Vocalist Jon Rogers sang one song called "Trailer Park" -- a charming tale of underworld dementia -- and elsewhere he led a chorus of "One day they'll legalize love, and everyone will sing together."

The Muncie-based group and Bloomington's well-traveled John Wilkes Booze share a "blues explosion" vibe. The X-factor? Perhaps the free time and free thinking of their collegiate environments.

Stylish, emerging rock bands Ambulance, Ltd., and VHS or Beta delivered fantastic shows during the second day of the Midwest Music Summit, but no act provided more pure thrills than one playing through an inadequate sound system at an out-of-the-way nightclub.

Everything, Now! combined elements of classic rock and twee pop to energize an already fired-up audience at the Hideaway on Hillside.

Boasting a head-banging bass player as well as a xylophone specialist, Everything, Now! were suggestive of Belle & Sebastian if that U.K. collective drank plenty of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer (or brands such as Genessee or Buckhorn that line the Hideaway's walls).

The previously mentioned Ambulance, Ltd., (hailing from New York City) and VHS or Beta (Louisville) played at the Patio in Broad Ripple. The former rolled out lengthy, tension-filled guitar passages reminiscent of the Velvet Underground.

Few people can hear vocalist Craig Pfunder of '80s revival act VHS or Beta and resist making a comparison to the Cure's Robert Smith. But the band's beat-conscious bass player, Mark Palgy, holds the key to group's surprisingly fresh sound.

Over at the Far Eastside's Emerson Theater, a lineup of hardcore punk bands attracted hundreds of loyalists.

Local favorites the Dream is Dead obliterated the concepts of melody and chorus to make way for vocalist Clark Giles' authoritative shouts.

The long-limbed founder of a record label called Happy Couples Never Last stalked the stage as he screamed for social change.
08.14.04