The summer of giving bands short shrift continues.

Teri Quinn and the Coyotes began at 7:30. I'm not sure if the whole "and the Coyotes" thing is officially part of the project's name at this point, or if it's just a clue that Quinn isn't doing a solo show. Accordingly, there were three coyotes (guitar, bass, drums) on this night. The first song had a poppy bounce to it, but the set quickly gave way to darker and darker tones as the compositions grew more emotional and intense. It's indie rock. But indie folk too. Quinn's banjo and plaintive voice ensure the latter, while the coyotes push the former. Dub overtones deepened the hypnotic vibe. Lyrical, Knopfler-esque guitar leads were compelling. Midway through the set, Quinn switched to electric guitar. The shift culminated in the moody rocker that capped the quartet's thirty-minute set. Quinn has sampled a number of musical genres through the years, but this era is my favorite. When the new single drops later this month, I think you'll agree.

MX Vs. The Railroad Industry followed. This is the project of Wichita's Max Logan. On this tour Logan brought a trio of backing musicians (guitar, bass, drums). Logan explained his curious band name: it seems he's had it out for trains ever since moving to an area with heavy rail traffic. That put us on different sides of an ideological (and possibly autistic) divide from the start. The band's long forty-minute set of indie pop with heavy jazz fusion overtones didn't mend any fences. While I could find joy in the occasionally funky, R&B-infused bass work, the perpetual guitar solos and suffocating drums were too much for me. A Mac DeMarco cover never wins me over and the deconstructed take of Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" only soured me further. There's a sect of Spotify users (26,661 this month alone) and TikTok influencers who find the bop in this, but for me, I side with the locomotive in this fight.

How I stumbled on Petite League in 2021 is lost to time. But however it happened, I recall filing my copy of Joyrider under garage in my music library. Since then, I've followed the band through two more albums and a sonic shift that has smoothed the act's garage and power pop into modern indie pop ripe for inclusion in a Spotify playlist. Thankfully the lyrics of Lorenzo Gillis Cook remain impeccable, and thus my admiration holds steady. Cook was touring with three compatriots (guitar/keys, bass, drums) who played a fifty-minute, fourteen-song set built upon bright bedroom pop and delivered with a bounce. Guitars chimed and jangled perfectly. Drums ebbed and flowed, smartly making room for melodies to take the spotlight. The new tracks were particularly strong. "NYCBs" found the perfect balance between serious and playful. The melodic keyboard solo in "Rain Dogs" was a delight. Cook waved off my song request but promised he'd play it next time. That's a promise made, Petite League, and I'm holding you to it. In return, I promise to provide you with ample shrift.