On the outskirts of Cincinnati, Ohio, The Maine and Augustana, with special guest Austin Gibbs, stopped in on June 2 for a show at Bogart’s. The night was quick but mellow and had a true Rastafarian, hippie-rock feel to it.

Up to bat first was Austin Gibbs, who released a new album, Charlie, just a few weeks ago. If Gibbs showed up at your house and asked to play a show, you’d be a fool to say no. The band opened with a momentous buildup of “La La La” incorporating one instrument at a time before it turned into a full-fledged guitar rock fest. Every song was loud, fun, and unapologetically enjoyable. Gibbs didn’t have much to say, but the band’s energetic antics throughout the set made it clear that they love making music. Jared Monaco of the Maine even joined in on guitar for a song; the whole set was so explosive that there was no pause for short breath. Despite being new to the scene, Gibbs was loved. He definitely gives a better performance than most openers around these days and is certainly memorable to say the least.

Having just finished an international run, The Maine came back to the states for one quick swing around the country before they step into the studio in El Paso, TX, where they’ll be working on their third album—one they plan to produce all on their own. With that in mind, they decided to test the waters by incorporating some new material into the set including “Ice Cave”, “Don’t Give Up on Us”, “Good Love” and a reggae version of “Everything I Ask For”. The songs themselves sound like they would fit better on their sophomore release, Black & White, as opposed to taking a step forward musically, but these songs are supposedly not scheduled to make it onto the third record and are instead Otherwise, the rest of their time on stage contained a good mix of songs from both of their albums, which is something they’ve always been good at when it comes to creating their setlist, and the crowd loved every minute of it.

Augustana finished off the evening with some great vocals that will leave a lasting impression and tunes that included the harmonica accompanied by high-pitched, headache-inducing, admiring screams of lady fans. Augustana seems to have the essence of a true rock and roll band, and because they are truly talented, it feels as though they could sell out some larger venues on their own. Similar to Austin Gibbs, the band didn’t have much to say between songs, but the crowd seemed to just get lost in the whole experience. Though they played a full hour of all the hits from “Twenty Years” off of their 2008 release, Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt, to “Shot in the Dark” off of their self-title album released in April, the crowd was left yearning for more.

*This review was composed by Kimi Sugiyama