music review

2017 Rock & Roll Rumble

At ONCE Ballroom in Somerville,

Friday

SOMERVILLE — It takes more than a fire alarm to cool off Carissa Johnson.

Johnson’s fiercely propulsive trio was the third of three finalists to take the stage Friday at the concluding contest of this year’s Rock & Roll Rumble. But several songs into her set, a fire alarm forced the throng of local-rock partisans out of the ONCE Ballroom and into the drizzle outside.

After a 19-minute interruption, Johnson — singing and playing bass, backed by guitarist Steph Curran and drummer Nick Hall — got back to work, and it’s more than the lure of easy wordplay compelling me to report that they were on fire. Even if there was a certain sameness to Johnson’s post-punk material, she and band infused the latter part of their set with an energy that whipped the remaining crowd into a lather. Later, as champagne sprayed onstage, plenty in the audience sounded thrilled to hear Johnson announced as this year’s winner.

Manchester-by-the-Sea’s the Rupert Selection impressed greatly with a sound anchored in hard rock but thrown pleasingly off-kilter with a few whiffs of non-fussy prog and bursts of speedy psychedelia. Guitarist-vocalist Reilly Somach drew an impressive range of colors from his instrument, while bassist Peter Crofton proved essential and drummer Zak Brown added plenty of muscle. It was fierce but thoughtful. Rupert has an original voice, and I look forward to hearing more from them.

Hey Zeus offered tight, accomplished metal complemented by a good dose of kitsch. Amid a stage setup including illuminated cross and gong, vocalist Bice Nathan donned a cape for a short percussion solo before throwing it into the crowd, and bassist Ken Cmar grabbed a beer can from someone down front to use as a slide before hurling it the way of the cape. But though the group seemed to wink through its tank tops, the music was serious. Fleet-fingered guitarist Pete Knipfing showered everyone with the hottest licks of the night, from what looked to be a Gibson Flying V.

On the 10th anniversary of its own Rumble victory, special guest Township closed with a valedictory set of its more relaxed, mainstream rock. With a welcome sense of dynamics, this set offered some different energy after plenty of stuff this evening that was locked on 11.

Cheers to Rumble force of nature Anngelle Wood, longtime friend of local music, in her eighth time organizing an event that dates back to 1979 and Kenmore Square’s late, great (so to speak) Rat.

2017 Rock & Roll Rumble

At ONCE Ballroom in Somerville,

Friday

Jeremy D. Goodwin can be reached at jeremy@jeremydgoodwin.com.