Radio Radio was home Monday night to all things RAWK. After a personally frustrating start to the week, it was nice to venture out and get immersed in the loud, fast stuff.

Muncie’s Cocaine Wolves — great band name — opened with their 70s- and 80s-influenced balls out rock. They didn’t do anything that hasn’t been done before, but they did it well and it was a great way to let the day’s angst melt away. To that I say, “Thank you, good sirs.”

I wish I could say something positive about Montreal’s Hand Cream, but that’s not possible. After taking an inordinate amount of time to set up, the four-piece screamed through a short set of discordant punk. Every song sounded like an angry chihuahua fighting to get noticed through a wall of noise. The entire performance felt out of sync; at times, it seemed like tracks were being made up on the spot. I generally try to avoid being too negative but this was a whole different level of awful. Hand Cream was the worst band I’ve seen in a long time.

JEFF the Brotherhood finally hit the stage around 11:30 and mercifully put an end to the bad vibes left over from Hand Cream. With the smoke machine cranking, the Tennessee two-piece opened with revamped oldie I’m a Freak. The song started slowly and built into an apocalyptic psych-rock onslaught of furious riffs and pounding drums. The set continued with one snarling, dirty song after another. Highlights included fan favorite Hey Friend, a propulsive Heavy Days, and the infectious Mellow Out.

Toward the end of the show the performance began to feel like one endless song, but I might have still been suffering from Hand Cream fatigue. Nevertheless, the duo brought the fire and rocked hard. I went home with my ears ringing and Monday a distant memory. I’ll take it.