Starting it off with The Neighborhood Threat, a 5-piece punk band. They have a nice, classic sort of first-wave sound, a la The Ramones or The Kinks. On stage leading the charge is Kevin Murphy on vocals, screaming his heart out and throwing himself around. Supporting him are Quinn Pokora on lead guitar, Tim Casey on rhythm, Alec Montoya on bass and Dave Catanese on drums. First up is a song called “Escape” and Murphy seems intent on doing just that, falling to his knees and writhing during the breakdown, Casey politely headbanging along, before transitioning into “Nightmares”. “Pretty good for a Thursday night” quips Murphy. Next is “Rose Gallery”, declared favorite of the band. Starting off with a languid bass intro from Montoya, we are soon launched into a wall of rock. Montoya starts bopping around a bit now too, making jokes with Catanese.

After is “Midnight”, during which Murphy stepped on his mic chord, but they manage it well. Then comes “Razorblade”, a song about “Toxic love.” Someone in the crowd yells “I love that song!” to which Murphy replies “Yo me too, cut me baby,” diving in headfirst with a yowl. This number is fast, needy and anxious, that has the rest of the band dancing along like tin men, compelled to move their rusty joints by their trusty magician.

They close out with a high riff from Pokora, with a tight, tapping arpeggio. This next one is a bit different from the rest of the set, called “Violet Marie”, about “Falling in love with a stripper.” Catanese plays with just sticks, cymbals, and rimshots, while Pokora and Casey fill in with some sweet, jazzy, broken chords. Montoya cuts in with a bass riff, which devolves into a more familiar punk sound.

Next up is Sweetie! Three extremely sweet people, who let me buzz anxiously around them and Mary before the show. Fronted by Birdy V on guitar and vocals, she is supported by Joe Soldati on upright bass and Ryan G on drums. Even just from soundcheck, you can tell all three are just some goofy people, having fun and doing what they love on stage, messing around and joking with each other. Set up and ready to go, Birdy yells to a near empty room “Hey everybody at the bar! If you don’t hurry up and come in here, none of you are invited to my birthday party!” (“Or subsequent orgy!” supplies Joe). Ultimatum set, we run right ahead into “Catholic Boy”, an almost ‘Planet Claire’ style drawling, cheeky, serenade. “We are Sweetie, thank you for the encouragement, it’s a weeknight,” quips Birdy. “Cold beer is good for your voice, right?”

With vocals only in French, Birdy serenades us through “La Vie”, backed by wistful rimshots. With syllables murmuring like the ocean, Birdy rolls her eyes for the octave change in the verse, a lonely thing with just her, pausing, then the rest of the band rushing in to help. Joe solos the intro for “Howl”, the next song, with Birdy winding up with some sick feedback on guitar. With a yowl, we are thrown into the song, Joe leading the charge with his bass. And for a massive instrument, he throws it around like dancing a foxtrot, laying it across his lap and leaning back, lunging towards Birdy, and finally almost sawing it in half through the finish. 

Finally, Lollygagger! A veteran, Chicago, 3-piece punk band. Before I found Mary and Sweetie, I was anxiously huddled at the bar (and getting carded for ordering a ginger ale). A particularly awful Nic Cage movie was playing on the TV, and I managed to calm down a little listening to these three dudes rip poor Nic apart. Lo and behold, they ended up being the headliners! Go figure. On vocals and guitar, we have Matthew Muffin, wearing a mechanics jumpsuit. On bass is Kinsey Ring and drumming is Michael Sunnycide, wearing a vest with patches, gelled hair in a mohawk, and one of the aforementioned ball gags around his neck. Starting off with a song “About a bar, not this bar, but essential to the Liars Club Lollygagger experience” is “Liars Club”. Mr. Muffin, putting most of his effort into screaming, is supported by a sick riff from Ring.

“So, despite the name, my boss is actually a really nice guy, but I want you to imagine YOUR boss, and punching him right in the face!”, we’re dragged screaming into “My Boss Is a Dick”, with simple chords and just cymbals. Muffin rages through the chorus, laughing maniacally as if at an ironic joke, Sunnycide and Ring nodding along in collusion. Ring solos out of there, hand crawling over his bass like a spider, while Muffin looks on both delighted and impressed. Matthew takes this moment to introduce the band, calling himself “Dingus Khan, with drums from Michael Sunnycide, and Mr. Wizard Fingers himself on bass… Everybody say, ‘I love you Sweetie’ (“I don’t love no man” from Birdy), I love you Neighborhood Threat! This next song is about sausages, cause that’s what my drunk drummer is yelling at me. It’s called ‘Might Methuselah’s Salami’.”

“You know, 8-year-old me would be stoked, yelling about sausages to a room full of people. I’ve always been a fan of tubular meat.” Somewhere within that sausage story, Sunnycide donned a ball gag. They blast through this song, with Sunnycide opening his eyes wide during the chorus, and (trying) to scream along.