It's pretty rare to see a line-up like this at a place like this at a time like this at a price like this. Harkening back to better days when Rout 196 was still open, Jess & Pat's hosted a stacked line-up on an early Sunday evening.
Nikki Nava opened the evening with a short but sweet set that featured old and new songs. Bird Dens followed up with a groovy and moving performance that felt a bit lacking due to the subdued drums but still a solid set nonetheless. Ang Bandang Shirley returned for their break with crowd favorites and also featured guest bassist Marc Inting of Spacedog Spacecat who released a new album the previous night. Band of the evening Rusty Machines played an interesting set with Miko using samples in lieu of drums for their first set which gave more of a lo-fi feel to some songs. They played with a full drum kit for the 2nd set and it took me on a nostalgia trip to Route 196, Mow's, and their album launch.
My only gripe with the event is that the sets felt hamstrung by not letting the bands play louder. Bird Dens and Rusty Machines sound better with them at 100% so maybe some more soundproofing especially around the drums would help control the sound. The event was a great way to cap off an awesome weekend of music and recovery from COVID.