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Review / Basement & Joyce Manor @ SWX

'Ideal co-headliners', Gail El-Halaby reviews Basement and Joyce Manor at SWX

By Gail El-Halaby, Second Year Pyschology

'Ideal co-headliners', Gail El-Halaby reviews Basement and Joyce Manor at SWX

It had been a few years since I had last visited both emo indie rock-influenced Joyce Manor and hardcore-punk influenced band Basement, so seeing them in the same room, and in one night was exciting. Both bands, though sharing the similar genres of music have their own unique nuances, making them ideal co-headliners for this tour.

Joyce Manor recently released album Million Dollars To Kill Me- which has a mere running time of only 23 minutes. Their songs are known for being short and snappy whilst packing a punch. Their setlist reflects this with a huge 15 songs being played in their 40-minute set. They don’t disappoint however, with an abundance of energy and good vibes mixed with simple stage production, they made the perfect warm up to Basement. You could tell fans were pleased too, making sure they packed in as many fan favourites as possible, such as classic ‘Constant Headache’ which had the crowd going crazy and The Smiths style ‘Falling In Love Again’, I enjoyed the addition of the super short but sweet ballad ‘wildflowers’, which both guitarists Barry Johnson and Chase Knobbe even said was their favourite on the record. I particularly enjoyed their audience participation- near the end the crowd decided they wanted to hear old classic ‘Leather Jacket’ rather than ‘Christmas Card’. They stay true to themselves- they’re perfect to play a huge venue but I could still imagine playing a crazy intense house party basement.

After Joyce Manor's energetic and uplifting performance came Basement- the dynamic five piece originating from Ipswich, whose one hour set went surprisingly fast. They open with 'Disconnect', the opener from their new album Beside Myself - which everyone should listen to - and immediately the crowd surges forward and the madness begin. They put on a damn good show- with great production and lighting and a good variety of songs spanning their discography, pleasing both old fans and new. Lead singer Andrew Fisher’s vocals are tight but raw and emotional, and even though it’s the last date on the tour, he shows no sign of tiring out. The crowd goes particularly wild during 'Covet', an old favourite from their second album. As a whole, the set is energetic and upbeat throughout, the crowd roar along to pretty much every word and the show ends with Fischer stating that this has been his favourite show of the tour- a clear +1 to Bristol.

Feature Image: Joyce Manor/ Epitaph Records and Basement/Run for Cover Records


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