The Hue were on first. Although they seemed to be turned up to 11, they sounded better than I’ve ever heard them. Even my dad, who isn’t usually down with the Hue’s in your face brand of rock said that he enjoyed them more than he has before. Many of the new songs have really found their legs.

They often left me wondering what goes through the minds of these musical geniuses when they compose such complex songs. Eric Blumenfeld of Kinetix sat in for “Hot Giardiniera” and it wasn’t just the fans that were having a great time. A smile even replaced guitarist Jared Rabin’s usual rock face.

Martyrs really filled up as Kinetix opened up the set with “Own Mind.” The set was sprinkled with fan favorites such as “Mr. Sinister” and “People Start Hopping,” but it was the guests that really took this show up a notch. A couple songs after a killer cover of “Killing in the Name Of” the band called Jared Rabin up to the stage. Everyone went nuts as they launched into another great cover, “Hard to Handle.”

I’ve seen Jared play with these guys a few times, but never like this. It’s always fun to see the band having as much fun during a sit-in as the crowd is, and this was definitely one of those times. It happened again later in the night when Cornmeal’s Allie Kral and her fiddle took the stage for a rocking version of Phish’s “Funky Bitch.” The Kinetix set was mostly originals with these memorable covers sprinkled in. Perhaps I should have tried to review the show before I opted for margaritas by the pool-side in Vegas…. -A.S.