Opening the nights sets was the vicious set from Destroy Clocks, that was as devastating as it was load, revving up fans in Pressed for what was to come at the show presented by spectrasonic last night.
One thing was clear when No Joy set foot on the stage, tonight wasn't going to be a downbeat affair. Starting their set off on heavy hitters "Shug" and "Lizard Kids" the Montrealers had their set focused on their grungy side for the night. Despite the absent bass player the band's computer assisted backing never seemed to hurt the raw energy coming from the band, really just filling out the sound, as it should.
Their no-nonsense set, vacant of many of their slower singles, roared with intensity and was frankly shockingly gritty and fast for a band that has became known just as well for their moody tracks as their punk inspired music. This wasn't a detriment however as the charged set kept giving listeners what they were loving, allowing the crowd to really fully soak up this side of the band fully.
After a hypnotising set where the sonic push never seemed to stop they wrapped things with a throwback to their early single "Hawaii" before closing the night on a pounding rendition of "E" with both guitarists falling to the floor to take the crowd on a trip manning their pedal boards hands on, like captains steering two ships in time with each other. No Joy definitely set a new high for the kind of intense show one can expect to see at Pressed, one whose musical ambition won't be matched for some time.
Setlist:
Shug
Lizard Kids
Lunar Phobia
Hollywood Teeth
Last Boss
Hare Tarot Lies
Blue Neck Riviera
Hawaii
E
