There's nothing quite like a night of live music, is there? Especially when it's quality work. This past Friday night was one of those nights. I went to the local music venue, The Chance Theater, and took in a few up and coming local acts as they took to the stage.

The first act of the evening went by the name of Waiting for Nothing. They hit around 9:00 and played for 20-25 minutes. They were OK. They struck me as being very young and not terribly experienced at working the stage, nor have they been together very long, I could be wrong. They played a Green Day style pop-punk, not really my preferred style, but that's OK. Their inexperience showed through numerous mistakes, the timing was off and they weren't that tight. But what they lacked for in experience they made for with heart, they were up their trying, believing in the music they played and if they keep it up, the ability will grow. The most promising thing was at about the halfway point, they started moving onstage, the crowd reacted positively and they fed off of it. I am not sure I'd go out of my way to see them again, but I wouldn't avoid them.

The next act was the polar rock opposite of what we had just seen, it was a goth/nu-metal act called In Restraint. They were a very mixed bag for their near half hour set. The singer was, for the most part, another in a long line of generic screamers. As much as I hate to admit it, these screamers are starting to bug me, there is no growth in a lot of it and you can't tell them apart. Anyway, he started singing a little bit which helped out, but he could use a little more range. The guitar sounded OK, but it was buried in the mix and the tone was a little overdone. The bass filled in the back nicely with a deep distorted sound, slightly reminiscent of the sound Peter Steele gets for Type O Negative. The best part of this act was the drummer, he has enormous talent. He had a good style, and he was quick. Overall they were OK, but they have a long way to go towards being an original act.

Time to change speeds up, we were now presented with Howsten, an act that a co-worker has been wanting me to see for awhile. They were actually quite impressive. They were the first act of the night to really inhabit the stage and make it theirs. They actually were quite active moving around and interacting with the crowd, it looks as if they have been together for awhile. They were tight, but none of the players really stood out. That may not be a great sign, but despite the lack of the standout musician, they all formed a unit ripping through some decent radio-friendly type rock. As much as I enjoyed the performance, their wasn't a lot to differentiate them from a lot of the other acts currently on the radio. But that can come with time, the more you play the more you will develop your own voice, hopefully. They seem to have what it takes to be successful, it will be interesting to see if and how they develop.