The first night of PopFest has come to an end.

And at 40 Watt, female-fronted bands dominated the establishment.

Tunabunny has recently exploded, and its headlining performance at the 40 Watt last night gave audiences a chance to see why. MICHAEL BARONE/Staff

A list of bands included a healthy blend of Athens and national acts, a grab bag of different genres and a number of artists signed to Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records, amongst others.

The highlight of it all was that no two bands sounded the same.

As the evening quickly approached and the doors opened, an initial crowd of 50 — it would gradually increase throughout the night — was anticipating the night’s performances.

Sweater Girls

At around 7:30, the Los Angeles five-piece took the stage, kicking off the 40 Watt festivities.

Signed to HHBTM, Sweater Girls was an appropriate start to the evening, as it was able to warm up the audience’s feet by making them tap.

The group finished off its set with “Fred,” a very short, upbeat tune that centered around a vocally catchy refrain and jangling rhythms.

Bird Names

The six-piece started off with feedback problems during sound check, and that initial problem interfered with the set’s other elements.

Many of the songs were offbeat and out of tempo.

The movements were placed in weird spots, and there were constant requests for the sound booth to change guitar volumes.

But not all was bad.

The two female drummers — Kelsey Brooks and Phalen LaVelle — added a tribal element which kept the group going.

But the group has not been in Athens long: moving from Chicago caused the addition of four of the six members. Maybe time will work out the band’s kinks.

Grape Soda

The Athens duo was the only set that did not feature a female in the group.

But that did not stop the Lewis brothers from putting on a strong performance.

It also showed that numbers didn’t matter, as the keyboards and drums sounded like a full ensemble of Shiny Toy Guns meeting Violent Femmes.

Grape Soda’s songs and set ended rather abruptly, but it worked out well for the band.

Flash to Bang Time

What made this band stand out was its use of special effects.

The lyrics to its songs, and the mathematical art shown in the back drop, were able to draw the audience in.

Lydia Stipe’s performance showed FTBM could hold its own with R.E.M. (Though it’s not a fair comparison as the two are completely different genres.)

FTBT is certainly more artsy and experimental than its counterpart.

But the progression and transition of songs, as well as the technological choreography, really drove the band’s show home.

Orca Team

From Seattle, the three-piece was thoroughly impressive.

First, the audience learned that a fill in drummer came down from Detroit for the performance.

But what really stood out was the fact that bassist and vocalist Leif Anders performed with dominant riffs and croon-style vocals.

Its prevalence of surf rock brought forth a change of pace to the 40 Watt audience, which was content with the performance.

The set was short, but everything went well overall for the group.

Witches

The three headlining bands all had one thing in common — female vocalists.

First up was Witches, a grungy singer-songwriter trio that delivered a phenomenal set.

The mix of punk and grungy alternative enabled Witches to find a nice medium to balance the two genres.

While there were some technical difficulties early on with Michael Clancy’s drums, the slight delay did not cause any loss of momentum.

Tunabunny

This Athens band has recently exploded, and this performance showed why.

The energy with which the four-piece performed was like no other, and presented an environment that brought the audience to its knees.

Flush with stage presence, the chemistry between the two vocalists, Mary Jane Hassell and Brigette Herron, also added to the flair.

As the rising screams, perfect transitions and punk-style refrains carried on throughout, the nonchalant comfort of the HHBTM group’s stage presence made the interaction that much better.

And the show ended appropriately — with drummer Jesse Stinnard shoving the drumset on its side and Hassell providing accompanying feedback with her amp.

Throwing Muses

From Rhode Island, Throwing Muses are some of indie rock’s pioneers and tonight’s Athens crowd experienced something special.

Though from the ’80s, the band did not miss a beat.

Fans saw changes from fast songs to slow ones allowing for audience breaks.

The music itself was grungier than the other acts and often times it border lined stoner rock.

And the playing experience of the band clearly showed as everything went seamlessly.

But then the night was over.

It was time for fans to return to their homes or hotels and recover for the next three days of nonstop musical action.