In the second of a concert trifecta of sorts last weekend, yours truly arrived at Kobo with a shamefully small crowd for Bad Veins, Emily & the Complexes and Jesse Remnant.

Jesse Remnant, performed around a half hour of melancholy original songs, which sounded more depressing than usual – or so I’m told by patrons that are familiar with his full band performances. I’ll take their word for it. His stage presence I wish was a bit more pronounced, but maybe that’s just his personality. I don’t wish for people to perform like someone they’re not.

Emily and the Complexes performed the middle portion of the evening, entrancing Kobo with their folk-influenced alternative rock/punk. Actually, even using the phrase punk is a huge stretch. Forgive me if I’m extrapolating that word from an imaginary source, but anyway the band was more restrained than I expected. They really vibed well with me, though and I was left wondering why I haven’t given this touring Columbus act a chance sooner. Moody rock that would actually complement other IATU favorites The Wind and the Sea permeated the club in a way that was therapeutic.

Cincinnati duo Bad Veins wrapped up the show with a performance that was obviously tailored for a much bigger stage. The Alt-J meets Twenty One Pilots duo were there to make people dance, but placed more emphasis on the ambient alternative sound than the electronica schizoid pop that Twenty One Pilots has branded themselves with. Drummer Jake Bonta put his all into the performance in front of the 50 or so people in attendance and Ben Davis sang with gusto, all the while being surrounded by a seizure-inducing array of light bulbs, not unlike something you’d see at a Fever Fever show. Anyway, the effort behind the performance, combined with the strength of the songwriting was such that afterword the few that were present (relatively speaking) crowded the merch table and talked excitedly with Ben and Jake for a long time. I may or may not have been in that group. Bad Veins are unique and they have the ability, with their unique stage set up to try to separate themselves from the alternative stream of bands coming out of Cincinnati right now. People just need to get to a show that involves them. Here’s hoping they make their way onto the 2014 festival circuit in some way…x