The rescheduled bout of Ocean Child, The Hustle and Joyfriend occurred at the Beat Kitchen this past Friday night, delivering a bounce fest of hard-hitting rock bangers. It’s always nice coming back to the Beat Kitchen, as it’s where it all started for me with photography. Another night to add to the already endless list of sentimental memories I’ve made in that back room.
Check out our full recap below!
Recap/Photo Credit: Arthur Siwek for Pursuit of Dopeness
Kicking off the night was a half-hour set from Joyfriend, who was accompanied by his brother and members from his band Austice, along with drummer Dominic from Det Metra/Ilo Ilo. Joyfriend’s set featured unexpectedly aggressive versions of his catalog that warmed the crowd up for the night to follow, with near punk rock-esque renditions of his typically mellow, acoustic sound. Joyfriend, iconically sipping on whiskey throughout the set, provided a great reason for people to come early and start the night off jamming. I’ve been following Joyfriend since before his name/genre change, and it’s always a treat to see what he has in store for his current iteration of the music from his mind. I’m excited to see where he takes the project as he’s constantly raising the bar in his self-expression.
Following Joyfriend was The Hustle, near and dear friends of mine, whose shows I have been going to for a few years short of a decade now. These guys all have something new to deliver, whether it’d be an untitled jam for an interlude or riff changes to past music. The Hustle walked onto the Beat Kitchen stage and rocked the house as they have many times in the past. With a setlist consisting of crowd favorites from “Feng Shui” and “Run Wild”, to unreleased tracks that have been, and are still being perfected such as songs that are currently titled “Spighotto” and Running from the Truth, The Hustle put on a show that’s damn near impossible to not dance along to. With pauses in bridges and broken guitars, The Hustle created anticipation and excitement throughout their set that continuously fuels me with inspiration and a vision for their bright future. It may just be because I’m friends with them and get to witness their progress in front of me, but I cannot help the goosebumps that emerge during their sets. It’s always something special for me to see.
Hailing all the way down from Champaign, Illinois, Ocean Child headlined the night with a set that brought the whole night to a full circle closure. With support from a kick-ass drummer as well as a bassist with seemingly endless amounts of energy, Ocean Child’s set ranged from original music such as “You“, to crowd-amping covers of the Beatles towards the latter half of their set. It’s too fun to see these under-21 bands rocking shows with an ‘X’ sharpie mark on their hands, it definitely highlights the path of success they’re heading down. After a set so energetic it left the crowd cheering for an encore, frontman Marco pled for a necessary drum-key as his kit’s cymbals and hats loosened throughout his time. Lo and behold, someone walked up from the back of the room to toss a key up on stage. Shoutout Antonio. Ocean Child capped the night off in great fashion to send everyone off with a proper goodbye.
Check out our full photo gallery below!
