DeKALB | Last Sunday, on the eve of spring semester at NIU, a small gathering of people went to The House Cafe in an attempt to battle the cold with some live music.

The Dallas Motorcade came out and got the show started with some downright decent rock shortly after the doors opened. While it was possibly too mid-tempo to be considered “punk,” the musicianship was tight, and its cover of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” was highlighted with a perfect replication of Eddie Van Halen’s original guitar solo.

Next up was dormlife, a pop group from Chicago, with what appeared to be a decent following. Their music got the crowd moving and dancing, which was a notable accomplishment compared to the other bands playing that night. The music was solid, and fun to say the least. There is a chance that dormlife could eventually become one of the best local bands in Illinois, so jump on the bandwagon while there is still space.

The Brokedowns from Elgin came on next, and took what had been a relaxed atmosphere and changed it with their style of aggressive pop punk. They fired through favorites like “New Brains for Everyone” and “Space Babies,” two of the strongest cuts off their latest album, also called “Space Babies.” By the end of the loud and fast set, it seemed like they had just won over a hostile and lazy crowd.

In a stark contrast to the punk just before, Sundowner, aka Chris McCaughan, took the stage with just an acoustic guitar and played a very intimate set to the dark cafe. His banter was limited to quips to the crowd, mostly about religion, but his vocals shined through the House with a presence not often seen.

He covered Leonard Cohen’s “Old Revolution” and played it beautifully. However, great renditions of songs like “Steal Your Words,” “Sea of Lights” and “This War is Noise” were overlooked by his performances of songs originally done by his other band, Lawrence Arms.

For those songs, especially “Boatless Booze Cruise” and the New Year’s anthem “100 Resolutions,” the crowd was hooked, singing along to every word and, possibly, just for that moment, recommitting to follow through on their own resolutions.