On August 25, No Vacation came on stage at Neumos with an unassuming demeanor: no hype and few expressions, but ready to play. Their vibe stayed low-key, but their energy quickly infiltrated the room. Like a tide of sound, their music seamlessly pushed and pulled the crowd: many heads bobbing, several waving arms tangled in the mix, and at least one guy named Andrew who came specifically for No Vacation and became a wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man before my eyes.

The band brought a full, droning sound to their mesmerizing dream-pop blend and layered bright, simple guitar licks (think Real Estate) on top that added a whimsical element and brought the sound forward. Banter between lead singers Sabrina Mai and Harrison Spencer was lighthearted and funny; complemented with a beaming smile from Spencer, these folks enjoyed themselves and their music like a Saturday afternoon float down the river with ninety of their closest friends. Their sampled rain patter felt like, well, actual rain patter; it was tasteful. And when they whipped out “August,” they sprinkled Super Mario throughout the track.

No Vacation left the stage with big shoes to fill, and Sales did not disappoint. Several true plebs I spoke with, myself included, have been listening to Sales and enjoying their laidback mixtape thrum since the days before their 2016 self-titled LP, and they arrived at the venue with the muted anticipation of too-cool tweenagers on Christmas Eve. I felt like a puppy on a walk: freaking stoked about a basically normal thing.

These guys walked on stage blaring full and heavy hip hop with a low end that shook the speakers. They situated themselves, killed the music, modestly introduced themselves, and hit home right off the bat — opening with “Big Sis” and punching everyone in the feels. Or just people with older sisters. Or just me. Throughout the set, lead singer Lauren Morgan departed from studio-recorded vocal melodies, dancing around the lead line or moving entirely to a spoken word/moaning style.

But the rich guitar tones and irregular bass pedaling we know and love from Sales were in full effect, drumming up a rhythmic nostalgia en masse.

Guitarist Jordan Shih hopped on the mic between several tracks to calmly shout-out his gratitude to the fans, their support, and to his mom. Toward the end of the set, Morgan beckoned the audience to display their dance moves as the band began one of their new hit tracks, “White Jeans.” Their call inspired many, including No Vacation, who returned to the stage to hop and shimmy with their touring comrades.

As the set ended and the trio left the stage, the audience chanted for one more song and the rain gods delivered Shih and drummer Malcolm Martin back to the stage. Martin started a simple beat on the drum pads attached to his kit, and Shih flushed out the sound with a minimalist sample playground of their track “Be My Baby.” From there, Morgan rejoined the group and the band pulled out an unreleased banger called “Number One Single,” but should have been named “Sales becomes FIDLAR.” This jam was straight garage rock and out of character for Sales, and they magnificently wore the new look.

For fifteen mind-blowing minutes, the group exploded with emphatic power strumming, cymbal crashing, and head-banging that brought Morgan to her knees. Add the two or three false endings to the song and a strobing light performance from above, and you end up with a loud bang to conclude an otherwise sensual and fluid show. This lineup went super Saiyan, filling everyone with energy and blowing our hair right off our heads. More measurably, they definitely turned one guy named Andrew into a wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man.