In this recurring feature known as The Bay Abridged, our staff writers will provide short, witty recaps on shows they attended around the Bay Area. A scene check, a heat check, and sometimes more — stop by every Wednesday for the most comprehensive and concise recap of last week’s Bay Area concert scene.

Until the Ribbon Breaks at Brick and Mortar (SF) Oct. 28
UK-based Until the Ribbon Breaks are the kind of band that sound exactly like 2015’s most popular bands. Perfect vocals, tight drums, and an bed of dancing electronic synths that are both mysterious and comforting. The live performance on Wednesday’s night was less-than-enchanting — hard to say if its the stark atmosphere of Brick and Mortar or just a general lack, but UTRB had trouble living up to their recorded output. Nonetheless, I’ll be surprised if these guys aren’t significantly more popular the next time they return to the Bay Area. They’ve already collaborated with Run the Jewels, seems to me it’s time to cash in. —Zack Frederick

Pure Bathing Culture, Wild Ones at The Chapel (SF) Oct. 29
It was a Portland double header at The Chapel that wrapped up both groups month-long tour across the country. Wild Ones fit perfectly amongst the Chapel’s specters with dim lights that were synched perfectly throughout their set. They played through their whole Heatwave EP with picks off their first record scattered throughout. They topped off the night with a cover of The Cranberries “Dreams” that they’ve had in rotation for the past year. Having witnessed this a few times now its become as spot on with their own flair as can be — right down to singer Danielle Sullivan’s yodel. —Mike Chouinard

Ceremony, Loma Pieta at Great American Music Hall (SF) Oct. 29
Perhaps a suspicious pairing — and the half empty Great American Music Hall bears this out — but Rohnert Park’s Ceremony seem to be at a dangerous point. Eager to re-invent themselves, they released L-Shaped Man earlier this year to an extremely tepid response (to say the least), and their live set on Thursday was a mix of the old hardcore, fan-friendly, mosh-friendly fare they are famous for and the why bother post-punk of L-Shaped Man. On the other hand, Loma Pieta are hands down the best hardcore band in the Bay Area. Celebrating the release of their newest LP, Self Portrait, Loma gave a searing performance that proved innovation doesn’t always fall flat. —Zack Frederick

Total Trash Night 1 at 924 Gilman (Berkeley) Oct. 30
Despite the total lack of booze Total Trash kicked off in style with Redd Kross headlining a full night of mayhem in Berkeley. Burger Records were selling cassettes and master of ceremonies, Marc Os, was spinning prophetic Tav Falco vinyl between bands. —MBL

Noah Gundersen, Whitehorse at Great American Music Hall (SF) Oct. 30
I walked into this show blind to Gundersen’s music and left convinced that the man has talents beyond the typical sad-boy singer-songwriter. Walking out in hoods and cloaks and blasting into a drone inspired doom-folk song, I could have mistaken the show for a Chelsea Wolfe gig. Combine that with an anthemic, booming cover of “Change (In the House of Flies)” by the Deftones (talk about out of left field) and I was totally sold. Doom-americana-folk-rock? Yes, please. —Zack Frederick

O + French Cassettes (as James Brown), Everyone is Dirty (as David Bowie), Summer Peaks (as The Strokes) at Brick and Mortar (SF) Oct. 30
Not to stroke our own egos (okay, why not), but this was one hell of a Halloween party. Sold out, hot, sloppy — we’re not sure how else you’d ever want a cover band show on Halloween Eve. We hope you enjoyed it as much we did. Special thanks to Wave Dweller for booking these fantastic local bands together. —Zack Frederick

Total Trash Night 2 at Metro Opera House (Oak) Oct. 31
Liquor flowed freely in Oakland. Personal & the Pizzas rocked hard with drum wizard Utrillo Kushner sporting horns. Utrillo brings his piano project, Colossal Yes to the Swedish this Friday! It wasn’t clear who won the costume contest. Was it Fidel Castro? Detroit’s Death delivered the devastating conclusion. —MBL

Total Trash Night 3 at Brick & Mortar (SF) Nov. 1
Tav Falco Panther Burns crushed the fierce weekend competition. With Mike Watt on bass, Toby Dammit on drums and 2 Italian dudes on guitar and keyboard, Tav achieved perfection. They played “Where the Rio del Rosa Flows” from his 1981 masterwork Behind the Magnolia Curtain (the guitar on that album from the late, great Alex Chilton). Perhaps as a tribute Tav played Alex’s “Bangkok”. —MBL 

Tav Falco and The Panther Burns, Guantanamo Baywatch, The Fly Traps, Cumstain, She Things at Brick and Mortar (SF) Nov. 1
Not only was classic punk rocker Mike Watt playing with Tav Falco and The Panther Burns, but the supporting bands were all recent bands I love dearly. Everyone in the crowd was recovering from their Halloween hangover, so they were more like the bobbing dead. The Fly Traps were the band that really woke everyone up with their insane amount of energy making everyone buzz straight into their musical trap. —Erika Delgado

Grimes, Nicole Dollanganger at The Fillmore (SF) Nov. 1
This show was how I imagine Grimes always wanted to perform live. Two (amazing) live dancers, smoke machines, lasers, a backup singer, and a slew of hit songs (“Go”, “Oblivion”, “Genesis”) all came together for a sold-out crowd on Sunday night at The Fillmore. She hasn’t even released a new album in three years and still moved 2,400 tickets in two nights. Grimes is for real, the movement is for real, she’s our alt-synth-pixie-post-modern pop star and we ought to embrace it. —Zack Frederick

Dilly Dally, The Tet Holiday at Bottom of the Hill (SF) Nov. 2
Canadian four piece Dilly Dally released one of my favorite LPs this year — a polished, Courtney Love meets Distillers punk-glam-rock record that piles relentlessly catchy melodies right on top of each other. Pair that with lead singer Katie Monks’ cigarette-burned vocals, and this girl knows how to scream in just that way, and you’ve got a more enticing reincarnation of Cloud Nothings. —Zack Frederick

DNCE, Powers at The Chapel (SF) Nov. 2
I had never seen The Chapel as packed as I did on Tuesday; packed full of girls waiting to see their “first love,” Joe Jonas. Because DNCE is Joe Jonas’ (a once Disney phenomena) new project, and I will admit that at 16 I was once very obsessed with the Jonas Brothers. So when I saw that his new band was playing a $20 dollar show at one of my favorite venues, I bought tickets for my niece and I the day they went on sale. The thing is, the last Disney related event I went to was in 2000 (a free Radio Disney show), so I was not prepared at all for the way Joe Jonas brings out the crazy in the teens. Other than being over-protective of my niece and my view being disrupted by many phones, the performance was definitely one of most lively and insane experiences of my life. —Erika Delgado