They Came to Drop Bombs
Pennsylvania punks, Joey Valence and Brae packed a punch at Toronto’s The Axis Club on Tuesday, September 24th. The duo gained significant attention with last year’s debut, Punk Tactics, but the release of June’s No Hands has earned them more than four million monthly listeners on streaming services, launching them to underground-superstar-status. According to veteran fans and sisters, Brook and Ava Ruscillo, this was the third time the duo had performed at this venue, the first time being in May of last year where they played to an audience of less than two hundred people. On Tuesday night, they performed for a sold out show on what is shaping up to be a completely sold out tour.
JVB’s DJ riled up the audience playing minute clips of familiar anthems from DMX to LMFAO. The crowd was hot, but the DJ’s set was cold and a spurned creative opportunity.
The cheers were deafening and the dancefloor was quaking when Joey Valence and Brae entered the stage jumping from “The Baddest” into “Packapunch”. In the studio version of “The Baddest”, they asked: “Do you think anybody’s actually gonna dance to this?” and the answer from the crowd was a resounding YES. In a club packed shoulder-to-shoulder all the way to the back, we don’t want to talk, we just want to dance, but all we can do is pogo!
The punks commanded that the pit open up for their rowdiest songs, “Startafight” and “Like a Punk”. As the sea of costumes moshed around the dancefloor, a few forgot the new album’s mantra, throwing hands, and getting out of hand, but quickly cooled down without disrupting the energetic flow of the night. Some audience members threw a bunch of bananas into the pit and created a slipping hazard. It was sad to see the venue disrespected at what was otherwise a positive and absolutely electric experience. The most touching moment of the evening came mid-set when the DJ started up the instrumental for “No Hands”, and Brae commanded the audience if they came to the show with their best friend, before saying “so did I.” Joey Valence and Brae closed out their set with “Omnitrix”, the most introspective cut off of No Hands. In it they use Ben 10 references to criticize the narcissism of mainstream acts and their followers, address toxic masculinity, and affirm their DIY cred, all while maintaining their sense of humor and braggadocio.
The Making of ‘No Hands’ Documentary shows off the fun of this project. No label, no agent, no promo, no hands, just two dudes in a Pennsylvania bedroom screaming into their microphone for fun. The magic is that as long they keep having fun, audiences will keep listening.
The ‘No Hands Tour ‘is not one to miss this fall, so you’re going to want to move on the few tickets which are still available.
-photos: Nicholas Christakis
-words: Jack Burton
