Rage Fest 2009

The self-described "homegrown Warped Tour," Rochester's Rage Fest 2009 tore up Waterstreet music hall on Friday with two stages and a list of both well known and emerging bands. Rotating start times kept us running back and forth from the main stage to the club side between acts; but, in the end, we found the bands so similar in sound that to liken the Fest to Warped tour was a huge overstatement- we need a much broader variety for next year. Here were some of the highs and lows of the night:

Drawing Infinity wasn't the first band we saw, so when they kicked off, our first thought was "Here we go, another generic hardcore band." But, as the songs kept coming, some underlying hip hop roots began to show. Though some might say that this hardcore/hip hop blend died with Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit, it was the feature that helped set them apart from the rest of the bands.

Rage Fest was our first opportunity to check out The Young Bloods, a ROC area rock band with quite a buzz following them. Though their upbeat tunes got the crowd of high school scenesters rocking, it quickly became an event worthy of eye rolling when lead singer Joey Arena clearly became more interested in being captured by the media photographers than putting on a show. Luckily he was backed by guitarists who understand showmanship over vanity.

When we tweeted about punk rock aerobics the other day, we had no idea that we would be confronted with them full on when Call Me the Patriot took the club side stage. Just like Drawing Infinity, we were underwhelmed at first, then once was heard the music behind the screaming, paired with enthusiastic crowd participation, we were hooked. Last we saw, the band was doing synchronized calisthenics to their song The Many Faces of A Martyr and the crowd was loving it.

The last act we stayed for (how dare we shame Sirens & Sailors by leaving!) was the reason we came in the first place: Makyo Star. After an evening of predictable rock and unintelligible lyrics, MS's unpretentious pop punk rounded out our evening happily. We love their poppy track Perfect Score. The only downside? They were out of size small tees at the merch table.