Thin Lips and Hop Along showed up to Neumos on August 12 and sold the place out — on a Sunday night. Even on a school night, 650 strong came and partied the night away to classic indie rock.

The crowd was a motley crew: one guy with flamboyant pink hair parked right up against the stage and probably went harder than half the crowd combined. Far and away he was the hero of the night, even earning a copy of the setlist from the Thin Lips guitarist, Chris Diehm. The rest of the crowd was very much the Capital Hill demographic — looking to get out of their apartments on Sunday night for cheap.

Both bands were enjoyable, and both were led by female vocalists. Frances Quinlan of Hop Along has a wonderful voice, especially for live performances. At times, it had a sweet, honey-like quality to it, and the rest of the time it was gravelly. She seemed to do it at will, which was even more impressive in and of itself than the quality of her voice.

Thin Lips’ vocalist, Chrissy Tashjian, was on key, her voice a solid compliment to her guitar and the rest of the band behind her, who kept the audience engaged throughout the set. Most impressive, though, was Diehm, who threw down some solid riffs and solos during the 45-minute set. There was some fingering on the neck of that guitar that really tickled the ears of the audience.

However, Thin Lips and Hop Along sounded very similar. Both bands had the same Paramore-like guitar sound, and the vocalists were really the only difference between them, though I’d rank Quinlan above Tashjian in vocal quality and range. Both groups are Pennsylvania-based indie rock bands, and I’m not sure I would have been able to tell their live performances apart had I been blindfolded.

I’d give Hop Along a 3.5 out of 5 and Thin Lips a 3 out of 5, for a grand total of 6.5 out of ten for the whole night. Hop Along would be better on a bigger stage, since the one at Neumos is kind of small for five people to perform on. It would have been nice to see them move around on stage a little bit more than they did, and that would have definitely been easier on a bigger stage that wasn’t being taken up by all of their equipment. But, if you’re looking for something do do when they’re in town and enjoy Paramore, Hop Along would definitely be a solid show to see.

By Chace Davy