On the Verge With The Joy Formidable – Fall US 2011 Tour, By Peter Dysart

So much has already been written about The Joy Formidable that its nearly cliché to discuss the band’s size, sound, attitude, relationships, or comment on all the attention they’ve recently been paid by other musicians, the press, or the late night show circuit in America.

However, one common theme that keeps being bandied about is that this is a band on the verge of something big. Fat lot of news that is, and it’s only partially correct. Face it, The Joy Formidable have been big for some time, and none more so than for their fans.

Now, after touring nearly non-stop for the past three years, the only thing they might need is a wee rest and time to recharge before hitting it again. But before they can take a well earned break, there is the matter of the last leg of their 2011 tour, one which will place them in a position they’ve not been before — namely as the opening act for the Foo Fighters, a move that will place them in front of even more massive US audiences.

If that wasn’t enough, teens everywhere are going to get an earful of The Joy Formidable courtesy of their opening track “End Tapes” on the new Twilight Breaking Dawn soundtrack.

Whilst even this gives all appearances of being “on the verge of something truly big,” what fans have known all along is that, and wave the magic wand, the essence of The Joy Formidable is that they always appear on the verge of greatness.

For most fans, myself included, there is nothing like the thrill of watching TJF perform in small pubs and music clubs. Every time you see them, it’s as though you’re witnessing something special and secret, and that indeed is the magic.

With daylight growing shorter in supply and weather turning nippy, the small clubs await the quickening pulse, warm glow, and sonic shock that accompany this band. Now I remember what drove me to drive 50 miles with a cast on my foot to see this amazing band. From the very first time I heard this band over the Internet, there was never a doubt in my mind what was in store for them.

As we wait and watch TJF storm America’s shore and stages again, it’s easy to see how success builds on success. And nothing builds success like the unending tour. In 2011 alone, the band kicked off a UK tour with the introduction of their debut effort “The Big Roar,” followed by a sleepless week at SXSW in March. Next came Coachella in April followed by a lengthy US tour.

Then they returned to UK for the European outdoor festival season, and then came back to the states for Lollapalooza in August highlighted by a monster opening set for the Foo Fighters at the Metro in Chicago. And that was just through August. Since then, they returned to the UK and Europe again to play for the faithful.

For the last leg of the 2011 tour, the band starts out in Austin, Texas for the Fun Fun Fun Fest before they shift to support the Foo Fighters on the arena circuit. I’m guessing Matt will be pinching himself over those seven shows, making sure that he’s really there. Continuing on as the headliner, the trio zigzags across the States for twenty or more shows including a dip south of the boarder to play a show in Mexico City, and you had better believe the fans in Mexico requested this show long ago.

The tour wraps up in the Midwest for three shows in Chicago, Milwaukee and Indianapolis. The last show in Indy should be very interesting. The Vogue in Broad Ripple is one of Indy’s most famous nightclubs and a stage that has witnessed more than its share of up and coming acts and major headliners in its 30-year history.

Inevitably new material creeps into the set and there are a few older songs I’d love to hear on this tour. As Ritzy Bryan recently explained in a post-show interview, they have 15 to 20 new songs in the works, which means there will be a new album on the horizon for 2012. In fact, Ritz is quite candid about prospects for a third, fourth, and fifth album. In addition to the fact that they’re constantly writing new materials, they also have a sufficiently deep catalogue of music that’s just waiting to happen.

As the Big Roar tour advances, the stage sets have become increasingly elaborate and the shows livelier. From inflatable black cat heads to farm animal statues to nautical and sailing themes, the band has continues to up the ante on their efforts. Who knows, Rhydian might take off his hat. There have even been rumours of a promise that we might see band mates being shot from cannons. That’s a promise on which I intend to collect.

– Peter Dysart

And here’s a coda from Mike Hughes, a UK fan of The Joy Formidable from way back in the day:

To tell the truth I’ve got a bit hacked off at them always being depicted as ‘promising’ or ‘about to be’. So far as I am concerned, they have exactly had it, and been there, since I first saw them on 11 Sept 2008, in a small town about ten miles from Ritzy and Rhydian’s family homes. On that occasion, they also showed another quality that has never changed. It was a tiny gig in a tiny bar, the stage was an area of floor raised about 4 inches higher than the rest. The audience was largely friends, and also the other bands. And yet despite the intimate setting, Rhydian got so lost in it that he kicked an upright bass drum off the stage. Ritzy ended up on all fours crawling in amongst the cables of her effects pedals, and the whole set ended up in a glorious howling mess that was somehow both excruciatingly loud and at the same time compulsively soothing to the ears. I would just kill to see them do that in some of those US arenas, and yet in some ways, if I was to give you advice, it would be go and see them headline somewhere small while you still can.

– Mike Hughes

I really love the retelling of those early shows. One of the first Chicago shows had a similar feel, tho, by this time the band was more polished. Your description of “a glorious howling mess that was somehow both excruciatingly loud and at the same time compulsively soothing to the ears” is spot on. The effect on the audience was unmistakable puzzlement. Ritz threw her guitar to the ground and crawled around on all fours, grappled with her pedals to change the tone of the feedback loops, while Rhyd body slammed his bass and Matt crashed his kit to the ground. The final eardrum splitting event lasted about four minutes, and there was Jonathan running on stage to kill the volume switches after the band left. The audience was still waiting for something to happen next. This is an event best witnessed in the small club. It’s like watching Iggy Pop back in ’81 as he smashed beer bottles on the floor of an Ann Arbor nightclub and rolled around in the shards until he was bleeding form multiple cuts. Meanwhile his band played on. I was hooked.

– Peter Dysart