Rumble semifinals yield an eclectic trio

WBCN Rock ’N’ Roll Rumble Semifinals
Friday: The Hidden, Reverend Glasseye, Furvis, Fluttr Effect.
Saturday: Robbie Road Steamer, Beyond the Embrace, Muck and the Mires, The Marvels.

At: the Middle East Downstairs

CAMBRIDGE -- The semifinals of the WBCN Rock 'N' Roll Rumble maintained the rule of unpredictability that has been a benchmark of the 27-year event. Now that the dust has cleared, the threesome (two winners and a wild-card entry) that advances to this Friday's final creates one of the most unusual rock billings the city has seen in quite some time.

Furvis, an angular and arty ensemble without a single member old enough to legally celebrate victory with a beer, enjoyed the first semifinal win this past Friday. Saturday's nod went to Robbie Road Steamer, a tongue-in-cheek commando who borrows as much from Andrew Dice Clay as from the Dictators. The wild-card spot went to the Reverend Glasseye, a jazzy band that borrows liberally from roots influences in a vaudevillian style that would not be out of place on HBO's ''Deadwood."

The Hidden had started Friday evening with a hardcore guitar push behind an engaging frontman, though its fans' response to the Furvis victory was in poor taste. The first night's festivities concluded with the innovative offerings of Fluttr Effect, which mixed electric marimba and cello to varying degrees of success.

To begin the second night's competition, Robbie Road Steamer's band delivered an entertaining keyboard introduction before launching into a massive '70s guitar groove. From then on it was full hilarity as Steamer took shots at the event, such higher-profile bands as Interpol and Keane, and the host radio station in between musical blasts that borrowed equally from Journey and Handsome Dick Manitoba.

The ringing guitars of Beyond the Embrace were undeniably tight but seemed a bit too rooted in metal's past. If nothing else the band seemed an ideal candidate for the third stage at this summer's Ozzfest. Following that set the Rumble paid homage to the continuing emergence of Somerville's Abbey Lounge as two of the club's most popular acts rounded out the night.

Muck and the Mires members proved themselves aces at warm guitars and propulsive drumming, all wrapped around garage rock hooks that showed they are no strangers to the ''Nuggets" box set. The presence of Marvels bassist Michelle Paulhus rocking out on the side of the stage during this set spoke to the loyalty between the acts. The Marvels came rocking from a similar reference point but with more of a punk edge. Nattily attired, the band members looked and played like hired killers, with a brute force that never overwhelmed their melodic ideas.