Four Bands Keep It Tight At Three Sheets

Before getting off stage, Tony Mascolo of Wasteworld gave the crowd an earnest stare. ​“Does anyone need to use my amp?” he said. Someone from one of the other bands getting ready to play answered strongly in the affirmative. Mascolo nodded and left his amp where it was, helping someone in the next set out. The sharing of equipment — and in time, personnel — was a hallmark of the strong sense of camaraderie among the members of four bands that rocked Three Sheets on Friday, two of which had just a couple years ago started off playing house shows around the area and now were hitting stages.

“OK, cool, we’re Wasteworld,” said Joe Russo before the band blasted into its first song. The New Haven-based trio — Russo on vocals and bass, Tony Mascolo on guitar and vocals, and Allie Falco on drums and vocals — plunged headlong into straight-ahead rock ​‘n’ roll, though not before filling it with tasty riffs and hooks. With Falco providing drive and support, Mascolo created big sounds and Russo switched between holding down the pulse and providing countermelodies to what they were all singing. It was smart and fun, and the ever-growing crowd cheered for more.

The band kept it light in between songs as well. ​“This song’s about a young lady who got knocked up,” Russo said, amiably. It turned out that person was in the audience. ​“Hooray for pregnancy!” Russo added. ​“We love pregnancy!”

As the set went on, the band’s pop sensibilities revealed themselves, whether it was in three-part harmonies or the occasional oohs and ahhs for background solos. Toward the end, Wasteworld got almost anthemic, before closing with a rager. It was the right way to start the night.

The western Massachusetts-based HardCar — Devan Arnold on bass, Ryan Arnold on vocals and guitar, Clayton Marshall on lead guitar, and Rob Gerwiski on drums — kept up the energy with head bopping, gloriously sloppy rock ​‘n’ roll punctuated by absurd lyrics and banter. Ryan proved a particularly engaging frontman, whether he was flashing smiles at his bandmates or losing himself in headbanging hair.

“In case you didn’t notice, that song was kind of about schizophrenia,” Marshall interjected after an early number in the set.

“And kind of about whiskey,” Ryan answered. The effect was to add a refreshing dose of lunacy and humor to the classic punk sneer, making it all more fun. ​“You’re too kind,” he said after a hearty round of applause. ​“You’re too attractive. Am I being too critical? You smell too good.” He launched then into a story. ​“Let me take you back to a city, a city full of crabs. That city is Baltimore. The year — 1975. This song is not about John Waters, though it is called ​‘John Waters.’ ” There was a song about a secret program to design flesh-eating robots, too.

Near the end of the set, Ryan had a couple more ways to invert the typical banter. ​“You may be wondering at this point in the set: who is your favorite former mayor of New York,” he said, before heading into a song about former mayor Ed Koch. If people in the crowd had not been wondering this, the band’s winsome song might have made them wish they had.

The New Haven-based Death Valley Sun Troopers — Sebastian Bernal on vocals and guitar, Ryan Shea on guitar, Tyler Neuman on bass, and Daniel Lindberg on drums — then delivered the rawest, loudest set of the evening as they careened through a set of complex originals.

The songs moved from moments of anxiety and building tension to moments of howling release. The audience, told to draw close, were lured in and stayed there, held by the palpable sense of a strong emotional arc running through it all. The band together navigated tight turns in tempo and texture without ever losing a sense of immediacy. It all built to a couple moments of collective catharsis, as the band members screamed together into the microphones, like brothers, filling the club with a sound that felt as though it could explode far beyond it.

Mildly Allergic was up next, though the family vibe of Death Valley Sun Troopers suddenly became more apparent, as the band was composed of Ryan Shea on lead vocals and guitar, Sebastian Bernal and Tyler Neuman on guitars, Maeve Palma on bass, and Daniel Lindberg (again) on drums. Just before they began, Shea jokingly questioned the wisdom of three guitars. He need not have worried, as he, Bernal, and Neuman made a rich sound, thoroughly anchored by Palma and Lindberg. Where Death Valley Sun Troopers had created allure through complexity, Mildly Allergic, like Wasteworld, put its faith in pop hooks, and was rewarded. ​“I don’t know the last time I felt this way, but I’m going to be fine,” Shea sang on one song. That sense of optimism hooked the audience to the end.

Shea also mentioned how the show created some of a full circle for him. ​“I played a show here once when I was 12,” he said. ​“I played drums. That was the first show I ever played.” The drive and commitment showed in both bands he played with suggested Friday night would not be his last.