I'm perpetually behind. Sometimes I think I should cut my losses, skip the undocumented gigs that hang over me like the sword of Damocles, and start fresh with the next show. Enticing. But then I think about all the folks who stumble upon my write-ups twenty years later and email me such kind notes. Most of the time I write to augment my own memory, but this one is for you.

KC Bear Fighters is a five-piece. Incredibly, it's been the same five-piece for decades – Quinn McCue (lead vocals/guitar), Jeff Williams (lead guitar), Grant Buell (keyboards), Sean McCue (bass), and Bobby Evans (percussion). The quintet played a long opening set of often-humorous songs whose influences spanned genres and decades. From old-timey jazz to '60s easy listening to cubano, all bases were covered. Lots of shakers and güiro. Lots of harmonies. And a song called "Metal, Satan, Weed, and Crime" with a strong bossa nova feel. KC Bear Fighters knows its audience.

Hello Biplane saw the opening quintet, said "hold my beer," and added a member. This Lawrence-based sextet is built around the core of Spencer Goertz-Giffen (vocals/rhythm guitar) and Braden Young (vocals/lead guitar), with Nate Holt (keyboards/accordion), Hugh Naughtin (cello/keyboards), Jeff Jackson (bass), and Austin Sinkler (drums) adding the flavor. The band was in town celebrating the release of its new album "How to Hold a Bug" and opted to play the entire album through in its running order. That meant an hour of warm and lived-in indie rock, countrified at times, illuminated by bright sunshine pop others. No bubblegum hooks, but plenty of rhythmic bounce, and a few muscular, bending guitar solos (especially in "Balloon"). Hello Biplane – of smart pop and no earplugs necessary.

Rejoice! for The Creepy Jingles are now entering another phase of activity. The now-quintet is still the project of Jocelyn Nixon (vocals/guitar), only now she's joined by a lot of new faces – Joseph Peaks (guitar), Gailen Gillespie (keys), Andrew Woody (bass), and Brian Hurtgen (drums). Most are not actually new faces to Kansas City music fans, just new to The Creepy Jingles lineup. The group's headlining set was short, starting with recent favorites and then sliding into a half dozen very new tracks. The first half are destined for the upcoming album Washed Up, due May 22. The rest, well, we'll just keep our fingers crossed. The new lineup often pushes compositions into maximalist pop territory. "Throw Me in Some Rice," in particular, was bigger and fuller than ever, now realized as swoon-worthy chamber-pop by the new lineup. But worry not, every song was still charmingly short. Good ideas were shared, then it was quickly off to the next one. Nixon's banter moved just as rapidly, barely addressing the late-night audience. She did stop to dedicate one song to the crowd, joking, "The rest were for me. This one's for you." Jocelyn gets it.