Decision paralysis is real. There were a million shows in Kansas City to choose from, and for a while I thought I should just stay home to avoid making the wrong choice. Of course, no show is the worst choice of them all, so eventually I picked the benefit gig, packed my camera, and drove to Blip Roasters in the West Bottoms.

Heat Seger opened the night. This was the draw for me. The '70s-leaning power pop act had been on hiatus since an intra-band romantic disentanglement sidelined the project a year ago, but now, with a new drummer in tow, the quintet has reappeared. This is good news for all lovers of gentle pop rock melodies and superb songcraft. Both Pete Mouton and Joe Montanaro (fka Joey Rubs) write songs, play guitar, and provide lead vocals. This sounds like the beginning of an episode of Behind the Music where five years later the band splits up because neither was happy with their portion of the royalties from the third album, but for now it works. Montanaro gets to play the leads. Maybe they arm wrestle for that, or maybe he's just so skillful at playing hot solos with a strong flow and sense of purpose. Brian Klein plays bass, Vincent Lawhon is the group's new drummer, and Jake Cardwell provides auxiliary percussion via maracas, busted tambourines, and a floor tom. The last two provide an interesting tandem. Like the group's first drummer, Lawhon plays simple supporting patterns without any cymbals at all. This is fortunate, because Lawhon is a guitarist and engineer by trade, not a drummer. Cardwell has always filled in the rest of the percussion and offered the pizzazz. The opener's short, truncated set ended with a cover of Dion's 1976 never-a-hit "Only You Know." If you chose a gig other than this one, there is good news – Heat Seger appears to be an ongoing concern again, and I'm told another show will be announced soon.

Blip is a coffee shop. Or maybe a coffee roaster. Or a motorcycle shop. Or maybe it's a performance venue. The better lights and bigger PA make a case for the latter. No matter what it is, I'm a fan of any venue where I can sit on a comfy couch, out of the way, and still see the stage. I think I made the right choice.

Second Hand King was up next. Any local band I'm unfamiliar with is a draw. And maybe a mystery too. How have I never run across a Kansas City musician that has already released a handful of albums over the last fifteen years? Wild. The project is the solo offering of Joe Stanziola. At Blip, he was supported by a laptop that delivered the backing tracks necessary to realize his vision of catchy pop songs built from alternative hip-hop and a left-field love of doo-wop. The experiment started out on unsteady footing. Stanziola's sung vocals were rough. He confessed it had been two years since his last performance. Thankfully, after the first number Stanziola and his voice settled in, the sport coat came off, and the show was on. The thirty-minute set that followed bounced and bopped. Some cuts pulled in Stanziola's love for doo-wop, while others – such as "Mr. Somebody" that sampled from Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" – looked even further back for inspiration. Maybe that was the one that got the audience going, because somewhere in the set, three or four standers became dancers. The closer fell in line with alt hip-hop progenitors like Sage Francis and Atmosphere, highlighting Stanziola's emotional flow. A half hour isn't enough time to make up for my decade-plus of neglect, so I think another show is in order. Well, that is if Second Hand King is truly back in the game.

The evening continued with the familiar sounds of Tidal.wav. Familiar to me anyway, so I'm not going to write a whole lot more. The fourpiece is fronted by Alex Smith (vocals/guitar) but built by Alex Lewis (lead guitar), Josh Gomez (bass) and AJ Ruizdechavez (drums). The guys are exceptionally kind and friendly, and that is always a draw. Also, each member is essential to the act's bright cosmopolitan pop. Smith's sung vocals are always confident and controlled, Lewis' guitar tones are otherworldly and engaging, and Gomez provides all the movement with fingered bass and some eyes-closed vibing. Normally Ruizdechavez's drumming is light and jazzy, though on this night it pushed into the spotlight a bit more, urging the group forward – he must've been in a rock mood. Still there was plenty of shimmering pop from this always-on and well-rehearsed quartet. There was no time for canned banter in the band's short set – only for a quick plug of its recent (digital-only) EP and to thank the Kansas City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America who organized the event. And then that was it.

Coincidentally that was it for a lot of the crowd as well. After 9:30 the room had nearly halved. Whatever Blip is, it seems to be a place you start your Friday night out, not where you finish it.

Before the night's final act played, a rep from KCDSA climbed on stage to explain the mission of the DSA. He also shared the evening's tally – $1900 had been collected, which would allow the organization to purchase and forgive nearly $200K of medical debt. Contributing to that mission was definitely a draw. Another benefit (a punk show) was scheduled for the next week at Sk8bar, and a third (a comedy show) set for May 7th at the Bird Comedy Theatre. The organization's shirt emblazoned with "Free Healthcare for All" is a great way to support the group's mission and remind everyone who sees you that the US medical system is absurd.

And then it was time for The Short Circuits. This quartet has been around since 2021, but, again, was new to me. That's one final draw. Frontman Nick Sloan might be a cowboy – all boot and hat and belt signs point to yes. He introduced the first song thusly: "This song is about going on a date with someone and finding out that they don't know about the holocaust. It's called 'Oh No.'" Yes. More of this. What followed was a set that pinged around between pop and funk and rock, often landing in the middle. Oh, and there was the punk one that Sloan suggested we might want to throw elbows to. And, of course, the hard rock one where Sloan's sung pop vocals were replaced with shouts and an impressive rock scream. Did I mention the reggae "Cat Girl Thighs" with its strong upstrokes provided by rhythm guitarist Luke Jenkins? All night there were plenty of quick guitar stabs and bluesy Santana-esque solos from lead guitarist Jack Roccaro and his flying V. Sloan's bass work shifted from fingered to picked. If he slapped it, I have successfully erased that from my memory. Drummer Connor Sloan got to sing one in addition to delivering strong hi-hat work. The band's thirty-five-minute set was played to thirty of forty people – most were friends, some were dancers, and one was me, mostly watching from the couch, head cocked like a German Shepherd hoping to hear his favorite word.

A little after 10:30 it was over. I packed my bag and beelined for the car. I'll never be sure if I chose the right show, but I do know that going out to see live music, rather than being overwhelmed by the options, is always the right choice.