Joe Keery Brings A Slice of Chicago to Glasgow
In the early lore surrounding Djo as a creative project, fans remember that Joe Keery used to wear a luscious wig and sunglasses to distinguish between himself and his musical persona. While his date at Glasgow’s O2 Academy was post-wig and the TikTok traction of End of Beginning, it was equally as captivating, fun, and high energy as I imagine it would have been at the very beginning.
Post Animal, an alternative indie band composed of Dalton Allison, Jake Hirshland, Javi Reyes and Wesley Toledo, opened with Caving In, a subdued and vibrant tune that set the tone for the rest of the evening. They are quoted as being the “gentlemen of my life” by Joe Keery, who is a longtime close friend and former active member of the group, parting ways due to his demanding acting commitments. Still actively writing tunes with them, this partnership is a prime example of the fact that there is nothing better than traveling the world and playing music with your best friends.
As the house lights came down, and the symphony of fog machines and stage lighting catapulted us into Djo’s first song, Runner. The crowd was so loud it was difficult to tell from the center of the floor where one tune started and the next one began. He then went straight into Gloom, which is a personal favourite. The lines, “I know my hair looked good in the bathroom of the bar/Turns out I left my wallet at the bathroom bar” being a prime example of lyrical genius.
It seemed we would be in for an intense hour as the setlist included Link, Charlie’s Garden, and Basic Being Basic in succession of each other. The vast majority of video content from this segment of the show consists of the people around me screaming the lyrics with interjections to briefly readjust my pint to avoid spillage from the raw and uncontainable excitement that was buzzing off of everyone.
Fool and Lonesome Is a State of Mind were exceptional crowd pleasers, the multicolored lighting punctuating the aura of the room. This was quickly interjected by the romantic and beautiful melodic nature of the live rendition of Fly, which the hoards of couples in the audience seemed to enjoy the most. Even my friend who attended the show, being a novice in Djo’s discography, was tickled by the live performances of Egg, Figure You Out, and Delete Ya, so much so that he specifically asked to be sent the spotify links to each of them for his playlists.
Gap Tooth Smile, and Potion, were highlights of the new album, The Crux, and I was eager to experience them in person. The lighthearted and catchy tunes gave hope to those of us in the audience that were sans partners that perhaps next time we find ourselves in the stall at Djo we could be one of those in a conspicuous romance. It was also undeniably fun to hear everyone yell from one to twenty-nine in unison, as I’m sure they had at all previous shows on this tour.
The best part of the show was the inclusion of Chateau (Feel Alright) and Roddy from the album Twenty-Twenty, which were my personal introduction to Djo back in 2019. Though End of Beginning was the most widely known, and had everyone in the audience screaming at the stop of their lungs, it was the songs from that first album that had this reviewer giggling and kicking her feet, a call back to a simpler time that was six years ago, but still seems so recent.
The encore of Back on You, into Flash Mountain with the entirety of Post Animal was one of the best endings to a gig I’ve seen in a long time. It was so high energy and reminiscent of an intense jam session in the backyard of someone’s house show. There were hardly any phones in sight, just a collective unspoken agreement to dance around and enjoy as the lads built the intensity in the melodies to give the audience a finish that was just as strong, loud, and enthusiastic as the start of the show.
One thing is clear, if Djo has no fans left, I am most certainly dead, and I would be eager to see either of the two acts again. The opportunity to see him live with Post Animal is one that should not be passed up, and luckily there will be many opportunities as they continue across mainland Europe, and are slated to make an appearance at Glastonbury this year.
