We’re living in an era when guitar rock isn’t exactly topping the charts, but you wouldn’t have known it if you were lucky enough to catch Cloud Nothings’ feverishly good set at the Biltmore on Thursday.

The night got off to a brilliant start with Los Angeles–based opener Itasca. Backed by a lap-steel guitarist, singer-songwriter Kayla Cohen projected a bit of Zeppelin’s acoustic side. Pretty as that was, it was hard not to be distracted by the crowd’s banter; Itasca would have been much better-suited to a quieter venue. Or conversely, a louder band might have made more sense as an opener. 

When Cloud Nothings took the stage around 10 p.m. it waslike stepping into a time machine and being transported to 1990 and onto the set of the “Dirty Boots” video by Sonic Youth. By the time the Cleveland quartet reached the breakdown in “Psychic Trauma” a couple of songs into the set, the mosh pit was in full swing. This was probably one of the sweatier recent shows at the Biltmore, and the place got a bit sticky. 

Singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi looked the part on an indie rock star with his green-and-purple flannel shirt and just-woke-up hairstyle.  He attacked his guitar with an unrelenting ferocity. TJ Duke was an absolute rhinoceros on the bass, driving at breakneck speed to try and keep up with Jayson Gerycz’s inhuman, frantic pounding of the skins. Rounding out things was Chris Brown, playing lead guitar and some keyboards as well.

The set was an intense one, with tracks from each of Cloud Nothings’ four official albums mixed in. Eight of the nine songs on the band’s January release, Life Without Sound, were played, suprising considering that the album has divided critics and fans alike. It would have been nice to hear more from 2012’s Steve Albini–engineered Attack on Memory or fromHere and Nowhere Else, but the new songs stood up. 

Cloud Nothings left the stage after a drenched, hourlong performance, the end of which had reached an almost unfathomable climax that seemed impossible to top. But still, they came back to play more for the adoring crowd. 

To close the show, the band played an extended version of “No Future/No Past”, which had the crowd pumping their fists and chanting along with Baldi’s powerful screeching of “No future, no past.” It was a great reminder that we must always live in the moment. 

Refreshingly, there was a surprising lack of people with cellphones shooting shitty videos that no one will ever watch. On this night people were paying close attention, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the moment.  Maybe rock ’n’ roll isn’t down for the count after all, and this is just the calm before the storm.