Joyce Manor, The Exquisites, Dogs On Acid and Spirit of The Beehive @ Union Transfer.
Text by Vince Bellino. Images by Jessica Flynn.
Joyce Manor headlined a high-energy show to a rowdy crowd at the Union Transfer Wednesday night.
Spirit of The Beehive kicked off the evening with an interesting brand of poppy garage rock that at times bordered on psychedelic. Justin Fox, newly added member of the band on guitar and keyboards and formerly of Kite Party, contributed some of the night’s most interesting sounds.
Dogs on Acid, the recent project featuring former members of Algernon Cadwallader, performed their blend of feel-good rock with uppity-emo. The band was friendly and got the crowd going, asking “What did you do today?” to a mixed response of silly answers throughout the room.
Seattle’s The Exquisites took the stage next, immediately thanking the previous bands for playing, noting Philadelphia’s awesome musical talents. The band added that one of its own members was from Philadelphia before launching into an energetic set that is well-described as “soulful punk music,” featuring fast-paced guitars and drumming to match vocalist Jason Clackley’s impressive voice.
As The Exquisites left the stage, the crowd then waited with bated breath for Joyce Manor, some speculating about the songs they might play. “I want to hear ‘5 Beer Plan,’” said one fan from the crowd of the band’s older material, though others had undoubtedly come to hear songs from the band’s new LP Never Hungover Again, which was released in July.
Joyce Manor walked on at 10:45 p.m. Before beginning, vocalist/guitarist Barry Johnson asked the crowd to be courteous and conscious of those around them – an effort made for about 30 seconds before Joyce Manor launched into a wildly energetic rendition of “Heart Tattoo” during which the people surged forward about 15 feet to crowd surf, climb on each others’ heads and stage dive.
The crowd continued its high-energy rampage throughout Joyce Manor’s set. On many occasions, the band had to throw shoes back to crowd members who lost them in the chaos. The intensity peaked when Johnson introduced the band’s 2013 hit “Constant Headache” as “that song that all you guys like.”
The band finished with a two-song encore that included “Leather Jacket.” Following up on his speech about safety, Johnson called out a large man stage diving on the smaller fans in the front row as “large man being a dickhead.”
Any gripes about unsafe moshing aside, Joyce Manor came out and expressed their love to Philly and the bands that opened up the night, and a great night of memorable performances it was.
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JUMP: The Philly Music Project 
Was there in the crowd and it was absolutely amazing. Nice post!