After a two hour coach trip and a while longer getting lost around Bristol, I finally managed to find the venue where Joyce Manor were playing the last show on their second UK tour, following the release of their third album Never Hungover Again. Half an hour after I finished a charming interview with the band’s guitarist and drummer, doors opened and the venue began to fill as Great Cynics [7/10] began their set. The three-piece band from London/Devon delivered a ridiculously catchy set packed with upbeat tunes that gained a pretty positive crowd response for a first support. Their sound stayed true to studio recordings with the male vocalist’s distinguishable voice as equally prominent live as in their releases. The female vocalist took over leads rather than just back up vocals for two songs, which was great to hear and switched up the dynamics of the set a bit. Apart from that the set itself did not vary much, but their high energy and punky sound was maintained, something especially impressive for a three-piece where the vocalists are also having to play guitar.
Main support Cheap Girls [5.5/10] from Michigan changed the tone of of the gig to one slightly less upbeat. Their set started off as promising, but soon fell flat as it became apparent that the band intended to stand up, play, and get off the stage without talking between songs, trying to exert excess energy or mix it up a bit at all. Despite this slightly disappointing factor, any fan of the band would have been extremely impressed with how well the band played their instruments and executed their songs; both instruments and vocals were on point throughout the set and they sounded fantastic, but that unfortunately cannot combat a lack of exciting stage presence in creating a good live set.
It hit 10pm and the venue was packed – excitement was clearly peaking when Joyce Manor [9/10] came onto the stage. They surprised the crowd by beginning their set with an old favourite; ‘Constant Headache’, a track off their first album that also happens to be their longest recorded song, which received a fantastic response from the crowd and immediately got everyone moving. Their set consisted of an impressive eighteen songs from almost all of their releases, including the song ‘Chumped’ and an encore of ‘Five Beer Plan’, both featured on an EP they released in 2009. The crowd never once lost engagement despite the mix of older songs alongside tracks off their latest release, and those at the front were constantly on their feet pushing each other around and reaching out for mic shares. Despite their energy, not one person decided to stage dive, something that probably came as a relief to both those at the show and the band alike following the huge amount of publicity and conflict the vocalist Barry Johnson received after criticizing those who stage dive at shows for harming gig-goers and being violent. The atmosphere of the show was incredibly positive and fun and the band delivered an amazingly high-energy set, staying true to their upbeat and short but sweet songs – it is hard to imagine anyone could’ve left this show feeling disappointed.
