If there is one thing Joyce Manor have perfected over their fifteen-plus years as pop-punk royalty, it’s efficiency. On Saturday night at The Academy, the Torrance, California band delivered a high-energy, zero-fat rock ’n’ roll, performance, tearing through a setlist of about 24 songs in barely 60 minutes—and leaving a sweat-drenched, hoarse-voiced crowd begging for more.
Opening with the frantic energy of “Beach Community,” the band set an aggressive pace right out of the gate. Frontman Barry Johnson was in top form, pairing his signature strained, impassioned vocals with a breezy, self-deprecating stage presence that immediately won over the room. The floor of The Academy turned into a churning pit within seconds, with a constant stream of body-surfers testing the venue’s security guard team through fan favorites like “House Warning Party” and “Heart Tattoo”.
What makes a Joyce Manor show so unique is the brevity of the material. Tracks like “Catalina Fight Song” barely cross the minute-and-a-half mark, but packed into the live setting, they hit with the explosive force of full-length anthems, not to mention “Constant Headache”, the undisputed crown jewel of their discography, which the crowd sang back every single word—often louder than the PA system itself—creating a communal energy that rarely dipped below a fever pitch.
Midway through the set, the band touched on material from across their catalog, blending the raw, lo-fi urgency of their 2011 self-titled debut with the sharper, hook-laden songwriting of Never Hungover Again and 40 oz. to Fresno.
If there’s any complaint to be made, it’s the standard one for any Joyce Manor gig: it’s over almost as soon as it begins. By the time they closed the night with an explosive rendition of “Catalina Fight Song” the exhaustion in the room was tangible.
Joyce Manor don’t do grand theatrical setups or bloated encore routines, although their encore did turn into them asking fans for requests, which I’m sure is refreshing and a chance to hear your favourite, possibly more obscure song. Provided, that is, that you still have any voice left to be heard. They show up, plug in, turn the room inside out, and leave while the energy is still at its peak.
Saturday at The Academy was raw, loud, ridiculously fun, and a strong reminder of why they remain standard-bearers for modern punk.
Joyce Manor photos & set-list:
Set-list:
Beach Community
Falling in Love Again
I Know Where Mark Chen Lives
Heart Tattoo
Eighteen
Grey Guitar
I Used to Go to This Bar
Last You Heard of Me
NBTSA
Big Lie
The Jerk
Well, Don’t It Seem Like You’ve Been Here Before?
Christmas Card
All My Friends Are So Depressed
House Warning Party
Schley
Constant Headache
Leather Jacket
Well, Whatever It Was
Catalina Fight Song
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Orange Julius
Constant Nothing
Five Beer Plan
Photos & Words – David McEneaney @experimentzero