Happenstance brought several like-minded bands through town in early November. The enterprising promoters at Kosmic City seized upon the opportunity, tying them together into a wandering festival dubbed "Dreams Never End." Four shows in four days is a lot. I'm going to have to conserve my energy to survive it. Let's make this one quick.

Kansas City's Still Ill kicked off the festival at 8:30. The quartet is post-hardcore – except when it's not. On this night, the act favored a setlist that turned down the hardcore and turned up the shoegaze. That meant lots of lovely, twinkling guitar leads from Jen Kean working alongside the ethereal strums of Ricky Reyes and the melodic bass lines of Dom Zappia. Drummer Kyle Herrenkohl secured the band's eleven songs, keeping them from evaporating entirely. The updated setlist left room for seldom-played songs like "There is No God," an instrumental that highlighted Zappia's talents and wooed the crowd. At the DIY venues frequented by Still Ill, the foursome often suffers through unattended "set it and forget it" PAs that never capture the variation in Reyes' and Kean's vocals, but each vocalist sounded great at Minibar from whispers to roars. The audience was new to Still Ill, so they probably didn't notice the subtle softening or the extraordinary clarity. They also wouldn't know that Reyes spoke more than usual, offering origin stories for several songs between his plugs for the just-released vinyl version of the band's new album Rituals. The set ended with a cut from that album called "Doll House." The six-minute track started insistently with an atypical '90s alternative gruffness, built to Kean's shouted chorus, and then released into a long blissful coda. Still Ill's forty-minute set impressed everyone – both the first-timers and the old heads.

Eighteen months ago, Chicago's Airiel played the Minibar. It packed the club, then blasted the audience with lovely melodies played at oppressive volumes. Returning fans expected more of the same – and that's what they got. The long-running shoegaze act is led by vocalist/guitarist Jeremy Wrenn. He's the only original member, though guitarist (and programmer) Andrew Marrah seems to have some staying power. The rhythm section, however, is entirely ad hoc. For this tour, it was Matthew Lemke on bass and Darien Sea on drums. Sonically, this show was a repeat of the last. The songs were dense, textured affairs, with both guitarists sculpting compositions from an impressive array of effects pedals. Lemke's bass strode confidently under the guitars. While anything but gossamer, his driving bass joined the synthesized melodies provided by pre-programmed backing tracks. The disco-punk drumming of Sea made it clear the band is built for movement, not for idle daydreams. Curiously, it was Lemke who provided most of the movement for the night. Until erupting in the final song, Wrenn spent most of the set with his eyes closed and his lips close to the microphone. Marrah, who is often a source of kinetic energy, was confined to a stool, suffering a broken foot. The audience could have picked up the slack and danced the night away to a particularly sparkly version of "In Your Room," but instead, they joined Wrenn, closed their eyes, and swayed to the flowing, luxurious melody of set highlight "Molten Young Lovers."

After 65 minutes, the band ended its abbreviated ten-song set, ignoring calls for an encore. Maybe Wrenn and Co. knew that Kansas City had a long weekend planned, and decided not to keep everyone out too late. Very thoughtful. I hope they come back when we're not so busy.