I arrived at the world famous Viper Room - starting off point for so many bands and the ending point for River Phoenix - on Sunset Blvd just after 8:00PM on a Tuesday to find my name isn't on the list. After some name-dropping to the right people, I made my way up the narrow staircase to the empty dive-bar where I ordered a couple of Newcastles (one for me, one for my significant other) and situated myself in the middle of the room.

The Urgency was the first band to perform that night at the Viper Room. The show was a warm-up date to start their tour opening for A Cursive Memory. The room was empty, the stage was small and the band only had 30 minutes. Usually, these are the things that make a show hard on a band - no audience, no light show, small stage.

The band earns their name. They write and perform music with... well, Urgency. It is impossible not to do some pigeonholing when 3 of the 4 visible pairs of jeans (couldn't see the drummer's) were so tight we must refer to facial and chest hair to determine the gender of the wearers. I know that is the fashion of the day, but it also places a band that, from other interviews, claims they are not in the same world as other Emo-rockers like Fall Out Boy, right in that world. What sets the Urgency apart, however, is musicianship.

Each member of the band can PLAY their instruments... remarkable. That isn't to say that other members of other bands in the emo-indie-rock-core-whatever-else you want to write here genre can't... but these guys actually use their instruments to a full degree. Guitar, bass, drums - each part is meticulously arranged and rehearsed. Even with a small club sound-system they sounded heavy, tight, full and Rock pretty fuckin' hard. Catchy leads, weighty riffs, intricate bass lines and of course the vocals.

The most impressive instrument of the night were vocals. Lead vocalist Tyler Gurwicz aims for a Modern Day, Police-era Sting sound mixed with enough Patrick Stump to evoke Fall Out Boy, but not enough to be a sound-alike. Unlike Stump, however, Gurwicz hits every single note live and then some. Evoking sounds ranging from Punk to Pop, Hardcore to Reggae, Gurwicz is an infectious singer with heart and talent. Back-up vocals provided by bassist/band-personality Kevin Coffrin were spot on as well as guitarist (either Ryan Siegel or Ian Molla - I don't know them by name) for tight 3-part harmonies.

As a performance, the stage was too small and lighting too meager to really comment, except to say that the band worked with what they had. Most members stuck to their home bases and nodded heads, smiled and exuded their own limited charisma based on the space allowed. Tyler Gurwicz found his hole in the stage set-up and sang passionately to the small room - he did, impressively, stare straight at the audience members giving an almost creepy, sinister aura to the songs. At high notes, when many singers would close their eyes and dig deep, Gurwicz widened his gaze to show off the whites and dig into the audience a little bit more.

The band opened with the speedy, Punk influenced "Rooftops" then moved to the more Police rooted, sleezy, sexy "Fingertips." They kept the energy high with a later highlight of the evening "Battlefields."

All-in-all, The Urgency doesn't break ground as the newest sound, or new unique band. They do, however, play music extremely well and write songs that you will remember after hearing them - there is a LOT to be said for that kind of quality. I highly recommend, given the chance, that you take some time to check out this band.

8:45 PM - the band finished their set. The curtains closed. I went book shopping.

A great night.

Check out the Urgency at www.Myspace.com/TheUrgency