The Sno Core tour hit the Ogden theatre Sunday night. The bill consisted of Sparta, Glassjaw, Hot Water Music, and Dredge.

These are four diverse but superior bands with a strong underground following. They all share a heavy rock sound that made for an intense show.

The show can best be compared to a sandwich; the best part was the middle. Hot Water Music and Glassjaw definitely the main attractions for this tour. Dredge opened the show with a solid set, but failed to draw more than a few head bobs from the crowd.

Their unique blend of music included the lead vocalist singing through a trumpet. However their drummer, Dino C, deserves credit for laying down some amazing beats.

The Sno Core tour ski videos were projected on a screen in between sets. Hot Water Music took the stage next and immediately got things going. This quartet on the Epitaph record label blends rock and punk making for an intense begininng to the show.

With songs like “Remedy” and trusty chords the audience erupted into a frenzy of moshpits. Chuck Ragan, vocals and guitar, played fast and furiously as George Robelo kept the beat on the drums. Out of the four, this band brought the most punk to the night.

Glassjaw was the third band of the night and seemed to be the pinnacle of the night. With their new CD Worship and Tribute out last year, they ripped into their set with an intensity only matched by the frenzied crowd. Vocalist Daryl Palumbo jumped around stage spitting out bombastic rhymes that echoed over the interments.

Justin Beck and Todd Weinstock rallied on guitar, while Dave Allen hit the bass, and Larry Gorman beat the drums. Their sound is unique in style and can best be compared to the Deftones or The Used.

After more video footage of skiers and snowboarders Sparta came on. At this point a large portion of the audience had already cleared out having seen what they came for. Within the first couple songs it was obvious Sparta would not match the level of the previous two bands. They immediately slowed everything down by playing “Air” and “Mye.”

However compared with the other bands they seemed to slow the tempo down too much, which is disappointing considering Ward, Hinojas, and Hajjar are all formally from At The Drive In, a premier emo band that suddenly called it quits.

Their new venture, Wire Tap Scars, is a departure from what their fans are used to.

So Sno Core was indeed hard-core, despite the fact that they were about fifty-fifty with the bands on the bill. However that half is absoultely worth seeing. I would give this tour four fat snowballs!