyes Are Blind MySpace
  Kinkobra Myspace