Neon Reverb an eclectic gathering

Two of the dudes practically played patty-cake with their effects rigs.

Hunched over at the lip of the stage, slapping at the distortion pedals that lay at their feet, they conjured up thick swells of noise and sustain that hung in the air like cumulus clouds of distortion.

It was a loud, climactic end to a loud, climactic set by L.A.'s The Warlocks, who filled the Aruba Showroom with dry ice and dissonance on Friday night as it turned into Saturday morning.

Three guitarists, one hair flingin' bassist and a drummer whose kick drum sounded as if it were loaded with M-80s crafted equally dense and delicate jams that tended to start at a slow boil, with a melodic, hypnotic drone, before cresting in a high tide of buzzing amplifiers.

The Warlocks were one of many highlights of the third installment of the Neon Reverb music fest, which spanned three days, nearly a dozen venues and more than 100 acts. Substantial crowds at many shows testified to the continued development of the event, which is due to return next spring.

It was an eclectic gathering of metalheads at Boomers on Saturday night, fearlessly freaky jam band die-hards at the Aruba last Thursday and the indie rock in-crowd, which was pretty much everywhere at all times.

If there's a critique of Neon Reverb it's that it's so spread out all over town that it doesn't always feel like a cohesive, unified event as much as a slew of good shows. But to be honest, the lineups tended to be strong enough at each venue that you seldom felt compelled to go anywhere else anyway.

Things got going in earnest this go-round last Thursday evening, where L.A.'s Kid Theodore opened eyes and ears early at the Beauty Bar with some hard swinging garage pop that included a teeth-rattling take on Tom Petty's "American Girl."

"This one's a real rattlesnake, so tie your shoes," their frontman instructed at one point before clapping his knees together, leaning into his instrument and diving back into his band's sharp-elbowed rock 'n' roll.

They were followed by the seven-piece The Most Serene Republic, who came with brightly hued, full-bodied indie pop and a frontman who convulsed on the mic as if an electrical current was being passed through his body.

Friday night's fireworks were especially bright at the aforementioned Aruba bill, where locals the Skooners had a smiley, sizable crowd dancing well past 2 a.m.

On Saturday, the Clydesdale filled the Bunkhouse while commemorating the release of their latest CD. They were joined by snarlin' punk blues duo The Mad Caps, who stomped and stormed their way through some spare and gritty rock primitivism, and Neon Reverb returnees Leopold and His Fiction, who let their freak folk flag fly high once again.

And that was just a taste of what went down throughout the weekend, where too much was never enough and the underground overwhelmed yet again.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.