One of the premier tours of the Fall kicked off Wednesday September 3rd in St. Paul. “A CATACLYSMIC RAPTURE OF FRIENDSHIPNESS!!!” featuring Toronto-based punk outfit PUP, the legendary Jeff Rosenstock, and upstarts Ekko Astral from Washington D.C.
PUP is coming off the release of their new record Who Will Look After the Dogs earlier this year While Jeff Rosenstock is still riding high off the release of another classic album in the form of 2023’s Hellmode.
The twin headlining bill of PUP and Rosenstock is a dream for those inclined towards high-energy pop punk and garage rock with a focus on song-writing. Personally, both bands have played some of the best shows in my memory, so I couldn’t miss seeing them together.
Ekko Astral
Before the headliners, Ekko Astral took the stage for a great set of politically charged post-hardcore, noise punk and art rock. I wasn’t familiar with the band prior to the show, but have definitely checked them out since. The band released their debut record, Pink Balloons, in April of 2024 to critical acclaim. The album even clocked in at the #1 spot of Pitchfork’s “Best Rock Albums of 2024” list.
Ekko Astral played for roughly half an hour and made the most out of every minute. The highlight of the set came when they played some unreleased material off a future project. If the material translates as well in studio as it does live, their follow-up record should be just as lauded as Pink Balloons. The band does a great job of mixing their styles up, going from slow and heavy industrial sounds to a more upbeat pop punk sound. There’s a bit there for everyone and a lot of great political and social messages in their music.
In the current political landscape, it’s important to rally around the people who need support and protection. Ekko Astral is on the forefront of those issues. If you’re coming out to the tour, make sure you show up early enough to catch their set.
Jeff Rosenstock
After Ekko Astral’s outstanding opening, Jeff Rosenstock took the stage for a blistering set that spanned some of the biggest hits and fan favorites from his solo career. Rosenstock burst onto the scene with his work in Bomb the Music Industry! But he has arguably built just as impressive a catalogue under his own name. The California-based guitarist and songwriter showed off his deep discography during the show, playing a well-balanced show with material from all six of his studio albums.
One of the first observations about a Jeff Rosenstock show that one may make is how well he connects with the crowd. The sing-alongs are all met with audience participation, Rosenstock’s banter feels warm and welcome instead of like a necessary but unwanted break in the show. The audience is just as frenzied for deep cuts like his set opener “Darkness Records” as they are for his most popular material. Another great aspect of a Jeff Rosenstock set is how dynamic the pacing is. He has garage rock-tinged power pop bangers like “Scram!”, but also can slow it down with moody and reflective ballads like “Staring Out the Window at Your Old Apartment”.
The wide-ranging genres and topics of Rosenstock songs make for an amazing live experience. He and his band are truly among the gold standards of live punk rock shows. Rosenstock has become one of the most interesting figures in alternative rock as an active artist since 2005. As mentioned, he’s most known for his solo material and time in BtMI! but has also released music with The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, Antarctigo Vespucci and more. If his live performances are any indication, Rosenstock isn’t slowing down.
Highlights of the hour-long set included a spirited rendition of his hit song “Nausea”, a sing-along of the vulnerable “9/10”, as well as the high-energy “Festival Song” a scathing anthem about the commodification of punk and DIY ethos.
PUP
While Jeff Rosenstock’s set was a rollercoaster, going from frantic and chaotic rippers to emotional reflections, PUP is much more primal and guttural. Sure, there’s some letting up in the set, at least sonically, but most of the show is a balls-to-the-wall shit show of anthems for those of us who are feeling the pain of the modern world.
Lead singer Stefan Babcock started the set by declaring that outside the walls of the Palace Theatre in St. Paul, the world is very difficult and unfriendly right now. A lot of us are having a very difficult time for a myriad of reasons, but for the duration of the show, it was important to make that time a good one. This included watching out for fellow concert goers, making sure everyone was having safe and having a good time while tearing it up. The request is appreciated for PUP’s crowd, which tends to be incredibly raucous. Their music is ripe with opportunity for crowd-surfing, moshing and full on circle pits that are unfortunately missing from so many of the “newer” punk bands on the scene’s shows.
The set started with a high-energy fan favorites that included “No Hope” off their new album, along with PUP setlist mainstays “My Life is Over and I Couldn’t Be Any Happier”, “Free at Last”, “Robot Writes a Love Song” and “Dark Days.”
The set included several songs from their new album, which fit well into their trademark high-energy show. As always, a highlight of the night came from the double feature of their classics “If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will” into “DVP”. The band has been closing shows with those two songs for much of their history, but have moved it towards the end of the set.
Throughout their history, PUP have never been a fan of doing encores. They traditionally let the audience know its their last couple of songs and end the show. For this tour, there once again is no encore, but there is something else. Jeff Rosenstock and his band rejoin the stage for a quick set that includes two PUP songs, two Jeff Rosenstock songs and a cover of Alanis Morrissette’s “You Oughta Know.”
The show was great up till that point, but the double band set was a real highlight. It felt like a joyous celebration of an amazing night of music.
The show truly was an epic night of some of the best pop punk has to offer. The audience responded to everything all three bands did. As a veteran of hundreds of shows, I’ve lost the feeling that I had when I first started going to shows. Sure, all live shows are fun, but there’s times where the experience feels a bit worn, like your old favorite shirt that doesn’t quite fit anymore. Every now and then, a show comes through that gives me the same feeling I had when I went to my first-ever live punk gig, a 2011 Dead Milkmen show at the now-defunct Congress Theater in Chicago. This was one of those nights. If you’re a fan of PUP, Jeff Rosenstock or Ekko Astral already, this is a must-see show. But if you’re interested in a great show and happen to see it coming through your town; go. You won’t regret it.
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