Ames concertgoers put on their happy faces and Halloween costumes Saturday night as some adventurous spirits dressed up to get in the holiday mood with You’re Pretty at the Maintenance Shop.

Lead singer Beth Musolff took the stage with devil ears on, beckoning her tattooed and darkly dressed clan to break into trudging and grinding music like a freight train with lace curtains in the windows.

And that was the bottom line of the entire set.

Musolff’s voice soared above the darkness, a nice complement to the crashing guitar, giving goth metal a smooth human quality. Her voice brought out more diverse dynamics in songs such as “Not Coming Down,” starting with an in-your-face attitude and then retreating to a more playful tone reminiscent of a cat toying with its mouse before making it dinner. However, aside from the band’s strong personality, they lacked uniqueness. Not surprisingly, the song “Lullaby” was anything but.

During the entire set, You’re Pretty seemed to be on the verge of an artistic breakthrough but never quite got there. The band had dynamics but lacked diversity. They had soul but lacked emotion.

Despite this fact, there is no denying that Musloff’s voice was damn powerful, and the crowd responded gratefully. “Nothing to be Said” left goth heads embracing, and a good time was had by all.

Liars took over the M-Shop before You’re Pretty, and they put on the best show of the evening. The Brooklyn quartet’s freakishly tall, lanky singer paced the length of the stage with all the self-confidence in the world, perhaps having digested a few beers. Dedicating a song to “all the people who go to school here and study ag,” Liars surprised everyone.

Seeing the crowd bunched in a little group to protect themselves, the concertgoers seemed a bit surprised by Liars busting into body-flailing guitar licks that drill into the brain mixed with an all out crashing loud to complete silence within seconds.

Songs were presented with bratty yelling – stomping temper tantrums from psychotic toddlers with noisemakers. Think At the Drive In, but more chaotic, incoherent and disjointed.

The lead singer explored the area as his own, standing on the amp with his head in the rafters, leaving his bright white Velcro sneakers at eye level to others on the ground. With eyes closed, he instructed audience members to clap along to his rant, “Past fumes will burn us in our bedrooms!” The song ended with the guitar being hurtled into the drum set in classic rocker style.

Opener Far Cry brought a more upbeat feeling to the evening, like the little minty chocolate you get along with the heavy entr‚e at dinner. Lead singer Shawn Walding spit out catchy melodies over moving bass lines and quick drum fills, giving the songs a melodic punk feel like early Green Day, back when it was interesting.