Ace of Spades hosted its second event Saturday night, an "all locals" show called "SacShows Presents: Soundcheck", featuring performances by Oneira, Above The City, Carcerys Vale, Batten Down Your Heart, City of Kings, The Winter Formal and Ten After Two.

The theme for the night seemed to be "screamo," and it was delivered in spades (pun intended) with the exception of maybe The Winter Formal, which leans more toward sung vocals.

The tattooed and skintight jeans-wearing band members whipped their hair through quick 20- to 30-minute sets, cheered on by pierced and gauged teenage boys and girls, while overly aggressive males swung their fists around and ran into each other hard in the circle pit. Heavy, metal guitar riffs and machine-gun kick drums were the standard on stage, and by all accounts it was mission accomplished for Soundcheck.

The new venue Ace of Spades looks like a winner. It's a large, open space that fits nicely between Harlow's and Memorial Auditorium, size-wise. There are lots of places to sit, and the audio sounds good. The venue boasts an busy upcoming slate of Boardwalk-type medium-sized acts, including As I Lay Dying, Travie McCoy, and (hed) p.e.

A pending liquor license prevented alcohol sales Saturday night, but it didn't seem to be a large issue due to the largely underage crowd (and band members). A bartender said they expect to have a license "hopefully next week."

Garrett Stone of City of Kings (Image by: Steven Chea)

Ace of Spades (Image by: Steven Chea)

Michael Lopez (left) and Jeremiah Keema (right) of Carcerys Vale. (Image by: Steven Chea) Davey Sparks of Above The City (Image by: Steven Chea) Josh Doty of Ten After Two (Image by: Steven Chea) Brandon Wells (bass) and Jordan White (drums) of The Winter Formal (Image by: Steven Chea)

Ian of City of Kings (Image by: Steven Chea) City of Kings (Image by: Steven Chea)

Dave Edwards of Batten Down Your Heart (Image by: Steven Chea) Sean Wall of Ten After Two (Image by: Steven Chea) Danny Clark (left) and Pat Hennion (right) of Ten After Two (Image by: Steven Chea)

Blue of Batten Down Your Heart (Image by: Steven Chea)

Austen Butler of Carcerys Vale (Image by: Steven Chea)