Truckers, you are not down yet! Buckle up as we’re speeding downhill and the brakes are already hot.

An early start saw Phasers to Kill take the stage at 7:30 to play the standards from the great punk rock songbook. There’s limited information about the band and what is out there is often contradictory. So, I get to make up stuff too. The group is fronted by Solana. They’re a performer. Lots of energy. Lots of shimmies, sassy head tilts, eyerolls, and intentional hand movements. Lots of chains and belts. A well-controlled vocal fry. The rest of the quintet (two guitars, bass, and drums) may have missed a turn and wound up at the wrong gig. They were strait-laced, lacked energy, and may not have cared much for punk rock. The rhythm guitarist played one of those headless, fanned-fret, ergonomic guitars that prog fusion acts use. The RHYTHM guitarist! Did I enjoy hearing my favorite Descendents tune ("Silly Girl")? Hell yeah. "Brickfield Nights" by The Boys? Goodness yes. And when Solana nailed the Kim Shattuck scream in "Big Mouth," my little Muff-missing heart began to ache. I don’t know where Phasers to Kill came from or where it’s going, but I’ll cross those bridges when I get there.

Drop a Grand was next on the route. Four characters (guitar/vocals, lead guitar, bass, drums) in strange masks and costumes. Well, they were strange fifteen years ago or whenever the project formed. Now they’re less terrifying, more familiar, and even somewhat comforting. Vocalist Gern Blanzden's costume had seen better days – his Nudie-styled jacket was ripped and his matching slacks were nowhere to be seen. Thankfully Unikron’s white denim was as tight as ever. The group played a thirty-minute set. Less banter than usual, though what the audience got was top shelf. Same songs that the project has been perfecting for its entire career. That’s reassuring too. Who doesn't want to hear "Existential Brother" and "Burrito Song" again? No one I wanna know, that's who. Does the quartet sound like Deep Purple? Early AC/DC? Dictators? Maybe a little. It’s rock ‘n’ roll with big solos and a strong bottom end. The members of Drop a Grand often claim to be Canadians sneaking over the border to play gigs. If that's the case, catch them while you can before Trump shuts down every bit of two-lane blacktop between here and Vancouver, BC.

The Darts deserve better than a glib paragraph, but that's all the act is gonna get. We'll dispense with the ten-year history and the list of members that have come and gone – we've got no time for detours. What we do have is four bad-ass ladies crashing together garage rock, surf, power pop, and '60s girl group to create some of the most infectious and memorable music out there. Vocals were sharp but honeyed – even soulful in a few numbers. Frontwoman Nicole Laureene is a spooky kitten and there were plenty of backing purrs from black cat guitarist Rebecca Davison, bassist Lindsay Scarey, & drummer Rikki Watson. What more do you need? Oh right, short Farfisa hits and runs – sometimes played by Laureene while lying on the stage floor with the organ pulled on top of her, and other times played with one leg propped up mounting the vintage instrument. The hour-long set probably included twenty songs with at least one from an upcoming album the group will record in August. While the foursome stopped the show to teach the audience a special dance for soon-to-be-hit "Midnight Creep," the room was swerving just fine on its own. Maybe there were only thirty people in the crowd, but every one of them sweated with the band and most left with a shirt. I hope that's enough for The Darts to bang a uey and come back to Kansas City with that new album.