We went unabashed to the Sugary Pop Con. In case you’re unsweetened, this is a music festival, not a confection convention.

We’ve never been ashamed to profess our love for classic acts like The Zagnut Five, The Punctuation Marx and Syrup Boys. But still, this is the cultural affection that dare not speak its name, and some of us are more out about our love for loud cheesy superficial bands than others. We saw a lot of people we know well at Sugar Pops (as it’s affectionately known), and darned if some of them didn’t avert their eyes or duck into hallways when they saw us coming. Others, of course, embraced the culture and loved being among fellow tripe-rock travelers.

Rose Riot of Winged Euonymus greeted us with “Hi-doodly-doo!,” quoting the gummy-jazz classic “Hi Doodly Doo” by the, um, Hi Doodly Doos.

Others wanted to be all learned and academic about the genre, noting that some of the most important guitarists and saxophonists in the harder rock realms had played in sugary studio bands.

Fine. Justify thyselves as thee will. We did the color and the lights and the cool and the lightness. Wouldn’t even know where to put these bands if they wanted to play downtown in our town. Hamilton’s? Too much of a drunken party scene. The Bullfinch? Too ironic. D’ollaire’s? Too big. maybe the outdoor show in the park. With cotton candy and carnival rides. For now, may the heavens bless the Sugar Pops. Besides the live sets—total bliss, too perfect to describe here—we scored a mint 45 of “Fragrant Frank” by the Tri-Fools for only a smattering of bucks, plus a stack of Rich Bears comic books. Sweet, with no guilt.

Tonight: Samses and Adore Clean at the Bullfinch, both with the same bassist, Lauren Snails… The 24 Hours and Best Gas, convenient covers, at Hamilton’s… An Evening with Eunice X. Alon and The Braiders at D’ollaires. Discount admission for distinctive “do”s…