A band is its own competition. Of all the speed bumps and land mines a band encounters on the road to ruin, the ones inside the camp are the most lethal. "Hang up the phone and get out. The call is coming from inside the house." So with that in mind, I stood there watching Red Hot Mess make a red hot mess on the Bug Jar stage Tuesday night. Though this band is fronted by The UV Rays' Kevin Wilcox, we were not seeing The UV Rays. This is what Wilcox referred to as "the next logical step." I will say this, via the sometimes lazy and hackneyed music critic parlance where bands are used in sweeping comparisons, or as out-and-out verbs, Red Hot Mess sounds like a rock band hijacked by The UV Rays. Or perhaps by pirates.

Once the smoke cleared, the young punks in The Kujats followed, celebrating the release of a new CD. The band was relatively static on stage, holding on tight as it blasted fairly tight and fast. The band was quite loud, but these kids are alright with me. Hell, they pulled off "Pretty Vacant."