Arbor Labor Union, the first of three unique supporting acts for Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band’s stint at Union Pool, was a carefully crafted cocktail of most things I love about music. One part Television, two parts Merle Haggard’s outlaw catalog, one part Light Up Gold-era Parquet Courts, which I guess functioned as the mixer. I try to avoid the word “angular”— it’s often utilized as a cop-out to describe well-performed, interlocking guitar work—however, it’s fit to describe Arbor Labor Union as such because that angularity extended far beyond performance: it was so present in the room that it became entirely physical for them. Herky-jerky movement, shimmying back and forth on stage, bouncing anxiously up and down and up and down again. A cocktail I’d pay good money for. “Borrowed Time” came on the house music after their set concluded. I knew it, I thought. 

Silk Fence read the room flawlessly at the matinee performance. Their concoction of improvised post-rock-meets-drum-and-bass could equally serve a show of early afternoon closed-eyed coffee-drinkers as well as a packed evening club. Upright bass, guitar, drums, a tape-machine. It was exactly what was called for and nothing more — rising and falling, suspending itself in drone several times until it reached handfuls of bite-sized, controlled demolitions. I saw what looked like a picture-score at the guitarist’s feet. That method of composition is maybe the only way that Silk Fence’s unique genre-blend can be executed. 

Animal Piss, It’s Everywhere is maybe the funniest band name I’ve heard in a long time. They were, for lack of better phrasing, the most genuine and lived-in slacker rock group I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing. Equally funny and just serious enough, APIE kicked off their set with lyrics so deft and clever that I’m shocked they haven’t been penned before. To paraphrase: “I like Jesus / he turned water into wine / now I’m gonna drink wine all the time.” There was a diehard APIE fan directly to my left, and by the last chorus of the aforementioned track, we had our arms draped around each other and were lightly singing that song of praise together. That sort of instant camaraderie is an incredibly rare feeling, and APIE conjured it in the audience with the ease of drinking wine with dinner.