It was a tough crowd at the Whisky that Monday. Louden Swain tried their damndest to squeeze some cheerful blood out of the mostly black-clad crowd's turnip, to no avail. Although Louden Swain's three members possessed talent, their power-pop-punk vibe just didn't sit well with the crowd. Instead, they were met with classic lines such as "You guys suck!" and, "Are you done yet?" Their witty lyrics seemed to center on high school angst, but the mob gathering below the stage just wasn't in the mood. Think Blink 182 playing to a Slayer crowd. In all, Louden Swain should just be thankful that the Whisky has good security.

Mix equal parts Korn and Chimaira, boil off the downtuned guitars and screaming vocals, stir in some lighter, melodic guitar, and you have the base for Liminal. Fold in some Airwalk-style shoes, tight shirts, and emo-cuts. Garnish with a 5-string bass, a 7-string guitar, a double-bass drum set, and a mic (gripped by two hands more often than one); serve warm. Liminal handled the night perfectly: although they had some obvious fans in the crowd, they didn't play to them. They were thankful for the applause when it came, which also helped to clear the air after Louden Swain's lambasting. Although singer Jake Deering's droning voice never strayed far from his somewhat limited range, it somehow worked for the style of music they played. They kept a steady groove flowing with thick bass and heartfelt vocals, and occasionally mixed it up with heavy breakdowns and backing screams (provided by bassist Andy Rogers).

Otep clearly owned the evening. Otep was, in a word, HEAVY. This applied to everything from their sound to their stage presence. Their music was tight and crunchy, and the Whisky's sound system absolutely did it justice. The crowd fed greedily from Otep's trough of energy, and the band's encore was just as passionate as their full set. Most importantly, however, is that you get the sense that this woman (Otep Shamaya) actually feels what she's singing -- or should I say vocalizing - about. And despite Otep's resentment for comparison, I'm going to say it anyway - they're every bit as genuine (and hard) as My Ruin. Understand that my saying this is a good thing, because after Monday's show, I've added another band to my daily prayer book.