Quasi has been around for years, but they’re also a band with an unpredictable streak who aren’t afraid to vastly reinvent themselves, so I wasn’t sure what to expect as I headed in to their show at the Southgate House on Friday night. Luckily, the current incarnation of the group has obviously had enough practice and road time to produce an impressively solid set.

What else can you say about show openers the Harlequins? They’re amazing; definitely one of the best Cincinnati bands around right now. If you still haven’t checked them out, you need to do it as soon as possible.

Tourmates Let’s Wrestle were similarly great. An English three-piece indie band, Let’s Wrestle tore through a quick succession of bright, supremely catchy guitar-pop songs. They bounced between tight chords, nervous bass lines, and rocketing drums, and they weren’t afraid to build songs entirely on a “Ba-da-dada-daaa!” vocal hook repeated over and over. Ultimately, they weren’t afraid to be simple and weren’t too concerned with their own coolness to be decidedly sugary-catchy. I can’t wait to hear where they go from here.

Quasi took the stage unceremoniously, with the comfort of a band that’s been around for over a decade and a half. Their set definitely featured more guitar-flailing jams than lilting Rocksichord numbers (although those were present as well), but with very little of the roaring squall of barnburner albums When the Going Gets Dark and Hot Shit. Guitar is definitely Sam Coomes’ instrument: he jumped around stage and ripped through high-flying guitar riffs and solos like an indie rock Pete Townsend.

The noisy jams came out when Coomes switched to keyboard. Janet Weiss pounded drums and Joanna Bolme thundered bass notes while Coomes alternated between gently plugging rhythms and brutally slamming the keys with his fists, feet, and forehead. Even with all the piano violence, Quasi were always able to sculpt their roaring noise into pleasing pop.

Quasi’s sound has changed greatly over the years, but they’ve clearly worked into a creative place that makes them inventive as a live act and happy as performers. It’s exciting to see a band as comfortable with themselves as they are willing to push their own boundaries.

-John Crowell