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By KRYSTINA GRANDMOND
Staff Writer

I got a bit of a late start at SCENE this year. The event kicked off at noon on June 28th, with the first bands taking the stage around 1:00 p.m. I didn't get to Market Square until 3:30 in the afternoon.

The day didn't look great. In fact, we were expecting rain. The humid air didn't help matters as our small group made its rounds to the various merch tables inside the Square. We went over the schedule, planning our route for the afternoon, picked up some extra batteries and something cold to drink, then made our way to the main outdoor stage to catch Soundline's feature from last issue, Street Pharmacy.

I don't need to tell you how amazing these guys are live. Brennan has already done a great job at that. What I will tell you is that the local crowd LOVES these guys. It's like the audience becomes infused with the energy pouring from the speakers and completely lose their minds at some points.

Crowd surfers, mosh pits, people from every walk of life screaming the lyrics back at the band. It is an impressive sight to see.

Part way through the band's 40-minute set, the sun decided to make an appearance and ended up sticking it out for most of the day.

Stop #2 was at The Mansion House on William Street. A personal favourite venue, I have spent MANY nights watching the local talent grace both the indoor, as well as the occasional outdoor stage, at this bar. For this stop, we headed out back to catch an up-and-coming, almost household name, Stereos.

I remember well the times of bubble-gum pop and screaming teenage girls, and I must say, I felt like I had been transported back to my adolescent days as I watched the band prepare and do their soundcheck while hundreds of hormonoly-stimulated girls (and women as well) reach out to the members, screaming their names and getting giddy at the slightest smile shot their way.

While a little technologically synthesized, I did enjoy their set. They certainly know how to rock a crowd, and they're not too hard on the eyes either. Various modern hairstyles, punk-inspired clothing, and colourful tattoos say that this band likes to make a statement. But it's their music I was interested in, and their music is great.

From my comfy seat up front in the media section, I could hear the crowd's desperate calls out to individual members. I got an earful of enthusiastic screams every time the band started on a familiar song. The fan base is loyal, and large. People poked their heads out from every window of the parking garage looking down on the stage. Trying to catch the smallest glimpse of their favourite band.

Impressive.

Once I was satisfied that I would no longer hear the same, we moved on to Level 3 to catch The Artist Life (a band whose lead singer graced the stage with Stereos for one song and struck my interest.) The crowd was significantly smaller in the James Street club, but the music lost no volume or quality. Hard, heavy, and full of energy, the songs had the small crowd rocking out the whole time.

In the mood to catch something different, I picked a random name off the list and off to The Office (just a few doors down) we went. We sipped on wine in a quiet, dimly lit, single room bar, where Sarah MacRae graced the stage with her mellow acoustic set. Her voice was soothing and soft, calming and sincere. We stayed for a few songs, enough time for my heart rate to slow and my body to cool off, and bid our farewells as we moved on to catch the next band on our schedule.

We made our way back to the beginning of St. Paul Street to the Red Hot Chili Pepper, where The Junction was rocking out the downstairs stage.

I have never personally heard of this band, but it seems that many people have. The Pepper was packed, with an impressive lineup braving the beginning of a storm, hanging out in the rain, hoping they were the next through the door.

As media, we have privileges though, and inside we went, already hearing the band playing as we walked through the door.

It was impossible to grab a spot near the front of the stage, so I stood off to the side for a bit before grabbing a seat to listen to a few songs.

Before the set finished, we were on the move again, running through the rain back to Mansion House in hopes of getting a good spot for the Mariana's Trench show. Unfortunately, at first, we were informed that the show was cancelled due to the rain and all shows on the outdoor stage had been moved. The bar was beyond capacity, and media or not, we were not permitted to enter.

While disappointing at first, this gave us front row seats (or something like that) to the shows happening on the indoor stage, as the bar's garage door walls were open so those on the sidewalk could listen to the music inside. Taking a stance behind the drummer, I was able to catch the end of Pelt's set.

An interesting group of musicians, Pelt is an almost all-female band, sporting only one male member. Despite the lack of testosterone, these girls can rock out as hard as any thoroughly male band I know. The rain was beating down, we were already soaked and in a very good mood to have found something so great, so we figured what the hell, and joined a couple of fans dancing on the sidewalk.

There is something very empowering and liberating about letting yourself go, despite the crowds of people huddling under umbrellas and awnings, and just dancing in the rain to some amazing music.

We decided to stick around with out front row seats to catch Distance Between Stars, another band I have never heard of. And I am glad we did.

While setting up, the band members admitted to being totally stoked to be playing Scene. Which made their set that much more sincere, and that much more enjoyable. The female fronted band got the crowds moving and screaming, both inside and out. Certainly impressive for a group I haven't heard of around here. But what was more impressive, were the chants for an encore from a crowd that refused to allow the band to leave the stage before hearing one more song.

After the show ended (and I got my drumstick souvenir ... hey, I collect them!), we ran over to Big Bucks, full of a new energy, in hopes of catching The Arkells as a last set before calling it a night (I have a day job too!!).

Imagine my surprise to see The Birthday Boys on stage, a band that wasn't slotted until 12:20 am. We watched their set, and were delighted to see Mariana's Trench take the stage. As it turns out, a lot of the bands in neighbouring bars bumped or shortened their sets, making way for the ones who lost out because of outdoor stages. Mariana's Trench put on an acoustic show, something VERY different from their normal material, but loved by the crowd nonetheless.

Once they were finished their short set, The Arkells set up and rocked the shit out of the enormous crowd inside the popular Ontario Street bar and live music venue. On a stage graced by many other famous, successful acts prior, The Arkells gave St. Catharines something to move and scream to.

We booked out early, after just a few songs, to head over to Patrick Sheehans just in time to catch a bit of The Waxbills' set there. Maybe it was just the venue they had, or perhaps it had something to do with The Arkells taking the stage at Big Buck's at the same time, but it didn't seem like many people had made the trip to Sheehans to see them. Which is a shame, because these guys do a pretty good job with their live show. While not high energy like many of the other shows I had seen that night, the Waxbills still provided me with something I could move to.

By midnight, I was ready to head home. It had been almost 9 hours of live music and walking, and I was exhausted. But you can bet your ass that I will be back again next year to do the same thing. Rain or shine, Scene will always be Niagara's greatest music festival, and one day I will always set aside.