Houston got the technicolour version of Djo on Thursday night, rolling into The Pavilion at Toyota Center with a set that felt like a single spool of film, no dead air, just quick cuts and bright, woozy frames.
Post Animal primed the room first with serrated psych and elastic grooves, a reminder that Joe Keery’s roots still run noisy and out there, in all the right ways.
Post Animal’s run, ‘Caving In’, ‘Gelatin Mode’, ‘Setting Sun’, ‘Ralphie’, ‘Victory Lap: Danger Zone’, ‘Pie in the Sky’, ‘Last Goodbye’, ‘Dirtpicker’, landed like warm up stretches that turned into a sprint. Guitars knotted, the rhythm section punched, and the crowd clocked early that an encore reunion was coming.
Post Animal Gallery
Djo
Then Djo hit, ‘Awake’ snapped the lights on, followed by ‘Uglyfisherman’ and ‘Basic Being Basic’, sleek synths, gummy bass, that glassy vocal cutting through the haze. ‘Gloom’, ‘Link’ and ‘Charlie’s Garden’ padded out the early glow before ‘Roddy’ detonated into a drum break that veered from tasteful to feral. Mid set, ‘Gap Tooth Smile’ and ‘Potion’ kept the disco strut alive, with ‘Fly’ floating the room for a breath.
The darker neon arrived with ‘Delete Ya’ and ‘Half Life’, then colour came roaring back via ‘Listen’ and ‘Egg’, a clean runway into the night’s inevitable apex: ‘End of Beginning’. Phones up, voices louder, a bridge that still hits like cool air in a hot room. ‘Back on You’ locked the main set with a tight, funky grin.
Encore? ‘Chateau (Feel Alright)’ opened the sunroof, and then the payoff: ‘Flash Mountain’ with Post Animal, a Chicago garage throwback welded to Djo’s glossy present. For a few minutes, it was pure band as gang energy, guitars tangled, drums swung, no one blinked.
The secret to Djo live is the finish. The band sounds expensive without losing the fingerprints; the songs breathe, stretch, and snap back on command. Houston got a set built like a mixtape, sequenced for maximum lift.
Djo Gallery
Photos: Our photographer Heather Martinez was in the pit, be sure to follow her on instagram: @heathermartinezphotography.
RELATED
MORE IN Features
