Pink, yellow, and green lights softly lit up the Mill, as the clink of beer pints and quiet chatter of its patrons on the Wednesday night provided the gentle ambiance that would mark the warm up to the show.

At just past 7:30, Pink Neighbor quietly took the stage. The Grinnell, Iowa-based band began to play, softly inviting the crowd into their set.

“Welcome to the party, we’re all neighbors here,” Katie In and Erik Jarvis sang out to the audience.

Pink Neighbor spun the genre wheel for each song, dancing between sounds to keep the audience on their toes. Opening with a surf rock-ish number before plunging into something entirely funky, punctuated by the blast of a saxophone, then dipping into blues territory as In delivered a powerful vocal pipe punch.

The harmonies between In and Jarvis had an unpolished edge to them, that kept the feeling personal. Pink Neighbor is exactly the neighbor that you would want to invite over for dinner parties, if only for the sake of a fresh soundtrack to the meal.

The band ended with funky dance number “The Nebula,” which resulted in audience members taking the tiny dance floor to act out the dance moves called out in the song. The song ended in a decent into wild flailing and fun.

The crowd had grown to nearly double by the time the indie rock outfit the Halfloves took the stage. They got off to a funky, synthy start, unleashing a moody vibe on to the room. The vocals were unexpectedly smooth for a rock band, and an interesting touch that worked in some songs and felt out of place in others.

The band’s cohesive dynamic was the star of the show- the way the guitar, bass, drums, and synth rocked together allowed each member to shine together and independently. The picture painted by the band was often a little dark, a little sad, and definitely rock. The use of gentle synths and chime-sounds in tangent with a strong bass presented a dichotomy of soft and heavy sounds that worked in building an engaging soundscape.

The show wasn’t all rock and angst;

“We’re thinking about starting a Kickstarter where if you back us, you get explicit images. One of them is Lucas in chocolate” the keyboardist joked.

With the bang of the drums and the gentle strum of the guitar, Chicago-based Ratboys finally took the stage. The dancefloor slowly filled to the brim in response.

“Yo, Iowa City, how’s it going out there?” lead vocalist Julia Steiner asked in an excited, strained voice.

Ratboys brought an upbeat energy with them that had been lying below the surface the whole night. Pleasant vocals and harmonies swept over driving guitars and energetic drums; the mood of the Mill had shifted into something unexpected of ten on a Wednesday night. The shot of adrenaline directed towards the heart of the Mill left ears ringing and heads bopping.

Steiner was an incredible whirlwind to watch; she would shift from tender harmony to wild shouts and wails to vocals with a distinct rock bite. The band mirrored this in their music- songs that followed a rhythm would suddenly break down with the crash of drums, the music would drop quiet to a whisper before slamming alive again, restarting the heart.

Between each song, Steiner would burst into joyous story telling between each song, wild and excited. Each song was not just words strung together, but personal stories and anecdotes; a glance into a life in which the window was crashing drums and wailing chords.

The unpredictable and high energy roll of the show kept audiences awake and jamming and proved a gem on Mission Creek’s lineup.