I’ve had the distinct pleasure of seeing Joywave be a very solid opener for Bastille and Twenty One Pilots in the past, but never headlining their own shows. I credit Sirius XM’s Alt Nation for turning me onto these guys. While I have no doubt I would have found out about them eventually, they just got the ball rolling a little faster.
I decided to see these guys at my new favorite Pittsburgh-adjacent venue, Mr. Small’s Theatre, because they’ve got some sweet balcony seating arrangement going on. If you live near the area, I highly suggest checking it out someday. At the outset, I was surprised to learn that both openers were female led. The first was Elliot Lee, a solo artist with the most professional and clean sounding vocals I have ever heard. Wasn’t necessarily my style, but I was impressed with the voice. Sometimes openers sound sketchy, but Lee and the next band, Dizzy, were up to the task. Dizzy, with similarly impressive vocals, wasn’t very dynamic or exciting. I lend their music to filler music, which wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t very interesting overall. I might have been alone in that sentiment because the crowd was into it!
They kept that energy high, maybe even higher, for when Joywave took the stage and they kept it there for the whole set. It helps that the band had terrific engagement with the crowd, too. Concerts are a two-way street and everyone there seemed to know it. They opened with two high-energy songs that I wasn’t too familiar with, but couldn’t stop myself from bopping my head along with the beat. I was interested to see that off to the side they had some lighted sign set-up that had one of four different words highlighted for each song. Whether it was “Possess,” “Content,” Cleanse,” or “Feels,” the audience went hard for everything. Also neat in their set-up was that the keyboard/synth situation was built into the back of a Corvette. Cool!
I was personally excited to hear “It’s a Trip!” and “Half Your Age,” but it was also great to hear ‘Somebody New,” the track that took them off. Naturally, “Dangerous,” the song they featured on that launched them into space (literally!) made the cut, but closing with “Destruction” is the only right answer. They can always end on a chaotic high with that song and I hope it’s always a part of their set. There’s only a handful of dates left on the tour, so if you get the chance, check these guys out!