Cloud Nothings

With few big names on this year's bill, Cloud Nothings were perhaps one of the most-anticipated acts at CMW, and rightly so. Their shift from scrappy, spritely indie pop to a heavy, rattling '90s alt-rock behemoth produced one of the year's most refreshingly whiny and stripped-down records, Attack on Memory. From the opening chords of "Stay Useless," the Dylan Baldi-led quartet had the crowd in the palm of their hands. Thrashing about on stage with abandon, the band ignored Baldi's early material, getting heavier and sludgier with each new song selection. By the time they got to "Wasted Days" with its "I thought I would be more than this," a massive pit had opened up on the venue's floor and much moshing ensued. The band, who rarely addressed the crowd, milked the song's long middle section for all it was worth, with Baldi dropping to his knees to mess around with his peddles for several minutes. They closed with Attack on Memory's opener "No Future/No Past," which seemed to aptly sum up everyone's focus on the here and now.