The lights were dimmed, the music was loud and the crowd was as eager as the three bands that performed Saturday night at Hangar 9.

The Heat Tape, Owls and Crows and Troubadour Dali played for an audience that grew more packed as the night went on.

The evening belonged to The Heat Tape and Owls and Crows, two of the area’s bands that have been playing for a little more than a year.

Owls and Crows began the show with their thunderous drone rock, which, along with the stage persona of singer and guitarist Clay Bonifacius, got the crowd animated. By the end of their set, the floor was packed with people.

Troubadour Dali, a St. Louis-area band, then took the stage for an ever-expanding crowd with their comparatively light alternative rock.

The night ended with The Heat Tape wowing the audience with its steady shoegaze vibe that switched to a more up-beat tempo as they closed things out on their final song.

Most of the Owls and Crows band members are from the Murphysboro area, while members of The Heat Tape are from Makanda. Though the bands are both from southern Illinois, their sound vary.

Brett Hunter, singer and guitarist for The Heat Tape, said the band Jesus and Mary Chain influences their music. He said his band normally plays at PK’s and a few house parties in town.

“We’re a garage punk band,” Hunter said. “Our goals are to have a great time and play music.”

Jordan Lopez, a senior from Sterling majoring in cinema and photography, said he supports all the local bands and enjoys The Heat Tape and Owls and Crows. He’s a friend of Ben Bleyer from The Heat Tape, he said, and Owls and Crows have played in his basement.

Nick Shuman, booker at Hangar 9, said The Heat Tape just finished a tour in Europe and will be returning to live there in about a month. He said he doesn’t know when either band will return to Hangar 9 but hopes to have them back in the spring.

Meanwhile, Dan Tejaba, guitarist for Owls and Crows, said he plays a lot of psychedelic drone music for his band.

Tejaba said most of the band’s style was inspired by The Doors, the Black Angels and some early Pink Floyd.

Before his performance Saturday night, he shared some of the band’s visions for the future.

“We all just want to keep trying to grow,” Tejaba said. “Right now we are working on our second album and it should be out in the next several weeks. I think we’re just trying to keep getting better and just hope that the right ears hear us at some point in time.”