You know what's crazy? Right now, some misguided bastard is out there complaining that new bands don't make good music anymore. He's joined by someone lame who says they don't go to see live music anymore because it's too expensive. Folks, I'm here to tell you that sort of talk is foolishness and malarkey. And as proof, I present this $10 Friday night gig at Hillsiders.

It was probably ten o'clock when Champ took the stage. The trio is built around the guitar and vocals of Bennett Weaver. Although he's been in a million bands since I first saw him as Killakee Kat ten years ago, he's still barely old enough to be in the bars. The rhythm section of bassist Jack Marsh and drummer Iggy Audley is no older and has been with him just as long, playing in most of his projects. The act started this night with a soundcheck like it was playing the Royal Albert Hall. If the stage isn't at least 24" tall, your first song is the soundcheck. Those are the rules, folks. But Champ is a rulebreaker. It's punk that outgrew the three-chord maximum and found a new sound mixing '90s power pop with the vocal push of post-hardcore and the tone sculpting of a shoegaze-obsessed gear hound. Onstage, that meant a big hollowbody guitar that shimmered and chimed through picked arpeggios before revving up for tasteful little solos with a punch, backed by a rambunctious rhythm section with more vigor than precision. That's just the way we like it here at Too Much Rock. While Champ keeps a low profile, it has released a couple of digital singles to the streaming services. If those aren't enough to prove that new bands are making good music, I don't know what to tell you.

(I have video of Champ performing but I can't post it until I hear from the band)

Just after eleven o'clock Heat Seger took the stage. It played no soundcheck. There's a power sharing agreement in this quintet, with both Pete Moulton and Joe Montanaro (aka Joey Rubs) offering their own compositions, lead vocals, and guitar. The agreement seems to be holding, as the two blended their voices well, and even offered rare, yet highly effective, harmonies. Behind them was the often-sedate rhythm section of bassist Brian Klein and drummer Vincent Lawhon, and the never-sedate auxiliary percussion of Jake Cardwell. Jake played tambourine and whatever noisemakers he could concoct during craft hour at the institution he's otherwise kept in. His leaps were the only real show onstage. Well, that is if you don't count me gesticulating wildly during a cover of the (kinda) Beatles song "Real Love." Heat Seger's take dropped the piano, transformed Montanaro's guitar into a cello, and instead of being produced by the mind of Jeff Lynne, this one surely sprang from the loins of Nick Lowe. As for the band's original material, much of it recalls mid-'70s power-pop artists. Niche. Infectious. Montanaro is perpetually writing new tunes and always recording demos, but so far, the group has only released a couple of digital singles. Let's hope that changes soon, as tunes this good will make you forget all about those old Raspberries records.

Because the cover was so low I treated myself to a $3 can of ginger beer between acts. I'm a high roller.

Flamin' Ghoulies wrapped up the night. This fivesome is led by the vocals and guitar of Zack Goodrich. You probably know him from other bands too. This is his rock 'n' roll project, and the quintet has ingested everything from '50s doo-wop to '90s power pop to create its sound. To my ear, he has particularly gorged himself on the UK's late '70s mod-revival era. The sound is jangly, edgy, and invites dancing. One Plimsouls-esque number still has me tapping my toes. Bassist Jackie Bryan was relatively quiet until she introduced a lovely walking bassline in the fourth or fifth song, and eventually took over vocals and guitar for two numbers late in the set. Drummer Guthrie Bricker also took the microphone and guitar for a couple – the first a real rock 'n' roll number and the second a cover of "Da Doo Ron Ron" that owed more to the bubblegum of Shaun Cassidy than it did the R&B of the Crystals' original. I suspect that's also the way Too Much Rock likes it. The leads and solos of Isaac Castro were consistently melodic and tasty all night long. And what about second percussionist Alex Kroenke? I dunno, they sat on the other side of the stage from me, presumably shaking their shakers – out of my line of sight and the reach of the PA.

The set ended with Goodrich back on guitar and vocals for "She Cast Her Spell on Me." If you'd like to hear it, then you're going to have to work for it. Flamin' Ghoulies has an apparent aversion to social media, releasing music, and announcing shows. Hey, I only said there are new bands making good music and that you can see them for a song, I never said that finding them was going to be easy.