Concert of the Week: Djo at D.C's Anthem

A lot of actors would kill to have the career of Joe Keery, and a lot of musicians would kill to have the career of Djo. Unfortunately for them, he's the same guy. It's kinda rude. To be so good at both. Leave some for the rest of 'em.

Now, I don't watch Stranger Things anymore (is it on? is it over? isn't it basically over?) and could only recommend the movie Spree to a select group of people (weirdos), so Djo (it's pronounced Djo) is the only Joe I know anymore. After putting out his third album, The Crux, he's been on tour - we caught him at D.C.'s Anthem last week.

The show starts with Post Animal, Joe's band before the acting stuff took off and he only had time for solo work. They're one of those bands with five guys and three of them play guitar. You know the type. When Djo showed up to play their last few songs together (he's got to be the world's most famous rhythm guitarist and back-up singer), he's the fourth guitarist. Why do they need so many? Somebody's gotta go.

Djo's band is similarly overgrown - two drummers, two guitarists, a bassist, a synth player, and multi-instrumentalist Djo - but they aren't as obnoxious about it. In fact, they rock. They're so good that I'll forgive having two drummers. The Crux is an album dripping with decades of rock inspiration and influences, with some particular Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles (Joe Cohen of Pitchfork called it "googly-eyed McCartney worship" and that's just...so funny...I wish I thought of that...) really shining through.

After kicking off with a few songs from his last album, Decide, he sticks mainly to The Crux, which is good because it's easily his best top-to-bottom album. Maybe he went TikTok viral with "End of Beginning," which surely got the biggest ovation (it was a sold-out house at the Anthem) and the most sing-alongs, but Djo knows and I know that it isn't his best song. He plays it like any other song in the set, while songs like "Charlie's Garden," "Delete Ya," "Gap Tooth Smile," and my personal favorite from the record, "Potion," get the theatrical boast.

He's a strong showman (just ask the person who left with the hat he threw into the crowd) and leading man, on stage and on screen. When Post Animal comes out from the big encore jam-out number, you can't keep your eyes off Djo. Maybe that's because he's the big Netflix star, or maybe it's because he truly has that unique rock star energy that so many want, but few actually have.

Also, I just want to add that The Anthem is great. I've yet to have a bad experience. Crowd management is organized, the bouncer didn't mind when I messed up his zip-code pop quiz (it's my old address - oops!), they passed out some much needed water in-between sets, and we shared ice cream down the street before the show with a bartender who hooked us up later on. Cool dude.

Cool place. Cool show.

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