I would not call it Bland. I would say subtle. This episode is actually very important in the series, as someone said earlier "it shows us how far the girls have grown as a group". important stuff has happen and it's shown to us.
Really what are these clubs about? They are about finding common interest with other unknown people and making friends. I think that's the Anime is focused on this aspect of these girls lives.
Those of you who are complaining about not enough time actually seeing them play music. I think you would be greatly disappointed if that would happen. Think back to the day's of Josie and the pussycats. what we would get is the same 10 shots over and over again. back of head shots pan and scan. People would then complain at the lameness of the music playing. Why are the OP and END such a big deal in Anime because they are good to great quality music video's. They take an enormous amount of time to produce. coming up with 15 originals just a lone is not easy. God forbid they repeated a few to save time and money. I suspect the main reason for not having fresh new OP and END is the time and money was spent on music of the performances. I know people have an allusion that Anime is produced with limitless resources, but they are produced with limits on time budget and talent.
I want more Mugi