When I walked in the door at 7:40 Deco Auto was already on its second song. I can only assume that frontman Steven Garcia didn't want me there since he told me only twenty minutes earlier that the band wouldn’t go on until 8pm. So, respecting his wishes, I made my way quietly to the back of the club and watched unseen and from a distance. Just kidding, I stood up front, took photos, and gave him guff. It wasn't hard to find my way to the stage, the room couldn't have had over twenty people in it including the staff. From my front row perch I peered at the set list. Ten songs including several new ones sandwiched right in the middle. Good. I wasn't too late.

Deco Auto has been around for a long time. No one actually knows how long, least of all the band's only constant member, Steven Garcia. Through the years the band has stayed true to a sort of '90s power-pop sound that might actually just be the world's softest pop-punk. It's good, but audiences have no idea what to do with it. Joining Garcia on stage was vocalist Tracy Flowers, bassist Marc Bollinger, and drummer Keith Howell. This was once considered the alternate line-up of the band (that's a long story) but is now the de facto configuration. Garcia handles half the lead vocals, while Flowers manages the other half. He pushes much harder than she does. Both have backing vocal duties as does Bollinger. Together the foursome bopped along behind racing guitar and buoyant rhythms. Rather loosely on this night, if we're being honest. Of course it's hard to bring your A game in a big room at 7:45 when there is no audience, so Garcia just let his guitar ring out preposterously long at the end of every song and chatted up friends in the audience during the breaks instead. We can call it even.

The three new songs I had come to hear were good. And one of them fantastic. While Garcia brings finished songs to the band, I suspect these are the first that were made real with his new band. The rock drumming of Howell added a no-nonsense punch that led songs further into punk and away from pop. After cutting the setlist from ten to nine songs to ensure an on-time departure, the band closed with 2015's "One of a Million", then made way for the headliner.

Diva Bleach, from what I gather (neither their band nor their publicist would confirm my assumptions), is the project of vocalist Sydney Roten (surely a pseudonym) and guitarist Brie Ritter. The duo formed as a trio back in Phoenix during the height of the pandemic but lost a member at some point. Worry not, the duo has gained two new members (possibly only touring members mind you) in an unnamed guitarist and drummer. A string of digital-only singles has poured out of the project since 2020, but, as of yet, the band hasn't manifested anything physical.

Roten took the stage in big boots, a short skirt, and multi-colored hair. She's the early twenties embodiment of Rainbow Brite. For most of the set she pogoed about the stage – often in unison with her bandmates – working the audience well. Very well. After the first song she asked the assembled if anyone had heard of the band before, half of the hands in the room went up. Roten smiled, satisfied with that count knowing this was the band's first time in Kansas City. Maybe it was the band's first real tour entirely. Again, I'm just spitballing here.

The band's songs are the most buoyant of emo pop, not far from where Avril Lavigne took us in the 2000s. It's cute, it's catchy, it's got just enough guts to arouse, and enough heartbreak to comfort. Roten's vocals stole the show, but the backing vocals and guitars on each side of the stage were solid. Preprogrammed backing tracks added occasional sheen but were most noticeable when serving as transitions between songs. The drums, however, were real. Very real and sometimes overbearingly rock & roll. That jagged spur may have been intentional. In the middle of the set Roten picked up a bass, allowing Ritter her own room to play. An intro drowned in chorus in one song and a curiously asynchronous guitar lead in another stripped away some of the earlier polish. Were these older songs from a more brash time or sassy statements to prove a point? I wasn't sure, but, as pained as I am to say it, I preferred the slickly programmed and cloying portion of the set with coordinated dance moves. Thankfully, Roten's time on bass was limited and the sticky sweetness returned as the band worked toward its finale. In fact, that's where the 30-minute set hit its choreographed apex.

The room was all smiles at the end of the night. The band's young fans were delighted. Deco Auto's fans were surprised at how much they enjoyed a band that was undoubtably aimed at a different demographic. The happy bar staff were packing up and it wasn't enough 9pm. And Steve Garcia loved it. Makes sense, Diva Bleach is the perfect band for those that refuse to choose between pop and punk.