It's always nice to see music industry folk completely ignore music happening right in front of them. Okay, so that's being a little harsh, maybe even a little dishonest. There were plenty of record label reps checking out the talent at NEMO's (New England Music Showcase's - what does the "O" stand for? I don't know) main event Friday night. There were also plenty of music execs snacking, drinking and chatting away on cell phones above the din of the club. This was to be expected: it's standard for the biz. More disturbing, though, was the surprisingly high number of high school-age looking couples making out and groping each other in the middle of the Axis for no apparent reason.

I didn't do much schmoozing, unless you count some guy asking where to get the free drinks, slurring his words the whole time. That was the social high point of a night spent lost in an oil-spilled sea of leather-jacketed, pony-tailed A&R men and high school couples.

Mostly I tried to analyze what was going on up on the Axis main stage, where local club favorites the Gravel Pit and the Sheila Divine did their time. The Gravel Pit started things up while people were still filtering in, but they wasted no time in energizing the club with soulful vocals and rabid guitar heroics. They seemed an odd choice to play an industry function, though - not much vanilla or mainstream about them at all. Every time the Pit drove into catchy melodies or guitar riffs, they'd let loose into some tuneless noodling or unorthodox chord progression. It was almost a textbook case of indie rock being too complex, too busy - some would say too smart - for mass consumption. That said, one or two Gravel Pit songs were streamlined enough for radio play, but it seemed unlikely that they'd be signed to a huge record deal anytime soon. By the time the Gravel Pit had wrapped up, all the sushi was gone and the crowd had to be content with scallop dumplings, or whatever those were.

Less importantly to the flock of execs, Lunar Plexus had begun playing the VIP Lounge upstairs. Now although my pass had the letters "VIP" on it, the light in the club apparently caused the bouncer to instead read "under no circumstances should this person be allowed upstairs." So I contented myself with watching the self-proclaimed "super swank tripno pop" band voted 1999's Best Electronica Act by the Boston Phoenix's readers on two big closed-circuit TV screens next to the main stage. Maddeningly, the footage was purposefully grainy black and white, no doubt because it's artsier that way. From what I could make out, Lunar Plexus didn't seem very electronic at all; for some of their songs they used a typical rock setup of drummer, guitarist, bassist and singer. On the others the guitar player switched to keyboard. Though front woman Karen Ellis was charming enough, the overall effect of the band's sound was one of indecision - not enough melody to qualify as popsters, not enough beat to make any audience get down, let alone a middle-aged and jaded one.

Plexus' set was cut short by the arrival of the Sheila Divine on the main floor - now here was a band with marketing potential. Comparatively, anyway. The three members of the emo-tinged rock band look like they were chosen for their ability to get beaten up in high school, but their songs have clear pop-hit potential because of their raw emotional quality. Singer Aaron Perrino literally fills the room with the sheer intensity of his voice - you get the feeling that a recording wouldn't do his singing justice. To ink a deal, the band will probably have to package this emotion a little more slickly, with more obvious hooks, but they're well on their way as it is.

The band Flexie was scheduled to play next, but shortly after the Sheila Divine's set the Axis turned on all their lights and informed the crowd that "if you don't work here, you should get out." And so I did. End of night summary: Band from NEMO most likely to get signed, have a mid-level alt-rock radio-played hit and then fade into relative obscurity - the Sheila Divine, Club most likely to kick out the guests of a private industry party early - the Axis, Guests least likely to have any actual power in the music business - all those lip-locking couples.

NEMO Beantown Bash

W/THE GRAVEL PIT, LUNAR PLEXUS, THE SHEILA DIVINE, FLEXIE

Axis

April 14, 2000