For the past decade-plus, Joywave has been leaving a mark on the alternative rock world. Formed in Rochester, NY in 2010, the band broke through by featuring on Big Data’s 2014 hit, “Dangerous,” before releasing their full length debut, How Do You Feel Now?, the following year.
Fast forward to the present-day, and the band brought its Express Wash tour to The Basement East on Saturday night. The result was high-powered, visually engaging set that showcased the band’s versatility and love of sonic exploration.
Joywave performed a fun, fast, and funky set that ran just over an hour, and which featured fan favorites spanning the band’s career. Selections from the band’s formative days were plentiful; the band’s breakthrough single, “Somebody New,” was met with a nostalgic excitement by the packed East Nashville crowd, and a performance of “Dangerous” featuring not one, not two, but THREE bassists kept people dancing late in the set.
With that being said, the band’s enduring anthems held up well alongside newer cuts. We were treated to a few selections — and a range of emotions — from the band’s most recent full-length effort, Cleanse. Feel-good set opener, “Every Window Is a Mirror,” and the self-empowerment anthem, “We Are All We Need” were enough to lift anyone’s spirit. Elsewhere, the depth and poignance of “Goodbye Tommy” gave those in attendance an opportunity to reflect, as frontman Daniel Armbruster dedicated the song to those lost in Nashville’s recent Covenant School shooting.
Overall, Saturday night’s 18-song set was an opportunity for meaningful connection between the band and its fans. After having its Nashville date on the Cleanse tour thwarted by a tornado warning, the band made its triumphant return to Music City — and were greeted by hundreds of their closest friends in celebration of everywhere they’ve been, and all that is to come.
Setlist:
Every Window Is a Mirror
Coming Apart
It’s a Trip!
Obsession
After Coffee
Doubt
Ugly Ending (Best Frenz cover)
F.E.A.R.
Traveling at the Speed of Light
Goodbye Tommy
Buy American
Somebody New
Now
Half Your Age
We Are All We Need
Tongues
Dangerous (Big Data cover)
Destruction
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