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By RAYNA SLOBODIAN
Staff Writer

     Brighton
     Montreal, Quebec
     Reverb

Brighton was the first band I saw during the festival and what a way to begin. This five-piece band gave an amazing performance to a very small crowd. The vocalist sounded like a cross between Bono and Thom York. He also played electric and acoustic guitars as well as the tambourine and an egg shaker. The slower songs had a Coldplay feel to them with emotionally drawn-out guitar rhythms. As the tunes became more upbeat, they had a more brit-pop sound which makes Brighton radio friendly. One song was about living your dreams no matter what. They had some guy come up from the audience to do back-up vocals. He must have been with the band in some aspect because he knew the song and did a great job. This was a very inspiring performance.

     aka "The Hots"
     Toronto, Ontario
     B-Side

This three-piece band of guitar, drums and bass played to a seated crowd. Their poppy old-style rock and roll came out through most of their tunes. The drums went from simple to more intricate beats. Listening to the sounds, I could only pick up high-end noise and it wasn’t the venue. The guitarist strummed quickly repeating a lot of the same chords. One song titled "Bait Taking Clone" had more of a pop-punk edge to it. When the band showcased their slower material, the energy dropped and the show began to drag. It picked up near the end of the set during a song about dropping habits when you get to a certain age. I guess that was one aspect of the music the crowd could relate to.

     The Murdocks
     Halifax, Nova Scotia
     B-Side

The Murdocks set up their equipment and were prepared to play. I noticed right away they had a female guitarist. The odd part was they had no microphone for her to sing into, which is usually the case with a female member of the band. Once they started, the vocal exchange and singing banter between guitar and bassist was quite unique. They had a versatile sound going from alternative rock to experimental garage. The crowd were sitting and by mid-set many people had stood up and got into the show. The bassist strummed his bass like a guitar at different points in the evening. The drummer was passed the microphone to sing a few lines then he got up, circled around his drum kit and played the cymbals.

     Blue Skies At War
     London, Ontario
     Funhaus

Gaining a lot of buzz locally, Blue Skies At War played a high-energy show. You could tell that every member put their all into the performance. No one stayed in their designated spots and moved around frequently. Lead Vocalist, Chad, sang out some heart wrenching vocals with very strong back-ups from the bassist. They had simple, but fast strumming guitars. The music moved from fast to slow tempos integrating both quiet vocals and screams. At one point, the guitarist played his guitar on his head. Overall, a good show with a positive crowd response.

     Sleeper Set Sail
     St. Catharines, Ontario
     Funhaus

By the time Sleeper Set Sail began their set, the crowd had thinned out quite a bit, but those that were still there stood at the front. This band, well known for their more melodically flowing type music, changed the pace of the show. The guitars weaved in and out. Sometimes the music would drop down to just a single instrument after a dramatic build-up. Vocals were not a focus tonight as they only sang sporadically. The music was great, but unfortunately they took way too long in between songs. SSS spent time either talking to the point of boredom or tuning their instruments. Otherwise there would have been a consistent flow to the performance.