Thursday, May 18TH, New London was invaded by new blood. The Sound Factory provided our fair city with another four bands.

Lets begin with Porto. This female-fronted four piece comes to us from the New Haven area. The set opener started off smooth and gave the audience a little taste of what was to come. The two songs that followed next were my favorites. (Please forgive me; I don't know the song titles.) Porto reminded me of a female fronted Incubus, minus the DJ and better. Stacey Dyer crooned and wailed with a soulful voice. Justin Socha sneaks in fiery guitar solos between his spacey riffs. Steve Varjabedian kept a good solid bass going all night over Greg Meisenbergs half beats, toms and cymbals. Porto provided us with a good set. Hopefully next time they won't be on first and there will be people there to watch. You can check them out this June on the 3rd at crossroads in Oakdale, or the 22nd when they return to The Cafe'.

The three-piece Evoke was up next. They had fun on stage; I didn't have fun watching them. Next.

The Boys From Recreation Park is a five piece also coming from the western parts of CT. Hey New London, their singer Greg was once a part of Golgo13 (RIP). Their set contained your standard pop punk sound with songs about the ladies. These guys were fun to watch and busted out two awesome covers. (Dont you forget about me-Simple Minds, Your Love-Outfield) These guys have a sense of humor.

Our closers were Shatter Sphere from Hartford. These guys did an awesome job of blending rock with metal. It really flowed together. They're a five piece with Drums, two guitars, bass and a singer with keys. I enjoyed the show.

Thats enough out of me. Check out theyre websites and find out what these bands have going on. - Shaun

Porto: www.portomusic.com
The Boys: www.myspace.com/boysfromrecreationpark
Shatter Sphere: www.shattersphere.com