photos by Ryan Muir, words by Andrew Sacher

Cali punks Joyce Manor made their way to NYC last night (8/16) for a free House of Vans show with Cursive, Titus Andronicus, and Love As Laughter. Pictures from their House of Vans set are this post. After their set, they headed over to the much smaller Brooklyn venue, Acheron, for a late show there. The line was already down the block almost an hour before doors opened and by 11 PM, opener Crushed took the stage, followed by Joyce Manor's Cap'n Jazzy tourmates Algernon Cadwallader, and finally around 12:30 AM, Joyce Manor walked out.

Due to the massive amount of kids ambushing the stage and running up onto it to stage dive, frontman Barry Johnson's mic was knocked over countless times, but with all the shouting along from the crowd, it didn't make a difference. For show standout, "Constant Headache," Barry was crowded with fans putting their arms around him and screaming along. When he wasn't bothering with the mic, he was leaning over the crowd with his low-hung guitar and singing with them, as the rest of the band rocked out as much as possible on Acheron's small crowded stage. It was a super fun, sweaty show and the band is far from a bore to watch. Like Titus Andronicus' Patrick Stickles, who they shared a bill with earlier that night, Barry is an overly confessional, descriptive, and slightly self-loathing frontman, and a bit of a show-stealer. But the rest of the band is relentless too, thrashing around on stage like the equally catchy and abrasive Cloud Nothings and Japandroids.

The set included a number of other highlights from their 2011 self titled LP, including "Call Out (Laundry)," "Constant Nothing," "Leather Jacket," and others, but unfortunately "Violent Inside," the single off of 2012's Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired was the only track played off of that album. The punkier s/t LP is great and I can totally see why its material might be more fun to play live, but in addition to Tired's fast cuts like "If I Needed You There" and "Comfortable Clothes," working in the diversity of that album against their first would've better represented who the band is and the boundaries they so effortlessly cross. Hopefully next time around we'll get to hear more of that one -- tracks like "These Kind of Ice Skates" or "Bride of Usher" are some of Joyce Manor's best to date.

More pics from House of Vans and a video of Joyce Manor playing "Five Beer Plan" at their CT show earlier this week below...

Continue reading "Joyce Manor played House of Vans & Acheron (pics, review)"

LA fuzz punks Joyce Manor will be playing FYF Fest and MusicFestNW this September, and they've just announced a summer tour leading up to those fests. That tour includes a run with Algernon Cadwallader which brings them to NYC for a show on August 16 at Acheron. All Joyce Manor dates are listed below.

If you've yet to check out Joyce Manor's new album, Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired, you can stream the whole thing at their Punknews profile, and the band's 2011 self titled debut is streaming on bandcamp.

You can also stream the track, "Violent Inside," off the new LP below, along with a list of all dates...

Continue reading "Joyce Manor touring this summer, playing Acheron (dates)"

The Fest is back for round 11 (!) adding bands from across the spectrum of punk rock for the multi-day Gainesville, Florida extravaganza. The Fest announced its initial lineup earlier this month but has doubled that number, bringing the total tally to a whopping 217, and there are more to go! The lineup includes Lagwagon, Naked Raygun, Baroness, Red Fang, Off with Their Heads, Torche, Valient Thorr, 7 Seconds, F.Y.P., Braid, Titus Andronicus, Toys That Kill, Underground Railroad to Candyland, Frank Turner and many more (see below). Tickets are now on sale (and sold out quick last year).

Full lineup is below, expect to see some surprises at The Fest as well; Sleepytime Trio reunited there last year.

Continue reading "The Fest returns to Gainesville in 2012 --- lineup & tickets"