A year ago I sat in a plastic Adirondack chair on the gravel patio at Velo Garage on a pleasant Friday night watching Rude Cousin and Nan + the One Nite Stands. Beyond that, well, I guess I don't remember much. So, in an effort to rectify that, I decided to do it all over again. "Second verse, same as the first" as the saying goes.

Rude Cousin is still a band of cousins and exactly which one is the rude one is still a mystery. They all seem exceptionally nice. The family act played DIY pop that was a bit punk, a bit twee, and a tad riotous. We used to call it cuddlecore in the '90s. I might still call it that now. The group consists of Rita Hanch (vocals), Anna Redmond (vocals/guitar/keys), Elle Hanch (bass/vocals), Brock Johnson (guitar), and Dustin Mott (drums). Rita was in the mood to dance. Redmond bounced along with her as her instrumental duties allowed. The two usually sang together – sometimes in harmony, sometimes blending their voices, sometimes just singing at the same time. Elle was tapped for three-part harmonies in a song or two. This is a new (and welcome) development. Most of the set skewed toward the cloying with buoyant melodies and demure guitar leads. "I'll Be Cool" executed the formula flawlessly, while the new "Paychecks from Hell" blew it all up. The latter is a venomous anti-ICE number that featured an ostentatious drum solo, a conspicuous guitar solo, and plenty of shouted profanity. Afterwards Rita scanned the crowd for her family, asking "You like that one, mom?" Yep, that's cuddlecore.

As the sun set behind the GM Assembly Plant at 8:30, the lightbulbs strung over the patio turned on, a cool settled over the yard, and the stage was handed over to Nan + the One Nite Stands. Everything seemed familiar. Nan is Nan Turner who sings and plays electric guitar. The One Nite Stands are whoever she's pulled into her chaotic web of merriment. On this night it was Rita Hanch (for backing vocals and synchronized dance routines) and Dustin Mott (for percussion). The first part of the set was full of pop rock tunes built upon Turner's pop culture-infused lyrics, her strummed guitar that featured strong dynamics and a real sense of rhythm, and Hanch's vocal harmonies. Mott added a nice punch. Both Turner and Hanch are improvisers. Mott has had to become one. Between every song Turner adopted a different accent. It wasn't planned. Turner seemed surprised, only offering "The characters are really coming out tonight" as an explanation. There were several new cuts – one of which Turner introduced as "a saddie," noting that it would be released soon. "A lot of these songs will be," she quickly added. After that one, the backing tracks were introduced, bald caps came out, and Turner and Hanch transformed into Scott Hamilton and Verne Lundquist to perform a number from Turner's "Sequins Before Noon" musical. Afterwards I think the set bridged into a synthpop affaire and, well, it seems I've done it again and lost the details. Whatever happened, I'm sure that I had fun and I know that I look forward to next year's installment where I promise to buckle down, have no fun, and take fastidious notes instead. Or maybe not. Don't they also say, "Third verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a little bit worse?"