PUP and Joyce Manor at Showbox Market

We headed over to the Showbox Market to catch one of the most anticipated live shows this month. The headlining tour with Joyce Manor and PUP has been mostly sold out in every stop, sometimes multiple days. Seattle was lucky to get two nights with the bands and their loving fans filled up the historic venue.

The night started off with support from Pool Kids, who have made a strong impression with their latest self-titled album. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Christine Goodwyne, guitarist Andrew Anaya, bassist Nicolette Alvarez, and drummer Caden Clinton. They impressed the room playing their earworm tunes, “That’s Physics, Baby,” and “I Hope You’re Right.”

Next up were Joyce Manor, the band formed in 2008, consisting of lead vocalist/guitarist Barry Johnson, guitarist Chase Knobbe, and bassist/backing vocalist Matt Ebert. They have released six albums, the latest titled 40oz to Fresno. Johnson ran around the stage engaging with the fans who seemed to know every word to their songs. It was very intense and very raw punk rock vibes making your heart race the whole time. Johnson even stepped down into the pit at some point as fans were constantly crowd surfing. Highlights included, “Heart Tattoo,” “NBTSA,” “Falling in Love Again,” “Constant Headache,” “Catalina Fight Song,” “Big Lie,” “Gotta Let It Go,” and “Beach Community.”

It was time for PUP to take the stage and fans screamed in excitement as they appeared one by one. It was overloaded from the start as lead Stefan Babcock sang his first words. The crowd was repeatedly singing back to every word and the band took it all in giving them 100%. It was loud and rowdy and no one was standing still in the pit. Fans were crowd surfing and there was a mosh pit going the whole time.

Bassist Nestor Chumak, guitarist Steve Sladkowski, and drummer Zack Mykula, were bringing so much energy to the live performance. There was so much jumping at some point I didn’t understand how they were not rolling over out of breath. This band obviously knows how to bring chaos to a city and everyone in the room was taking it all in. We were very impressed by the whole night and will for sure be back when they return. This is a band you don’t want to miss when they are near you. Highlights included, “DVP,” “Dark Days,” Kids,” “If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will,” “Sleep in the Heat,” and “Morbid Stuff.”