Concert Reviews and Commentary: REVIEW BY PETER THELEN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, EXPOSÉ MAGAZINE Opening August's show was Fremont CA based HiNGE who were promoted as merely a local power trio performing in the style of King Crimson and Rush. In fact, I'm glad to say they were much more than that. Their cover of an obscure Goblin track for an upcoming tribute album hints at the depth of the band's influences. The trio, although slightly under-rehearsed, played a memorable forty-five minute selection of songs from their demo tape, and basically saved the show from being a complete disaster!

Los Angeles based Stormkro headlined the performance
and played material from the their sole debut release, 'Some Odd Years'. Before the show, the six-piece ensemble had been getting favorable comparisons to Kansas, Styx, and various other acts; although versatile in many styles, the band played an uneven set of progressive metal songs (the few high points of their set) tarnished by acoustic ballads, blues numbers and failed stage jokes (including a miniature flying saucer traversing the stage during a number about a crazed TV evangelist). Patience was waning during their almost agonizing set after a mere four songs. Their cover of the Styx classic track 'Come Sail Away' was probably the strongest piece they played the entire evening.

It is rumored that after the show, a small cadre of co-promoters formed to lynch the single perpetrator for stretching not only the boundaries of rock, but also the endurance capability of our small but dedicated audience. Somehow he escaped with his life intact despite the intense ridicule of his compatriots.