Chris McKay and The Critical Darlings perform music that will stand the test of time.

Chris McKay and his band, The Critical Darlings, mixed sounds across the years at their show last night. EVAN STICHLER/Staff

That was made known, once the five-piece took the stage last night at the 40 Watt.

A crowd of around 50 people had made it out on the school night and photographers filled the front row as the band was setting up.

Although the present lineup has only played eight shows, it was unnoticeable: kicking off with “The Only Way,” the group took complete command of the 40 Watt and its audience; immediately the timeless element came in with wailing solos and thoughtful lyrics and progressions.

The group then followed up with “Feels Like Yesterday,” catering to a pop sound, since the song feels like it could have been written in 1974 or 2011. And its chorus, at once  catchy and nostalgic, established the tone the group was setting: “Feels like yesterday/And it could be tomorrow.”

Next, McKay opened up to the crowd, revealing it had been eight years to the day his father had passed away.

And so, in what would be the performance of the night, “Sadder Day” was dedicated to his father.

Raw emotion came out of every member during the number and the crowd responded in kind to the performance.

McKay followed that moment up by taking a step back, and keyboardist Kate Powell took the vocals for a new song the band performed.

“If you like the word ‘fuck,’ then you’ll like this song,” she said to the audience.

The debut song, the first to feature someone that wasn’t McKay in the vocalist role, consisted of soft verses and hard choruses; and even keeping in mind that this was only the band’s eighth show, Powell’s song was layered and complex.

Its ending was chaotic and gave the group time to go into “You Belong to Me,” which had grungy riffs

McKay then spoke again to the crowd, saying everyone was going back in time to 1978, a time when there were skating rinks and miniature skateboards called roller skates.

A disco-esque riff came through the amps as the band blasted into “Waiting for the Siren.”

Thoughts of roller derbies and a slight disappointment that the 40 Watt disco ball was not spinning around entered my mind as the crowd sang along with the track off “Satisfactionista.”

From there the band played earlier songs, including one with a strong power-pop element and another that had thrashing punk riffs with blues-rock verses. And then, after telling the crowd the group had two songs left to play, it went into a new song, “Hold On,” a track that McKay said was constantly getting good reviews from audience goers.

It was easy to see why with the song’s blend of classic rock, gospel and blues.

Initially the song leads off with a rather slow, soft start. But following a tease of a solo by a piano, the song picks up pace and intensity. In fact, it was reminiscent of “Free Bird.” A song where people respect the beginning, but are always eager to skip to the eight-minute solo.

For the night’s finale, the Critical Darlings finished with “Happy Here and Now.”

In true ’70s fashion, McKay found himself in full rock mode, staggering around the stage and falling.

There were sure to be thoughts of “I can’t believe I did that,” whirling through McKay’s head after the song, which is fitting  really, since  the audience certainly believes Chris McKay and the Critical Darlings will be around for a long time to come.