A mix of the old and the new is what the night had to offer. A couple of local acts in support of a couple of road veterans. They all came together to deliver a night of metal that left an impression on all of those who were in attendance, which was sadly not as large as it probably should have been. Hopefully, the word will spread and more will come out to support the scene, both the local and the national.

As I got to The Chance Theater and got inside, the opening act was still getting setup onstage. So, after a false start, a last minute addition to the bill began their set. They were called Semblance of a Soul, and they definitely had the semblance of something, and it most certainly was not a soul. One of the first requirements of playing a live show, or playing at all, is to have an instrument that is in tune. That is a rule that Semblance should keep in mind for future appearances.

Their sound was so off and the songs so mind numbingly unoriginal that it was something of a struggle to pay attention throughout the set. If that wasn't bad enough, they tried to "set the stage" for a few of their songs, one of those set ups led to a "performance" of Metallica's "Ride the Lightning." While it was certainly a lowlight, and an offense to true Metallica fans everywhere, it also led to a comical highlight. A lone man entered the vacant pit, where he proceeded to circle madly swinging his arms like an epileptic screamo fan before jumping onstage to assist in the vocal duties. This was the kind of performance that if it was your first experience with the local scene, may be enough to make you swear it off for good. Fortunately, there were a couple of more local acts to follow, both which were more than enough to wash out the bad taste.

The first band to redeem and cleanse the stage was Downfire. These guys, unlike Semblance of a Soul, are a good reason to support the local scene. This was my third time seeing them, and you can see the improvement. It is a pure joy to watch a band that clearly enjoys what they are doing, and are good at it. There were a couple of guys standing near me wondering who the band was coming up, I told them who it was, and was questioned if they were any good. I said they were, and hoped I wouldn't be wrong. The lights went down and the theme song for The Muppet Show emanated from the speakers, introducing Downfire to the stage. They proceeded to deliver a solid set of hard rock and metel in the tradition of Black Label Society. It was not the smoothest start, however. I thought the mix was a little muddy, but it cleared up after the first song, letting their high energy music shine through. The crowd clearly approved this step up in music.