Let's send you over to Sid with the weather. The thunderstorms have moved out of the area, leaving us with overcast skies for tonight's outdoor show at Velo Garage. The temperature is a pleasant 76° but with 97% humidity and a 74° dew point, it's going to feel sticky out there tonight. But good news for everyone, it looks like the concert will happen after all. Now back to you, Sid.

Small Victories took the stage down a man. Lead guitarist Josh Parton was either away at a family reunion, dead, or had been transformed into a goose – each of the remaining members provided a conflicting account. But that's Small Victories. They're a jovial sort of pop-punk band whose banter is packed full of private jokes, self-loathing, and intentional cringe. Richard Stone spent much of the set razzing his bandmates. The rest of the time he played active bass lines and provided strong backing vocals. Jeff Chitty's lyrics covered the classic themes of the genre, upgraded with surprisingly smart turns of phrase. His rhythm guitar didn't attempt to cover the missing solos, though in the middle of one number he did announce "Josh usually plays a really cool guitar part here" just so everyone could imagine something awesome. Ahh, the theater of the mind. The humidity played havoc with his strings, leaving him perpetually out of tune. Drummer Matt Cook reported no such trouble with his kit, but was forced to lose his shirt early into the set. The dew point didn't seem to impact his shellacked mohawk. Late in the nearly forty-minute set, the act played its usual cover of "Stand By Me," which is far better than you're imagining, but the highlight was a new one called "Just One Step." That one pushes beyond the Fat Wreck mold, toward something more akin to blue-collar heartland punk of The Menzingers. Yes, please.

Between performers I noted the lunatics were running the asylum. The Velo Garage staff was off doing bike-y things, leaving the punks outside unsupervised. It's as if the bands were told "Sure, you can use the place, just don't burn it down." The venue's sound guy did play "Trash Stains" by Microwave and I liked that.

Deco Auto started just after 9pm. Lit incandescent bulbs hung in pleasing catenary curves above the stage. A big moon occasionally peeked out from behind quick-moving clouds. My website says I've seen Deco Auto twenty-four times. This was only the second show I'd seen them headline. Proverbial support band. Classic also-rans. Notorious underachievers. The act's sound is always a mix of pop-punk, power pop, and indie pop. Steven Garcia and Tracy Flowers share vocals – sometimes trading songs, sometimes trading lines, sometimes overlapping. The latter sounded especially good in the night air. Garcia complained his hand wouldn't slide along the neck of his guitar in the humidity. His always-coifed hair managed the weather better. He joked afterwards that he used Gorilla Glue. At least I think he was joking. Keith Howell delivered the bouncing percussion in the still-unreleased "To Shreds." Someday they'll get around to releasing another album. But life sometimes gets in the way.

Recently Flowers took a several-month hiatus to focus on school. The trio continued to practice without her, promoting bassist Marc Bollinger to vocalist in a full-on gonzo move. This feral version of the band ended the night offering up five or six Ramones covers. Flowers stood to the side of the stage learning of the tomfoolery that happens when she's away. Meanwhile, I stood shoulder to shoulder with Jeff Chitty in the middle of the gravel patio belting out "Blitzkrieg Bop" and getting sweaty. Just like the weatherman predicted.