Rainy nights in Phoenix are rare enough that locals actually get excited about them, and this weather also happened to lend itself well to the line of emo kids gathering outside The Van Buren, adorned in their beanies and flannels. Spirits were high and the anticipation was obvious as we waited for Joyce Manor to kick off the first night of their new tour.
Walking inside, the first shirt I spotted read “Midwest Emo Ruined My Life,” and I immediately knew I was with my people. A sea of band tees proclaiming the usual suspects: Tigers Jaw, Title Fight, Manchester Orchestra, Hot Mulligan, etc. The kind of crowd where music as identity is taken seriously. Everyone was ready to fall into it.
With support from Combat, Teen Mortgage, and Militarie Gun, the room wasted no time getting rowdy. In the photo pit at shows like this, it’s a balancing act between focusing on getting the shot and watching your back. Chances are high you’ll take a stray Chuck Taylor to the back of the head with crowdsurfers being heaved over the barrier.
When the boys in Joyce Manor finally took the stage they came out smiling and waving. Frontman Barry Johnson was engaging with the crowd and cracking jokes, and before each song he would call out the track title, which led to a pop from the crowd like each one was the crowd’s all-time favorite.
This would’ve been a great show even if Joyce Manor didn’t just put out a no-skips album this January. They have more than enough beloved songs to carry a whole show on nostalgia alone. The joy in the room was palpable. Their new album I Used to Go to This Bar feels like the exact record the band wanted to make, and the exact record the fans wanted from them. The show felt like an unspoken acknowledgemet of that.
With the vast majority of the crowd shouting along to quite literally every single song, it was clear how much of Joyce Manor’s deep catalog people have grown up with. The set leaned into those fan favorites throughout the night. The new songs were met with the same enthusiasm, and were sung with the same fervor.
Barry was clearly in a good mood, cracking little quips all night like “here’s a new one,” before launching straight into the beloved 2013 “Constant Headache.” Later in the set, watching “Falling Into It” from the back of the crowd, it was a beautiful sight to behold. With Barry shouting the refrain “Falling Into It” over and over and the biggest surge of crowdsurfing of the night, the band and the crowd locked in together and created pure chaotic joy.
After the main set, the band stepped offstage for under 20 seconds and returned announcing, “it’s good to be back in Phoenix.” Johnson told the crowd it was their show, and if they wanted them to just play Modern Baseball songs for six hours, he would. Of course, any mention of MOBO with this crowd is sure to explode some heads.
With their brand new album already being sung word for word, and a deep catalog that the diehards have grown up with, this opening night felt less like a kickoff and more like the start of a new era.
