Joywave | Bands through Town

Rollin' with my homies;

Joywave rolled through St. Louis at high Tide

By Cory Weaver

Joywave exorcised a few demons last Friday night by playing in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd at The Firebird in Midtown.

An unseasonably warm November evening heated up a steamy Firebird, which became a perfect incubator for a fun-filled night with the boys from Rochester, N.Y.

Lead vocalist Daniel Armbruster was the last to join the band on stage, and rightfully so—he was under the weather, and admittedly sustaining himself with Mucinex-D, but his hard-hitting head cold seemed to have no effect on the band’s hard-hitting opening song, “Content,” also the new album’s title track. This was the perfect table setter to introduce the band.

They wasted no time playing their hit single "It's A Trip!" A song that other bands may have saved for the encore was slated third on the 16-song set.

The Firebird crowd swamped the intimate space of the venue and was practically on top of the band, but that didn't seem to faze Armbruster, who filled the set with friendly banter. He had the crowd rolling by admitting his $7.99 Metallica t-shirt was bought the day before at JCPenney with hopes he would "piss off" Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich in the process.

The set freely moved forward with semi-poppy body bumpin' tunes like "Shutdown," "Doubt" and "Rumors."

"Destruction,""Somebody New," "Going to a Place," "Confidence" and "Tongues" rounded out the high-energy night.

Having such a heavily produced studio sound, one can't be absolutely sure what you're going to get live. Joywave left no doubt—this is a complete sound.

While Armbruster's lyrics leave one to ruminate on his self-doubt and the questions that tomorrow brings, his stage presence and the confidence the band conveys is unquestionable.

Joywave is truly a "giant with an appetite; pushin' people to the floor."