Merlin's once again proves to be the stomping ground for all up and coming local artists as the venue feature the best of Buffalo's rock stock and bring in guests from as far away as the U.K.

Saturday night's opening act, Ray Tarantino put on a show that was worthy of a record deal. Their sound was studio-ready and the band played as one finely tuned unit. Check out their stuff at www.raytarantino.net.

Buffalo band, the Vision Serpents, featured the recently added vocals of newest member Rachel Marriott.

"I haven't done anything like this in five years" said new singer of her pre-show jitters. Her stage fright was not evident as she took the stage though, her alto melodies soared atop the bands self-proclaimed progressive rock strings.

"I'm still getting to know everybody," Marriott says of meshing with the group. Members Andy Green, Rob Lavigne, J. Matt Ryan and Curt Rotterdam have been playing together for years now and they have been without a singer for a while now, so Marriott is now filling that gap.

Eight of nine on their set list were originals, with Pink Floyd's " Green is the Color" as the exception. Their opening track exhibited something of a "Hawaii 5-0" sensibility with jaunty "Rock Lobster" styled(B-52's) guitar riffs and bass lines. Marriott belted out lyrics and "doo-be-doo-be-did"some old school jazz scat that turned the song into something more ethereal. Other tracks were darker, something like Danzig drifting on air. With Marriott behind the mic, the band's sound became something reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane.

An impressive performance for a first time on Marriott's behalf, and the band definitely seemed to be in sync. Their new sound is not yet available for purchase or to listen to online, however, you can catch them live at upcoming show on April 12th at Nietzche's.