I'm undecided on what makes the perfect show. Maybe it's a two-band bill with one niche national act and one solid local that blows them off the stage. Or maybe it's a two-band bill with a favorite local act and an opener that I've always meant to check out. Or maybe it's a three-band bill with one band I enjoy, one that is just meh, and one band I've never heard of. That seems unlikely, but it's what we're working with.

The night started with the unknown part. Professor Shyguy is the project of now-local performer Brandt Cooley. He wore a loud three-piece suit, built his chip-tune pop songs from modified Nintendo gear, used synchronized video projections, and required audience participation before starting any song. With cohort and co-vocalist Blythe Renay, the duo is surely a kissing cousin of the dormant Destroy Nate Allen project. For most of the band's forty-five-minute opening set, Cooley would designate an audience member to push a big red button at the edge of the stage. This launched full backing tracks and ignited the bleeps and bloops that defined the pop songs. When Cooley added live guitars, they always sat low in the mix. Of course, his over-the-top vocals were appropriately highlighted. There were covers (Metric & Bruno Mars), there were gimmick songs (a song where each stanza began with the next letter of the alphabet), and many that extolled the fun of learning. Somewhere in the middle, there was a version of "Defying Gravity" augmented with dubstep wobble. Renay contributed minimal synth, solid backing vocals, and some top-notch dancing to the performance. At the end of the set, Cooley suggested that the audience "meet [him] after class" at the merch table. I'm always suspicious of anyone so extroverted and seemingly genuine, so I did not take Cooley up on the offer, but I might just be curious enough to see Professor Shyguy again. My understanding is that the act often performs at regular venues, not just elementary school assemblies.

Then came the band I knew and liked, the teenage Tonganoxie pop-punk duo Blast Monkeys. Of course, the act has outgrown most of those signifiers and is now a grown-up threesome consisting of Scott Vick (vocals/guitar), Kyle Chambers (drums), and new edition Grant Schuck (bass). Well, not entirely grown-up – Vick still played with a rubber chicken hanging from the neck of his guitar. I watched with concern as it swung toward the audience of family and friends who lined the stage whenever he swung his guitar or dropped to his knees. Turns out that this crew was accomplished chicken-dodgers, knew all the words, danced all the dances, and drank all the beers. As fans are wont to do, they also requested retired songs like the slow "Scooby Snax" written four years ago by emo teenagers on acoustic guitar. It was probably a mistake, but the band obliged, and it compounded the absurdity with covers of songs by Green Day (of course) and Steve Miller (what?). Vick later explained that the band had recently played a wedding that required the band to learn more covers. While mastering a wolf-whistle on guitar is a valuable skill, I was more impressed with the expanded band's new arrangements. The addition of Schuck's bass opened new possibilities for Vick's guitar while also shifting Chambers' drums from a focal point to merely an ingredient in this new, and better, sonic recipe. It's a bonus that Vick's affected pop-punk vocals have mellowed while his scream has simultaneously become more effective. This version of Blast Monkeys is indeed something to enjoy.

And we save the meh band for last. The only other time I saw Corey Dies in the End it was without the band's lead guitarist, resulting in not only a makeshift lineup playing limp arrangements, but playing an altered set of songs. Thus, the meh probably deserved an asterisk, and the band deserved a second chance. Here we are.

On this night, the full band lined up as Vitt (vocals/guitar), Nathan "Slink" Slinkard (lead guitar), Dan Ernstmann (bass), and Jordan Horne (drums). Together, the act skimmed the edges of indie rock and emo pop, pulling in solid dynamics, great leads, and witty songs. Between numbers Vitt bantered freely with the audience, but during songs he looked down – maybe at his feet, maybe at his guitar – somberly. Thankfully, "Slink" put on a show, moving about his small piece of the stage wearing an overkill wireless rig, tossing his bangs, and thrashing his guitar. The audience loved "Goth Girl Summer" (despite the seasonal dysmorphia) and were delighted when the foursome debuted its equally jocund sequel, "Let's Stay Together for the Cruise." I was now on board. A Taking Back Sunday cover arrived late in the set, which allowed Ernstmann's vocals to shine. Horne’s spotlight moment came between songs, playing an electronic drum pad while the others tuned. You know, I'm not sure he played it during the set at all. That is one mystery that will have to wait until I see the band again – and there will be a next time.

So how does a three-band bill featuring a good band, a meh band, and a mystery band stack up against the all-time greats? Well, it's not Hendrix opening for The Monkees, but I'd do it again.