There was a guy wearing a TV set on his head when I walked into Piere’s Entertainment Center in Ft. Wayne, Indiana on September 20, 2022.
That guy was Mobley – a one-man show who played a wild mix of electro and soul on everything from guitar, drum kit, keyboards, and a sequencer. His video clips displayed behind him were perfectly synchronized with his fun set, showing lyrics and images from his tracks.
I was mainly there to see The Joy Formidable, who were opening for The Front Bottoms. The crowd was heavy with Front Bottoms fans, judging by the number of band shirts I saw in the crowd, and hardly anyone knew who The Joy Formidable were. It was also, according to lead singer and guitarist Rhiannon “Ritzy” Bryan, the band’s first time playing in Fort Wayne.
They proceeded to shred the entire stage, almost demolishing it and leaving nothing for The Front Bottoms to use afterwards. They were fired up to play, with Bryan sometimes so energetic that she head-butted bassist / co-vocalist Rhydian Dafydd in the chest – twice.
They opened with “The Greatest Light Is the Greatest Shade” and rarely let up to take a breath. They would retune, and then rip into another track, ending their too short set with a stunning, long, blazing edition of “Whirring.”
I left after their set. The Front Bottoms’ style of music isn’t my thing, and I felt bad for them having to follow The Joy Formidable, because, as one guy in the crowd who’d never heard them before said after their set, “That was some hard shit.”
Keep your mind open.
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