Focused and Ferocious
Sno-Core Looks to Become the Annual Emo-Punk Package Tour

>> Glassjaw's Daryl Palumbo, Manuel Carrero and part of guitarist Todd Weinstock (from left). >>

Though the Sno-Core tour has been around for a number of years now, it has been a chameleon of sorts, changing it's focus from year to year and struggling to find it's place in the pantheon of annual events.  In the eight years it has been in existence, the sponsorship has changed and so has the style - initially, it was about exposing fans to a variety of musical styles, a coming together of different fans to cross-pollinate the masses.  The tour then broke off into two separate tours: there was Sno-Core Rock, which was for the heavier bands, and there was the Icicle Ball, which was the more esoteric version, with mellower fare.

This multiple-personality disorder didn't serve the tour well, as it competed with other tours and never seems to truly establish itself as something fans looked forward to on an annual basis.  The only apparent consistency has been that the tour has run in the winter months, when it doesn't have to compete with Ozzfest or Warped.  This may have been its saving grace.

>> Hot Water Music showed how they've been able to do this for nearly twenty years. >>

Now it has become one tour again, and the focus seems to have fallen on the emo set, which exists somewhere between the punks and the metal heads.   This year's tour features four bands who have done a fair job establishing hard-core followings for themselves, but can only benefit from a combined tour: Dredg, Hot Water Music, Glassjaw and Sparta.  The genre, which is really in the process of finding itself and is growing by leaps and bounds, appears to have embraced this tour, if the Los Angeles is to be used as a barometer.

For evening opener Dredg, this was really a chance to gain some much-needed exposure.  The Central California natives have finally found a niche that serves them well, and the fans embraced their music wholeheartedly.  If it's possible to be progressive in such a new genre, Dredg's sound is really progressive-emo - it takes the foundation and pushes the limits. Occasionally they push to the point where they may lose the very fans they've just won over.  Singer Gavin Hayes, the creative juice behind Dredg, looked to be in his own world, with the crowd willing to follow him along.   Though their set was limited by time, they acquitted themselves well and did an effective job of getting the festivities rolling.

>> Glassjaw's Daryl Palumbo incites the crowd. >>

Next up were veteran rockers Hot Water Music, who've been at this since '94 and are one of the genre's founders.  They have had a superb hard-core following for years, with drummer George Rebelo and bassist Jason Black providing one of the most solid punk foundations in existence.  HWM displayed why they are considered elder statesmen in the post-punk world - classics like "Sons and Daughters" still carry the weight and sonic impact they've always had, and the pure intensity of their live shows is only understood by actually seeing them play.

With Chris Wollard and Chuch Ragan trading off both lead guitar and singing duties, Hot Water Music pack a punch that harkens back to giants like Fugazi and Bad Religion.  Though they fit nicely into the emo-punk vibe, their music has been making a name for itself for nearly twenty years and they certainly showed the younger fans in attendance where this whole movement came from and where it needs to go.

Technically co-headliners on this year's Sno-Core tour, Sparta and Glassjaw are two bands who are coming into their own.  For Glassjaw, the focus, pure and simple, is front man Daryl Palumbo.  A human dynamo, the slight of build Palumbo is surprisingly able to take control of the crowd and mold the crowd.  He asked for a pit and the crowd immediately delivered.  Supporting their latest, Worship and Tribute, Glassjaw, like the other three bands on the bill, was hitting on all cylinders.   One of Glassjaw's greatest strengths is to move around in the genre and Palumbo, a la Perry Farrell, is able to vary his delivery and get the most out of the song.

>> Sparta's Jim Ward puts forth unbridled passion. >>

By the time this evening's closer, Sparta, hit the stage, it was questionable whether the fans would have anything left in the tank.  Though they didn't seem to be able to hit the heights they had earlier in the evening, the fans did stick around to 'til the end.

Sparta is truly a band looking to find itself.  Seeking to forge a name and get some distance from At the Drive In, the quartet also looks to be in competition - real or imagined - with the Mars Volta, the other band to rise from the ATDI ashes.  Their Dreamworks Records debut, Wiretap Scars, much like ATDI's work, has garnered loads of critical acclaim and become a symbol of emo-punk is supposed to reach for.

Sparta's singer Jim Ward maintained a confrontational stance throughout the evening, as though daring the crowd to stick with them.  The ploy worked well, as the fans did their best at showing they were up to the task.  Ward's emotional delivery was captivating and he succeeded is pulling the room into his emotional depths.  His bandmates - guitarist Paul Hinojos, drummer Tony Hajjar and bassist Matt Miller - provide as solid a backing as possible, but Ward's delivery, especially on the scathing "Cut Your Ribbons," is complete passion.  Sparta's set did extract what remaining energy there was in the room, and the crowd left completely spent.

One side note that emerged from watching this year's Sno-Core is that the emo scene doesn't have too many poster boys.  The rule of the evening on stage was wild hair, either full beards or something approaching one and a few tattoos.   The band members, like the music, comes across as very real, with nothing manufactured.  This unpretentiousness may be one of the primary reasons the bands are able to connect so closely with the fans.

As the night's festivities came to an end and it became time to reflect on the performances, one thing to take from this year's Sno-Core is that, possibly, the emo-punk scene may have found it's own annual event, unless the organizers of suffer another bout of tour schizophrenia