On Thursday, August 20, the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock became the unlikely home of a rowdy, sold-out punk show as Joyce Manor brought their I Used to Go to This Bar tour to the Hudson Valley, joined by FFO Chillin and Glitterer.
New Hampshire’s FFO Chillin opened the night at 8 p.m., blending fuzzy alternative rock with slacker punk to create songs that felt loose and unpolished in the best way possible. What made their set especially effective, however, was how quickly they connected with the audience. The crowd was already packed into the room by the time FFO Chillin took the stage, and it didn’t take long for people to start moving. Not long after the first few songs, lead singer Zaq Hollen called for the crowd to open up the pit. Almost immediately, the energy in the room shifted as fans began pushing into the newly formed circle. By the end of their set, FFO Chillin had completely changed the atmosphere of the room, setting the tone for the rest of the night.
Glitterer followed at 8:45 p.m. with an entirely different sound but the same sense of energy. Led by Ned Russin, former bassist of Title Fight, the project blends elements of punk, indie rock, emo, and shoegaze. Their music has an interesting balance between aggression and melody. There is enough distortion and speed to keep the punk crowd moving, but enough pop sensibility to make the songs immediately accessible. By the time Glitterer walked offstage, there was no question that the crowd was ready for Joyce Manor.
At 10 p.m., Joyce Manor took the Bearsville stage. The California trio has built its reputation on emotionally charged punk songs that are deceptively simple. Their songs are short, fast, and incredibly catchy, often packing a huge amount of feeling into just a couple of minutes. It’s a style that has helped make Joyce Manor one of the most beloved bands in modern punk.
With a setlist spanning more than 20 songs, the band pulled from across their catalog, mixing longtime favorites like “Constant Headache” and “Catalina Fight Song” with newer material from their latest album, I Used to Go to This Bar. The band’s rapid-fire transitions left little room for the energy in the room to settle.
From the moment the band took the stage, the room erupted. Nearly every song became a full-room singalong, with fans from the front of the stage to the back of the room shouting the lyrics back at the band, often with enough volume to compete with the music itself. It was obvious that this wasn’t a crowd casually discovering Joyce Manor, these were longtime fans who knew the records, knew every word, and had clearly been waiting for this night.
The room was constantly in motion, with the audience feeding off every song. Mosh pits continued to open throughout the set, while fans began crowd surfing and stage diving. What started with FFO Chillin opening up the pit had transformed into a full-blown punk show, with the energy continuing well into Joyce Manor’s set.
Seeing that kind of chaos inside the Bearsville Theater was arguably one of the best parts of the night. The Woodstock venue has hosted an enormous variety of artists over the years, but a show like this felt different. Rather than feeling out of place, the punk show highlighted just how versatile the venue really is. Bearsville can be an intimate room for a quiet acoustic performance, a space for jam bands to explore, or, on a Thursday night in August, a sweaty punk venue where an audience spends an hour throwing themselves around. Judging by the crowd’s reaction, it’s a side of Bearsville that people wouldn’t mind seeing again.
As part of the evening’s encore, Joyce Manor surprised the crowd with a cover of NOFX’s “Linoleum.” For the final song, FFO Chillin returned to the stage to join Joyce Manor for “Five Beer Plan,” bringing the opening band and headliner together for a chaotic and fitting end to the night.
Joyce Manor – Bearsville Theater – Thursday, August 20
Setlist: I Know Where Mark Chen Lives, Falling in Love Again, Beach Community, Heart Tattoo, Grey Guitar, Eighteen, I Used to Go to This Bar, Last You Heard of Me, NBTSA, Big Lie, The Jerk, Well, Don’t It Seem Like You’ve Been Here Before?, Christmas Card, All My Friends Are So Depressed, House Warning Party, Schley, Constant Headache, Leather Jacket, Well, Whatever It Was, Catalina Fight Song
Encore: Derailed, Fake I.D., Linoleum, Chumped, Five Beer Plan
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