Cloud Nothings are a band with one foot squarely in the past, with a sound revelling in what actually made the “grunge” era of the nineties good (if you want to listen to a band who revelled in the worst of grunge, check out Creed – better yet, don’t). Their other foot, though, is stamping around or flung in the air while crowdsurfing, because these guys get straight to the business of putting on a kickass show (one that clearly appealed to an older crowd – the most gray hairs I’ve seen at a gig since Gang of Four).

Their late afternoon gig kicked off with “Fall In,” carrying enough raucous energy to drag me from the bar line (I was minutes from an overpriced midstrength drink, dammit!). Their set was short but made time for the incredible “Wasted Days,” which stretched for ten minutes of old-fashioned full-throttle guitars; it was a bitter, passionate roar, and vocalist Dylan Baldi held nothing back when chanting “I thought! I would! Be more! Than this!” – I wondered if he’d still have his voice by the end of the tour with that level of intensity. A muscular rendition of “No Future/No Past” closed their impressive set.