RICHMOND, VA- Originating from Rochester, New York, the indie electronic/retro/alternative-rock group, Joywave, found success with their hit single “Tongues” and working with Big Data on the track “Dangerous” back in 2014. Between full length albums, the most recent “Content” released in 2017, mixtapes, and EP’s they have rightly made a name for themselves. Their most recent release, the single “Blastofffff”, was released July 12th, 2018.
They have opened up for 30 Seconds to Mars, The Killers, Young the Giant and Cold War Kids to name a few. Daniel Armbruster (lead singer), Paul Brenner (drums), Joseph Morinelli (guitar) and Benjamin Bailey (keyboard) all grew up together and started making music together in 2010. Kevin Mahoney is their bassist for the tour.
With this summer being the third leg of their tour, Joywave made their first stop in Richmond, VA. When I heard they were going to be playing near me, I immediately knew I needed to go see them live. Listening to them since 2016, I’ve been itching to experience the dynamic energy they have to offer.
Upon arriving The Broadberry, a little hole in the wall venue, there were ardent fans lined up outside in the downpour rain. Hearing some of them chatter about their previous Joywave shows, I knew everyone was in for some entertainment. There was no way that the inclement weather would damper their spirits.
Once the line of fans was ushered in from the rain, The Demos got the crowd Grooving along with to their indie-pop songs. Grandson was up next and they were simply bursting at the seams with passion and enthusiasm. Jumping around the stage and shouting lyrics saturated with illusions to events and raw emotions in today’s society, one could say that they’ve start a movement of their own.
On stage, computer monitors were perched on top of four pillars that lined the back of the stage, leaving the front wide open for what was to come. Taking their positions on stage, the atmospheric beats rang over the speakers to open their first song of the night, “Content” (pronounced con-TENT according to the band).
The familiar, iconic mustache and black rimmed glasses, of Joywave’s frontman, Armbruster, elicited a wave of cheers as he took center stage. Armbruster, composed himself, and as soon as the beat dropped, all the energy in the room let loose as he proceeded to own the stage.
Conceptuality speaking, this show was unlike any I’ve seen before. I was mesmerized by the stances of the band members and how they moved ever so slightly with the music’s rhythm as the computer monitors exhibited everything from music videos to graphics to just simple splashes of color. Armbruster, however, was a kinetic. His stage movement was constant and he hardly stood still for even a moment all-night long, colliding to create and embody a perfect, bold and charismatic atmosphere.
In between flashing he beaming smiles to the booming crowd, raising his fists in the air and walking around the stage with his arms out doing his “best Jared Leto impression”, Armbruster, had a way with words and humor. Halfway through the set he thanked the opening bands by name and then exclaimed, “… and give a big round of applause for Joywave!”. He then stretched his arms out to side and strut in a circle, “this is my best Jared Leto impression”. The crowd was losing it, “Jared Leto and I are very very close, come see me if you want his phone number”.
After rocking through more of their hit songs, “Traveling at the Speed of Light” and “Destruction’, and dishing out some more humorous one liners that you couldn’t help but laugh at, he announced their last song. It was during their finale that we really understood the true humor Joywave has to offer. Daniel Armbruster walked off stage while whispering, “one more song, one more song…” waiting for the crowd to start chanting. Moments after the crowd caught on, he came running back out with a tremendous smile, pointing to it and professing, “this… this is the real reaction to the spontaneous love you are giving us by chanting (one more song)”.
Closing the night with “Thanks, Thanks for Coming”, the guys walked off one by one letting us slowly come out of the electronic synthesis spell that they cast upon us throughout the whole night.
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