I'm afraid by now it's all sort of hazy. Three weeks ago I might have been able to remember more, but maybe not – I'm usually more yawns and stomach growls than insightful music historian at midweek shows. Let's see if I can recall anything useful.

The Whiffs opened and that was enough to send me to Hillsiders directly from work. The band's live set was honed this summer during regular Hillsiders gigs and regional weekend tours. There will be no more new songs, new backing vocals, or new guitars debuted for a while. Even the onstage friction is now familiar. In this edition, vocalist/guitarist Rory Cameron struggled with the fancy new PA, attempting to dial in the sound – or at least hear himself in the monitors. Per usual, vocalist/bassist Zach Campbell just wanted to play. Guitarist Kyle Gowdy and drummer Jake Cardwell just let the drama play out. That's how it always goes. The set is mostly new songs scheduled for the upcoming album due any month now. All of them sound good. "I Could Still Be King" already has the crowd singing the "Sha La La"s along with Campbell. Gowdy's lone turn on lead vocals was a bona fide hit. His bending and twangy solo in another signaled that the group may be on the same musical arc that The Replacements followed forty years ago. That's a fine blueprint, and we'll just hope The Whiffs can hold it together better than Paul and Bob did.

Bad Sports was a brash garage-punk band from Denton formed in 2007. In 2026, it's a riff-first rock band split across multiple states but claiming Los Angeles as home. I wonder how that works out. The outfit is still led by vocalist/guitarist Orville Nelley. He brought real guitar gusto to the set, playing excellent leads that owed more to arty proto-punk than the bash-it-out power pop I had expected. His guitar tones were amazing and his detached vocal sneer sharp. Bassist Deniel Fried sang nearly as many songs – each in his own deadpan that was more corroboration than counterpoint. He moved well on the small stage, adding drama as he returned to the microphone always just in the nick of time. His bass lines were active and engaging, yet they still nestled smartly into the band's compositions. Although drummer John Hodge was largely tasked with maintaining a steady beat, lyrical elements did slip in, and his fills were clever. I suspect each added to the Who-like rambunctious nature of the set. With the new PA growing pains settled, Bad Sports was able to rip through twelve songs like pros. But maybe it was too professional. Even in the small room, the act's banter was limited and sterile. Was the trio having a good time? Was this a job? Maybe my exhausted brain was just reading too much into Nelley's dry, sarcastic delivery. When he announced the band hadn't yet received its vinyl allotment of the just-released Follow Through 12", I was bummed. Thankfully it did play four of the EP's six songs, giving Hillsiders a taste of the more constructed songs that are its future. It's a shift I'm not sure I'm on board with yet, but there was no hiding my excitement when the group launched into the catchy "Teenage Girls" from its 2011 album Kings of the Weekend. I worry I might have been cancelled for singing its questionable lyrics with too much passion, but I swear, I was tired, and hungry, and that song is just so damn irresistible.